Russian ballet is a form of ballet characteristic of or originating from Russia. The original purpose of the ballet in Russia was to entertain the royal court. In the early 19th century, the theaters were opened up to anyone who could afford a ticket. There was a seating section called a rayok, or 'paradise gallery', that consisted of simple wooden benches. This allowed non-wealthy people access to the ballet, because tickets in this section were inexpensive.[1]
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Ballet Companies
The first ballet company was the Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg in the 1740s. The Ballet Russe was a ballet company founded in the 1909 by Sergey Diaghilev, an enormously important figure in the Russian ballet scene. The headquarters of his ballet company was located in Paris, France. A protégé of Diaghileve, George Balanchine, founded the New York City Ballet Company in 1948. Today, the Kirov Ballet company (now known as the Mariinsky Ballet) and the Bol'shoy company are two world-renowned Russian ballet companies that tour the world.[2]
Other Russian ballet companies include:
- Ballet Russe, founded in 1909.
- Maly Theatre Ballet - now The Mikhailovsky Ballet, founded in 1930s
- Moscow Classical Ballet, founded in 1966.[3]
- Russian State Ballet of Siberia, founded in 1978.
There are also a number of companies who have been called, or included in their name Moscow Ballet.^^
Methods
There are several methods of ballet in Russian ballet. The most widely used in the Vaganova method, which was named after the very famous ballerina and teacher, Agrippina Vaganova.[4]
Dancers
Many Russian dancers have gone on to reach worldwide acclaim; notable Russian dancers include: Avdotia Istomina, Paul Gerdt, Olga Preobrajenska, Mathilde Kschessinska, Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Spesivtseva, Vaslav Nijinsky, George Balanchine, Lydia Lopokova, Galina Ulanova, Marina Semenova, Maya Plisetskaya, Yury Grigorovich, Alla Osipenko, Natalia Makarova, Ekaterina Maximova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Rudolf Nureyev, Yuri Soloviev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alexander Godunov, Galina Mezentseva, Ulyana Lopatkina, Ilya Kuznetsov, Vladimir Malakhov, Nina Ananiashvili, Alexei Ratmansky, Yevgeni Panfilov, Nikolay Tsiskaridze, Svetlana Zakharova, Maria Gorshenkova, Lydia Price,Diana Vishneva.
See also
References
- ^ Roslavleva, Natalia. Era of the Russian Ballet
- ^ Curtis, Glenn E. Russia: A Country Study
- ^ "About The Moscow Classical Ballet". http://www.rfpresents.org/MCBpage.html. Retrieved 01 March 2009.
- ^ Willia-Aarnio, Peggy. Agrippina Vaganova (1879-1951): Her Place in the History of Ballet and Her Impact on the Future of Classical Dance
Bibliography
- Curtis, Glenn E, ed. (1996). Russia: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.
- Roslavleva, Natalia. (1966). Era of the Russian Ballet, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc.
- Willis-Aarino, Peggy. (2002). Agrippina Vaganova (1879-1951): Her Place in the History of Ballet and Her Impact on the Future of Classical Dance, Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press.
External links
- Ballet History
- Russian ballet
- Russian Classical Ballet and Modern Dance
- BBT/School of Russian Ballet in Brooklyn, NY, USA
- The Russian Ballet Academy of Indiana, a professional Vaganova method school
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