History of the Vaganova ballet method
Since as early as 1738, when Empress Anna Ivanovna begin the first ballet school in Russia, the Imperial Theatre School on Theatre Street in St. Petersburg,1 Russia and ballet have been synonymous with the ultimate in beauty and discipline. In the beginning, only the children of select servants would have the opportunity to learn to dance. In 1773, another school emerged in Moscow, attached to an orphanage. The school on Theatre Street evolved into what is today known as the Vaganova Choreographic Institute, named after its famous teacher, Agrippina Vaganova. The orphanage school has become the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Both schools are considered to be among the top ballet schools in the world and graduates of these schools can be found dancing in some of the most selective companies worldwide; including the famous Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet and the grand Bolshoi Ballet, as well other prestigious companies including the Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Australian Ballet, and many others. In the words of Princess Grace of Monaco, herself a graduate of the Vaganova Choreographic Institute, "To be a dancer in Russia means a chance for honor, a wider life, and perhaps a place in history."2
At the Kirov/Mariinsky, Svetlana Zakharova is a rising star; she is living the life many of the students at the Vaganova school dream of. From the very beginning, the children chosen to study and train at the Vaganova Choreographic Institute or the Bolshoi Ballet School are different. She is one of the most gracious people I have ever known. Even the students who have had their talent verified by having been granted admission are not fully prepared for what is to come. Those are the years when they will finally see all their hard work pay off. The school, its teachers, and its students became family for the children. Those who don't are most likely training elsewhere and will then enter into a company. They are different from other children and set apart. At times, being a student of the school meant having access to education that they wouldn't have otherwise had, one of the goals of the school, in addition to training its students to be top ballet dancers, is to educate them about the world around them. "10 Another Vaganova trained Kirov/Mariinsky star is Yulia Makhalina, one describes her as "She is a perfectionist. My mother didn't want me to go off to school because I'm an only child and my father scorned dancing. The judges see something in them that tells them that they will be able to persevere and that one day they will be a star.
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Acceptance Essays
