Bolshoi Ballet

Bolshoi Ballet
General information
Name Bolshoi Ballet
Local name Балетная труппа Большого театра
Year founded 1776
Principal venue Bolshoi Theatre
Website http://www.bolshoi.ru
Senior staff
Director Vladimir Urin
Ballet Director Makhar Vaziev
Artistic staff
Deputy Director Galina Stepanenko
Music Director Tugan Sokhiev
Ballet Master Yuri Grigorovich
Other
Parent company Bolshoi Theatre
Orchestra Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre
Official school Moscow State Academy of Choreography
Formation Principal
Lead Soloist
First Soloist
Soloist
Corps de 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 companies. It only achieved worldwide acclaim, however, in the early 20th century when Moscow became the capital of Soviet Russia. Along with the Mariinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg, the Bolshoi is recognised as one of the foremost ballet companies in the world.

History

The earliest origins of the Bolshoi Ballet, can be found in the creation of a dance school for a Moscow orphanage in 1773.[1] In 1776, dancers from the school were employed by Prince Pyotr Urusov and the English theatrical entrepreneur Michael Maddox, to form part of their new theatre company.[2] Originally performing in privately owned venues, they later acquired the Petrovsky Theatre, which, as a result of fires and erratic redevelopment, would later be rebuilt as today's Bolshoi Theatre. The Bolshoi Ballet is a very hard place to get into. While some guest dancers come and go, from other very prestigious ballet companies—like from the Mariinky and American Ballet Theatre—many company dancers are carefully selected graduates of the academy. The first American ballet dancer to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and to join the Bolshoi Ballet company, was Michael Shannon, in 1989.[3]

The early history of the Bolshoi Ballet is very sketchy and, despite staging many famous ballets, it struggled to compete with the reputation of the Imperial Russian Ballet, today's Mariinsky Ballet of St. Petersburg. It was not until the appointment of Alexander Gorsky as Ballet Master in 1900 that the company began to develop its own unique identity, with acclaimed productions of new or restaged ballets including, Don Quixote (1900), Coppélia (1901), Swan Lake (1901), La fille mal gardée (1903), Giselle (1911), Le Corsaire (1912) and La Bayadère (1917).[4]

The Soviet leadership's preference for uncomplicated moral themes in the arts was demonstrated in Yuri Grigorovich's appointment as director in 1964. Grigorovich held his position until 1995, at which point a series of directors, including Boris Akimov, Alexei Ratmansky, Yuri Burlaka and Sergei Filin, brought to the company more modern ideas about dance performance.[5]

Controversies

Anastasia Volochkova has claimed that female dancers were forced to sleep with wealthy patrons. She said: “It mainly happened with the corps du [sic] ballet but also with the soloists. [...] I repeatedly received such propositions to share the beds of oligarchs." [6] American dancer Joy Womack echoed this concern when she left the company because she was told that, to secure solo roles she must either pay $10,000 or "start a relationship with a sponsor."[7]

Another large source of controversy was the January 2013 sulfuric acid attack on the artistic director, Sergei Filin; Bolshoi dancer, Pavel Dmitrichenko, was convicted of organizing the attack and sentenced to 6 years in prison. Reasons for the attack again include corruption within the company.[8]

Notable people

Former dancers

Directors

Choreographers

Composers

Conductors

Arrival of soloists of the Bolshoi Ballet at the Schiphol airport, 9 June 1960

Company structure

Today the Bolshoi Ballet remains one of the worlds foremost ballet companies, as well as being the largest, with approximately 220 dancers. Indeed, the very name "bolshoi" means "big" or "grand" in Russian. The company operates a hierarchical system, similar to those used by other leading European ballet companies, with senior dancers ranked as principals, and descending in order of importance through lead soloist, first soloist, soloist and finally corps de ballet. Due to its size, the company operates two troupes of corps de ballet.

In 2000, the Bolshoi Ballet opened its first Ballet Academy outside Russia, in Joinville, Brazil.[9][10][11][12]

Performance style

The performance style of the Bolshoi Ballet, is typically identified as being colourful and bold, combining technique and athleticism with expressiveness and dramatic intensity. This style is commonly attributed to Gorsky. The Bolshoi has a historical rivalry with St. Petersburg heritage ballet company, the Mariinsky. Both have developed very different performing styles: the Bolshoi has a more colourful and bold approach, whereas the Mariinsky is associated with pure and refined classicism.

Dancers

Principal dancers[13]

Female

Male


It was announced 30 January 2013, that Svetlana Lunkina told the Russian newspaper Izvestia that she wants to remain in Canada, because she fears for her safety if she returned to Russia.[14]

Corps de Ballet

The Bolshoi Ballet operates two troupes of corps de ballet, with approximately 120 dancers in total.

References

  1. ↑ Info Please
  2. ↑ IMG Artists
  3. ↑ "American Michael Shannon Joins the Bolshoi Ballet"- LATimes Article, November 18, 1989; http://articles.latimes.com/1989-11-18/entertainment/ca-1313_1_bolshoi-ballet
  4. ↑ Ballet Bag, August 12, 2010
  5. ↑ Mackrell, Judith (18 January 2013). "Sergei Filin may be as much a victim of Bolshoi ballet politics as acid attack". The Guardian (London, UK). Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Bolshoi ballet was 'giant brothel' claims former dancer". bbc.co.uk/news (BBC). Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Files, Emily (14 November 2013). "American ballerina lobs a $10,000 accusation at the Bolshoi Company". PRI (Boston, United States). Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  8. ↑ BBC News Europe. "Bolshoi acid attack: Soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko jailed". BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Classical: Bolshoi finds a home in the land of Samba". Irish Independent.
  10. ↑ Rohter, Larry (3 July 2001). "The Discipline of the Bolshoi In the Land of the Samba; A Satellite School in Brazil to Train Tomorrow's Ballet Stars". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ http://centroysur.com/2012/02/13/the-bolshoi-ballet-the-discipline-of-russia-in-brazil/
  12. ↑ http://www.escolabolshoi.com.br/bolshoi/Portugues/detIdioma.php?cod=1
  13. ↑ "Bolshoi Ballet". Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  14. ↑ "BOLSHOI BALLERINA SAYS SHE FEARS FOR HER SAFETY". AP. Retrieved 30 January 2013.

External links

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