#qa bba

[melmothblog]

Ask Responses: Politics

Is it real the artistic director of the theatre in Russia is in such a position of power to decide which dancer of the company another dancer must marry and other stuff like this?

Of course not. No one can force anyone to marry. When it comes to hyper-political institutions like the Bolshoi, certain decisions can be made in order to forge alliances. Marriages of convenience are not unheard of, but they still require two willing participants. 

If you’re referring to the rumour that Vaziev made Gerashchenko marry Sharova – there’s no proof of that.

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What use would it be for BBA to stifle Alena? Doesn't it only benefit them to produce and promote good dancers? It would benefit the Bolshoi company too, and the culture as a whole. Maybe they don't like her because she went to the Primorsky, and perhaps they see anything Mariinsky as an enemy. Idk, just speculating. VBA doesn't play these politics right? From what appears to me, they seem to be straightforward, and feature everyone who deserves to be featured. Tsiskaridze strikes me as one who plays politics, but one who would never mess around with children. And the only reason I think he plays politics is because he is forced to, since so many people don't like him and are out to get him. Another question- why don't they like him? Why on Earth would Bolshoi give such a great dancer such a hard time in his early years at the company? Ugh, these people, they don't understand what is simplicity and fairness, do they?

Alena has relatives who work at BBA, she comes from a ballet family, BBA is a pretty political place. Things can get messy and complicated. But you’re right, adults shouldn’t take their bs out on children.

VBA is also political but I don’t think it’s to the same degree as BBA. Tsiskaridze is pretty good at handling issues quietly. I’m sure there are plenty of people (graduates and ex teachers) who think differently, but overall I believe that Tsiskaridze has managed the Academy very well over the past 7 years and treats people relatively fairly. 

When Tsiskaridze joined the Bolshoi in the early 90s, the place was even more political than it is now. The company was divided into warring clans. Think Game of Thrones. People had literally died. Tsiskaridze was not only talented but very loud and opinionated. He was also sensitive and thin-skinned and would’ve been eaten alive if it wasn’t for Ulanova and Semyonova, who decided to protect and mentor him.

This kind of drama is typical of theatre companies (and I don’t just mean ballet companies). Things aren’t necessarily as intense as they are at the Bolshoi, but other companies have their own share of infighting, conflict and tragedy. I think that things are amplified in the ballet world because ballet careers are so short: there’s too much at stake and too little time to get things done. 

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[melmothblog]

Ask Responses: Vaganova and Bolshoi Ballet Academy

Ok,, serious question here. I've always heard that ballet dancers can't have large breasts since it throws off their balance. How do they factor this into admissions since they're well before puberty?

Like I said in my previous post, it’s impossible to predict what a child will look like once they hit puberty. There’s a certain amount of guesswork involved in the selection process and a lot of the students do end up dropping off during puberty, as their bodies change.

Large breasts don’t throw off the balance but they don’t fit the Russian ballet aesthetic. That being said (and as I’ve mentioned before), several graduates in recent years had large breasts and are doing very well despite not having the “ideal” body type. When a dancer is very talented and very hardworking, physical “imperfections” are often overlooked. Case in point: Diana Vishneva, whose body is far from what is considered ideal. 

Are the any BBA students who you're keeping an eye on? Because it would be interesting to follow someone developing like it was last year with Elya on the VBA side and Stasya and Tatyana on the BBA side. Now we need a BBA girl to watch with Maria Khoreva :)

Unfortunately, I don’t know. I don’t follow BBA. I found out about Osipova by chance and it’s hard to avoid Postnova since she’s got such a strong social media presence. 

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[melmothblog]

Ask Responses - VBA and BBA

Were even any black dancers at VBA or BBA?

Yes. Adrian Blake Mitchell graduated from Vaganova in 2015 (the most recent case). He’s currently in the Mikhailovsky corps de ballet but is getting lots of solo work.

Do you think that the Bolshoi Ballet Academy would also accept ballet students who don't have really long legs? And do you know if there were any German students at BBA? Thanks for answering!

I don’t know what the criteria are at either VBA or BBA. From what I’ve heard, it can depend on the preference of whoever is on the committee during the audition. Russians definitely favour long limbs, but it’s far from the only thing they look at. 

If you’re seriously considering signing up for a traineeship program, maybe have a chat with some of the foreign trainees who have successfully completed VBA. I’ve interviewed several of them, and all gave their contact details and said that they’d be happy to give advice. 

Sorry, I’m not familiar with the BBA foreign trainees. 

Hello, I am not sure if you've answered this before but who do you think are VBAs greatest graduates from the last 5-10 years?

I’ve answered similar questions before, but this one is pretty broad as far as the time period goes. I’ve thought about this long and hard. I don’t think I can give an answer which will satisfy everyone, since VBA saw some very talented students graduate in the past ten years. 

I think Olga Smirnova (who I’m not a fan of btw, but credit where credit’s due) is hands-down the best graduate of the last decade, and Renata Shakirova stands out among the more recent graduates. I think that’s my answer. Smirnova is the best graduate of the decade and Shakirova is the best graduate in the last five years.

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[melmothblog]

Ask Responses: VBA & BBA

Hello! I am watching the documentary Dance of the Little Swans and in it they originally didn't accept Olga Morgulets because of her physique and fear she wouldn't grow because of rhythmic gymnastics, but then they did take her. Don't you think that is a little bit irresponsible if they already doubt her? What if she doesn't grow and does get expelled because of it? I'm sure the selectors know what they're doing, but still...or maybe that's just me?

I think, given the chance, any child who dreams of training at Vaganova Ballet Academy would grab on to the smallest opportunity. The children and, more importantly, the parents know the risks going in (though not everyone really processes them): out of the sixty or so children who are accepted in to the academy every year, only around 10%-15% graduate. Most fail out or drop out. So Olya is at as much risk as anyone else. She was given a chance, the rest is up to her. By the way, VBA wouldn’t expel a student just for being short; there would be other contributing factors.

In the case of kids like Olya, who are accepted into the academy conditionally (at least I think that’s what’s happened), there is usually a probation period during which the coaches decide whether or not they can keep up. Olya appears to be doing well, so I guess she is safe for now. 

Hi! Thank you for your fantastic blog. I find photos of young Ulanova fascinating so my question is : Are there many historical photos from Vaganova Academy? ( I mean the time when dancers like Semyonova, Dudinskaya, Ulanova were students or even earlier).

Thanks! I’m sure VBA have a huge archive of amazing historical photos and documents. And their museum is filled with incredible artefacts. I wish they would digitise their archives and make them available to the public (They can hire me as a volunteer! I will do it!)

A lot of the photos have made their way online and have been published in books. I would love to get my hands on the book about Marina Semyonova, which Tsiskaridze published last year (God bless him for keeping the memory of his teachers alive), as it contains a lot of rare photos and letter.

Do you think Vaganova will ever go on tour/do masterclasses in the United States? I would love to see a performance!

VBA have a link, albeit a tenuous one, with the US, via the Valentina Kozlova Dance Conservatory, so it’s within the realm of possibility. I think the distance poses a problem; Europe is a short flight away, so I think that’s why they concentrate their networking efforts there.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I have seen photos and videos from Bolshoi students and some of them look extremely unhealthy thin!! I know in Russia balletdancers have to be very thin and Vaganova students are also thin. But Bolshoi students seem to be bony...

I wouldn’t make assumptions about a person’s health from a couple of photos.

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