The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ballet in the world, located in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia. It is the affiliate school of the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest Ballet company, ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it ca ...

. Founded on December 23, 1773 as the second ballet school in Russia, it entered into a contract with the Italian teacher-choreographer Filippo Becari, who must was “the most capable of dancing” children to learn “to dance with all possible precision and to show themselves publicly in all pantomime ballets”. The Bolshoi Ballet receives the majority of its dancers from the academy, as do most other Moscow ballet companies. Numerous choreographers, instructors and graduates of the academy have become renowned, including Olga Lepeshinskaya,

Raisa Struchkova Raisa Stepanovna Struchkova () (5 October 19252 May 2005) was a Russian dancer and People's Artist of the USSR. Biography Struchkova was born on 5 October 1925 in Moscow to a factory worker. She studied at the Moscow State Academy of Choreograp ...

Natalia Bessmertnova Natalia Igorevna Bessmertnova () was a Soviet prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet and a People's Artist of the USSR (1976). Life Natalia Bessmertnova was born in Moscow in 1941 and trained at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography from 1 ...

Ekaterina Maximova Ekaterina Sergeyevna Maximova (; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian Ballet dancer, ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. She was a prima ballerina of the Bol ...

Maya Plisetskaya Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress. In post-Soviet times, she held both Lithuanian and Spanish citizenship.

Nikolai Fadeyechev Nikolai Borisovich Fadeyechev (27 January 193323 June 2020) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, teacher, and répétiteur of the Bolshoi Ballet. He was awarded People's Artist of the USSR in 1976. Biography Fadeyechev was bo ...

, Vladimir Vasiliev,

Mikhail Lavrovsky Mikhail Leonidovich Lavrovsky (; born 29 October 1941) is a Soviet and Russian former principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet. Biography Lavrovsky was born in Tbilisi to a family of respected dancers. His father, Leonid Lavrovsky, was a well-known ...

Nikolay Tsiskaridze Nikolay Maximovich Tsiskaridze PAR (; ka, ნიკოლოზ ცისკარიძე, ''Nik'oloz Cisk'aridze'') is a Georgian-Russian ballet dancer who had been a member of the Bolshoi Ballet for 21 years (1992–2013). Biography Ea ...

, to be bestowed a

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

, "

prima ballerina assoluta ''Prima ballerina assoluta'' is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a ''prima ballerina assoluta'' is a rare honour, traditionally reserved for the most exceptional dancers of their generation. Orig ...

" and "premier dancer", the ultimate title for a ballet performer of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The academy was awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for their contributions to promotion of cultural exchange through art between Japan and Russia on December 1, 2020.

History

Bolshoi is the oldest theatrical school in

, founded as an orphanage by order of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

in 1763. It wasn't until 1773 that the first dance classes were taught at the home. Other names the school is known by are: The Bolshoi Academy, The Bolshoi Ballet School, The Moscow Choreographic Institute, The Moscow Ballet School, The Bolshoi Moscow Ballet School and The Bolshoi Theatre Ballet School. Heads: * 1773—1777 —

Filippo Beccari Filippo Beccari (fl. second half of the 18th century) was an Italian ballet dancer and ballet master working in the Russian Empire, and a founder of the Moscow Ballet School. History In the beginning of the 18th century, many professionals, includ ...

* 1778—1783 — * 1783—1805 —

Cosimo Morelli (choreographer) Cosimo Morelli (1732 – February 26, 1812) was an Italian architect, active throughout the Papal States in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassic style. Biography He was born at Imola. His father, also an architect, studied under Giovanni Domen ...

* 1806—1808 —

Jean Lamiral Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

* 1808—1811 —

Dominique Lefèvre "Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by Belgian singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born priest an ...

* 1811—1839 —

Adam Glushkovskiy Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam sin ...

* 1839—1846 — Konstantin Bordanov (ru: Богданов, Константин Федорович) * 1846—1850 —

Feodor Manokhin Fyodor, Fedor () or Feodor is the Russian-language form of the originally Greek-language name "Theodore" () meaning "God's gift" or "god-given". Fedora () is the feminine form. "Fyodor" and "Fedor" are two English transliterations of the same Ru ...

(ru: Манохин, Фёдор Николаевич) * 1851—1857 — ? * 1858—1869 —

(ru: Манохин, Фёдор Николаевич) * 1869—1872 —

Pierre Frédéric Malavergne Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

* 1872—1874 —

Gustave Legat Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

* 1874—1883 — Sergey Petrovich Sokolov (ru: Соколов, Сергей Петрович) * 1883—1898 — Aleksey Bogdanov (ru: Богданов, Алексей Николаевич) * 1898—1902 —

Vasiliy Geltser Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasily I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 *Vasily II of Moscow Grand Prince fro ...

(ru: Гельцер, Василий Федорович) * 1902—1907 — Alexander Alexeyevich Gorsky * 1907—1917 —

Vasily Tikhomirov Vasiliy Dmitriyevich Tikhomirov (1876–1956) was a dancer (from 1895) and a choreographer (from 1913) with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, Russia. His most distinguished production was '' The Red Poppy'' (1927), with his wife Yekaterina Geltzer i ...

(ru: Тихомиров, Василий Дмитриевич) * 1917—1924 — Alexander Alexeyevich Gorsky * 1924 — 1931 — ? * 1931—1936 —

Viktor Aleksandrovich Semeonov The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(ru: Семёнов, Виктор Александрович) * 1937—1941 — Pyotr Gusev * 1942—1945 — Nikolay Ivanovich Tarasov (ru: Тарасов, Николай Иванович) * 1945—1947 —

Rostislav Zakharov Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov (; September 7, 1907 – January 15, 1984) was a Soviet and Russian choreographer, ballet dancer and opera director. He was a professor at the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in Moscow (1946–1983). Zakha ...

* 1948—1953 —

Leonid Lavrovsky Leonid Mikhailovich Lavrovsky (; 18 June 1905 – 26 November 1967) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer and choreographer, most famous for choreographing the first full version of Sergei Prokofiev's ''Romeo and Juliet''. Early life Lavrov ...

* 1953—1954 — Nikolay Ivanovich Tarasov * 1954—1958 —

Michail Gabovich Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect), English 13th-century Bishop of Hereford elect * Michael (Khoroshy) ( ...

(ru: Габович, Михаил Маркович) * 1959—1964 — Yuriy Kondratov (ru: Кондратов, Юрий Григорьевич) * 1960—2001 —

Sofia Golovkina Sofia Nikolayevna Golovkina (February 17, 2004) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. A graduate of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography in 1933, she was the principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet till 1959. In ...

(ru: Головкина, Софья Николаевна) * 1964—1967 —

* 1968—1972 —

Aleksey Yermolayev Aleksey Nikolayevich Yermolayev (Russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Ермола́ев; 12 December 1975) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. He played an important role in the development of Russian b ...

* 1973—1987 —

Maksim Martirosian Maxim (more accurately spelled Maksim assuming that "X" is not a consonant, but the conjunction of "K" and "S" sounds; “Maksym”, or "Maxym") is an epicene (or gender-neutral) first name of Roman origin mainly given to males. It is adopted in ...

(ru: Мартиросян, Максим Саакович) * 1988—1993 —

Igor Uksusnikov Igor may refer to: * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name Arts, entertainment, and media *Igor (character), a stock character * Igors (''Discworld''), a fictional humanoid family in the ''Discworld'' ...

(ru: Уксусников, Игорь Валентинович) * 2001—2002 —

Boris Akimov Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name * *List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) Arts and media * Boris (band), a Japanese experimental rock trio * ''Boris'' (EP), by Yezda Urfa, 1975 * "Boris" (son ...

(ru: Акимов, Борис Борисович) * 2002—2024 —

Marina Leonova A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo fro ...

(ru: Леонова, Марина Константиновна) * 2024 — Svetlana Zakharova

Method and education

The Bolshoi's method of teaching is founded on a Russian training curriculum that is coordinated to the student's ability. This curriculum, commonly known as

Vaganova method The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova (1879–1951). It was derived from the teachings of the ''Premier Maître de Ballet'' Marius Petipa, throughout the lat ...

, is widely adopted by ballet schools around the world. The curriculum includes ballet technique, pointe work, center work, repertoire, pas de deux, jazz, character dance, and historical dance.

Facilities

Amenities at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy include twenty large studios with a professional non-slip dance floor. High ceilings make it possible to offer

pas de deux In ballet, a ( French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The ''pas de deux'' is characteristic of classical ballet and can be found in many well-known ...

classes, and two levels of ballet barres are provided for young children and adults.

Alumni

The Bolshoi is the school from which the

gets the majority of its dancers, as well as most other Moscow ballet companies. The academy has graduated a long list of acclaimed ballerinas and danseurs, including: *

Maria Alexandrova Maria Aleksandrovna Alexandrova (; born 20 July 1978) is a Russian principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, People’s Artist of Russia. Biography Alexandrova was born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, and attended the Moscow Choreographic Academy. Sh ...

* Alexander Andrianov *

Nina Ananiashvili Nina Ananiashvili (born Nino Ananiashvili; ka, ნინო ანანიაშვილი; born March 19, 1963) is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the ''Daily Telegraph' ...

* Dmitry Belogolovtsev *

* Margarita Drozdova *

Sergei Filin Sergei Yurevitch Filin (; born 27 October 1970) is a Russian ballet dancer and the former artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater from 2011 through 2016. He is currently the Director of the Young Artists Ballet Program at the Bolshoi Theatre. ...

Yekaterina Geltzer Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (November 2, 1876 – December 12, 1962) was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet who danced in the theatre from 1898 to 1935. She was the daughter of the famous Russian dancer Vasily Geltzer. She worked with Marius ...

* Nadezhda Gracheva *

Dmitry Gudanov Dmitry Konstantinovich Gudanov () is a People's Artist of Russia and principal dancer of Bolshoi Ballet. He retired from the Bolshoi in July 2017. Early life and awards Gudanov was born 9 July 1975 in Moscow, Russia. From 1985 to 1994 he attende ...

* Nina Kaptsova *

Maria Kochetkova Maria Olegovna Kochetkova (; born 1984) is a Russian ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet between 2007 and 2018, and with the American Ballet Theatre between 2015 and 2017. After that, she became a freelance da ...

* Marina Kondratyeva * Ekaterina Krysanova *

Mikhail Lavronsky Mikhail Leonidovich Lavrovsky (; born 29 October 1941) is a Soviet and Russian former principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet. Biography Lavrovsky was born in Tbilisi to a family of respected dancers. His father, Leonid Lavrovsky, was a well-known ...

* Olga Lepeshinskaya *

Ilze Liepa Ilze Marisovna Liepa (; born 22 November 1963 in Moscow) is a Russian ballet dancer and actress. She has been a soloist ballerina at the Bolshoi Theatre since 1981. She was invested with the title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in ...

Andris Liepa Andris Liepa (; born Moscow, USSR, 6 January 1962) is a Russian ballet dancer, director and producer of Latvian ethnicity. He is the son of former Bolshoi Ballet dancer Māris Liepa. Biography Andris Liepa was born on January 6, 1962, in Moscow ...

* Maris Liepa *

Svetlana Lunkina Svetlana Aleksandrovna Lunkina (; born 29 July 1979) is a Russian-Canadian ballerina who is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. Biography Lunkina was born in Moscow and attended the Moscow Choreographic Academy. Upon her gr ...

* Vladimir Malakhov *

Xenia Makletzova Xenia Makletzova (6 November 1892 – 18 May 1974), sometimes seen as Xenia Maclezova, was a Russian ballet dancer. Early life Xenia Petrovna Makletzova was born in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg. She trained as a dancer at the Bolshoi Ballet S ...

* Elina Melnichenko *

Asaf Messerer Asaf Mikhailovich Messerer (; 19 November 1903 – 7 March 1992) was a Soviet ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1919 he studied privately with Mikhail Mordkin, until Alexander Gorsky placed him in a cl ...

* Alla Mikhalchenko *

Igor Moiseyev Igor Aleksandrovich Moiseyev (; – 2 November 2007) was a Soviet and Russian ballet master, dancer, choreographer and pedagogue. Moiseyev was widely acclaimed as the greatest 20th-century choreographer of character dance, a dance style simila ...

Mikhail Mordkin __NOTOC__ Mikhail Mordkin (; December 9, 1880, Moscow, Russian Empire – July 15, 1944, New York) graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, Bolshoi Ballet School in 1899, and in the same year was appointed ballet master. He join ...

Irek Mukhamedov Irek Dzhavdatovich Mukhamedov OBE (: ; born 8 March 1960), is a Soviet-born British ballet dancer of Tatar origin who has danced with the Bolshoi Ballet and the Royal Ballet. Born in Kazan, he trained at the Moscow Choreographic Institute und ...

Anastasia Nabokina Anastasia Nabokina (; born 14 February 1971) is a Russian ballerina, scholar of cultural studies, art critic, dance theorist, translator from the Russian language. Biography Nabokina was born on 14 February 1971 in Moscow, Russia. In 1981 she e ...

Natalia Osipova Natalia Petrovna Osipova (; born 18 May 1986) is a Russian ballerina, currently a principal ballerina with The Royal Ballet in London. Early life and training Born in Moscow, Osipova began formal ballet training at the age of nine at the Mikha ...

* Alexander Plisetski *

Polina Semionova Polina Alexandrovna Semionova (; born 13 September 1984) is a Russian ballet dancer and model for Uniqlo who was a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre in New York and with the Berlin State Ballet. She is a professor at the Berlin ...

Ruslan Skvortsov Ruslan Vasilyevich Skvortsov (; born 31 January 1980) is a Russian principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet. Biography Ruslan Skvortsov was born in Yelets, Lipetsk Oblast, where he received his early training from Elena Timofeyeva, and then studie ...

Nina Sorokina Nina Sorokina () (13 May 1942 – 8 October 2011) was a Russian principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet and a 1987 People's Artist of the USSR recipient. Biography Sorokina was born on 13 May 1942 in Elektrostal. She studied in the Moscow Stat ...

Galina Stepanenko Galina Olegovna Stepanenko (; born 12 June 1966) is a Russian ballet teacher. She is a former ''prima ballerina'' of the Bolshoi Ballet, and since 2013 has been head of the Bolshoi's ballet troupe. Biography Born in Moscow on 12 June 1966, Step ...

* Nikolai Tsiskaridze * Vladimir Vasiliev * Andrey Uvarov

Summer intensive

The academy partners with the Russian American Foundation to hold annual summer intensives at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and in Middlebury, CT.

Former names

Throughout its history, the school has changed its name several times. Below is a table about the history of its former names.

References

External links

Official website

page at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Summer Intensive in New York City
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moscow State Academy Of Choreography Education in Moscow Education in the Soviet Union Ballet schools in Russia 1773 establishments in the Russian Empire Choreography