Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary. Ballet has been influential globally and has defined the foundational techniques which are used in many other dance genres and cultures. Various schools around the world have incorporated their own cultures. As a result, ballet has evolved in distinct ways.
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 late 19th century. It was Agrippa Vaganova who perfected and cultivated this form of teaching classical ballet and turned it into a viable syllabus. The method fuses elements of traditional French style from the romantic era with the athleticism and virtuosity of Italian Cecchetti technique. The training system is designed to involve the whole body in every movement, with equal attention paid to the upper body, legs and feet. Vaganova believed that this approach increases consciousness of the body, thus creating a harmony of movement and greater expressive range.
This is an alphabetical index of articles related to dance.
Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique, its flowing, precise movements, and its ethereal qualities.
Russian ballet is a form of ballet characteristic of or originating from Russia.
Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova was a Soviet and Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method – the technique which derived from the teaching methods of the old Imperial Ballet School under the Premier Maître de Ballet Marius Petipa throughout the mid to late 19th century, though mostly throughout the 1880s and 1890s. It was Vaganova who perfected and cultivated this form of teaching the art of classical ballet into a workable syllabus. Her Fundamentals of the Classical Dance (1934) remains a standard textbook for the instruction of ballet technique. Her technique is one of the most popular techniques today.
Mansur Kamaletdinov was a Soviet-born ballet dancer, teacher, ballet master and choreographer of classical ballet and classical character dance.
The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School until the Soviet era, when, after a brief hiatus, the school was re-established as the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute. In 1957, the school was renamed in honor of the pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova, who cultivated the method of classical ballet training that has been taught there since the late 1920s. Many of the world's leading ballet schools have adopted elements of the Vaganova method into their own training.
Rostislav Vladimirovich Zakharov 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). Zakharov was awarded the Stalin Prize twice and designated the People's Artist of the USSR (1969).
Lisa Teresita Pacheco Macuja-Elizalde is a Filipino prima ballerina. In 1984, she became the first foreign soloist to ever join the Kirov Ballet. In the Philippines, she is the Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Manila and was the Vice-Chairman of the Philippine UNESCO National Commission. She was also the Commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. Macuja-Elizalde is also Directress and faculty member of the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet – a training center for ballet professionals who are steeped in the Russian Vaganova method. She is also the founder of Project Ballet Futures (PBF) - an internationally recognized community scholarship program that provides training and performance opportunities for deserving public school students.
Benjamin Feliksdal is a Dutch ballet dancer. He has danced as soloist and principal dancer with Het Nederlandse Ballet 1960, Het Nationale Ballet 1961/1971, and with the Royal Ballet of Flanders 1972/1973.
The Guangzhou Ballet Troupe is a classical ballet company based in Guangzhou, China. In addition to works from the classical European ballet repertoire, the company performs works of classical and contemporary Chinese ballet. The company is one of the top four ballet companies in China. It was founded in 1974, and is currently headed by dancer Zhang Dandan. The company tours internationally.
Leonid Veniaminovich Yakobson, whose last name is sometimes spelled Jacobson, was a Jewish ballet choreographer from Russia. He was the founder of the Yacobson Ballet.
Igor Dmitrievich Belsky was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer. After 20 years of solo work (1942–62) he became a chief choreographer of Maly Theatre (1962–73), artistic director of Kirov Ballet (1973–77), artistic director of Cairo Ballet (1977–78), chief ballet master at the Leningrad Music Hall (1979–92), and artistic director of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.
Peggy Willis-Aarnio was an American choreographer, historian, author and teacher of classical ballet. She was a professional dancer in the early 1970s with the Fort Worth Ballet in Fort Worth, Texas. She was the first American to be sanctioned as a "Certified Practitioner and Teacher of the Teaching Method of Classical Ballet" by the Vaganova Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Boris Knyazev was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer.
Grishko Ltd. is a privately held manufacturer of dance shoes, wear and accessories. The company was founded in 1989 by Nikolay Grishko in Moscow, Russia. It is an international company with four factories in Europe and sales in over 70 countries. The company began as a pointe shoe manufacturer and now produces many types of dance shoes and wear.
Roudolf Kharatian is an Armenian ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and painter. He is a People's Artist of Armenia (2012). He is the Principal Choreographer and artistic director of the National Ballet of Armenia at the Spendiaryan National Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Alexander Viktorovich Shiryaev was a Russian ballet dancer, ballet master and choreographer, founder of character dance in Russian ballet who served at the Mariinsky Theatre. Shiryaev was also a pioneering animation director who is credited with the invention of stop motion animation.
Edina Papo, born Hadžirović, on 9 April 1958 in Sarajevo. She was the artistic director of the Sarajevo Ballet. As a choreographer and pedagogue, she has made great contributions to the redevelopment and renewal of ballet art in post-Bosnian War Sarajevo, that is, since 1996. She completed her ballet education at Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg Conservatory in St. Petersburg. She enriched the repertoire with performances closer to the contemporary trends of modern ballet dance and current European theatre.
