The Bolshoi Ballet School

[Tulip]

How silly to presume that the Bolshoi would have just ANY student that is prepared to pay, do you not think that they have their reputation to think about. I am sure one of the best ballet schools in the world would not just take any student into its school based on money. I know for a fact that a lot of the video auditions end up in a rejection pile in the school. From these visual images the teachers can see the physique of a child and how that child moves. I also know that where that child has trained has an impact on whether the Bolshoi will even look at the person auditioning. I feel that people need to be very careful what they write unless they have their facts correct. How insulting to all the international students to hear other people presume that they only got into these top school in the first year just because they had money. Please have manners and think before you write.

[Jellybeans]

I can only repeat that it was my understanding that the academy and the school were very different. perhaps another way of looking at it is that I presumed that the academy was the equivalent to a year audition for the school and that, as with any school, anyone can audition. So yes, the school has a reputation to uphold and no doubt chooses wisely from the "audition".

 

I am fully aware of what can be viewed in a DVD and even in photos as I have said previously on this board. That still does not explain why one group of students can be chosen just from this when another go through a more rigorous process.

 

If I was being pedantic I would say that I did not state any facts about the school, just impressions and perceptions based on what I have heard and read. I also said that I was happy to be corrected.

Edited August 25, 2012 by Jellybeans

[primrose]

In actual fact this is the real name of the school, I have often refered to it as school and academy, not realising that it could be misintepreted as two schools. Anyway this factual information has been copied from Wickipedia. Hope that now clears things up for you Jelly beans.

The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (Russian: Московская государственная академия хореографии - abbreviated as МГАХ, formally known in Russian as Московское академическое хореографическое училище - abbreviated as МАХУ), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ballet in the world,^[1][2] located in Moscow, Russia. It is the affiliate school of the Bolshoi Ballet.

[Jellybeans]

 One of my sources has been the website of the school/academy itself and I have just rechecked this. It does clearly state that there is more than one course and to me, a traineeship for those studying ballet for their own benefit does sound like a course that anyone can attend. The part where it states which course an applicant will be accepted onto concurs with this as there is no mention of not being successful.

 

From the website:

 

The Bolshoi Ballet Academy was established in 1773.

Over the years it has earned an international reputation for its quality of training that produces world class dancers.

Graduates go on to careers with major national and international dance companies.

 

      The Bolshoi Ballet Academy invites the foreign citizens for training according to the programs of:

 

traineeship for those who are studying ballet for their benefit;

 

full-time vocational training, specialty “Choreographic Art”, qualification   “Ballet Dancer”;

 

academic higher education  program for those who are interested in becoming teachers, specialists in management and  choreographic art.

 

The method of teaching is founded on a thorough, comprehensive, classical training curriculum that is carefully coordinated to the students` ability.

The curriculum includes Ballet Technique, Pointe Work, Centre Work, Repertoire, Das de Deux, Jazz, Character Dance and Historical  Dance.

The Academy offers a professional teaching staff with international teaching and performing experience.

All classes are carefully graded both for age and technical level and each student is given the individual attention so necessary for his or her progress.

The Bolshoi Ballet Academy holds annual auditions for the students seeking acceptance into the full-time programs of traineeship and vocational training.

 

The full-time programs operate from September to June. Admission to these programs is through an audition process.

 

1)     The audition consists of a ballet class comprised of barre, centre work, basic  adage, allegro and pointe work.

 

2)     Foreign students may submit a video tape or DVD (not more than 10 minutes), showing class work (barre, center work, adage, allegro, pointe work and repertoire if any) along with written documentation concerning previous training experience and background information.

 

The professors will analyze the video and make the decision whether a student may undertake a traineeship and to receive a Certificate at the end of his/her traineeship or to study as a full-time student and receive a Diploma at the end of the period of education.

[primrose]

Jelly beans, i am not quite sure what point you are trying to make. I am giving you factual information, having already gone through this process and also in person witnessing the abilities of the students already on the course, which was very high. I have already told you with factual information that not all applicants are admitted onto the traineeship course. All applicants have to send in a rigerous audition DVD. Some students will be infact offered the three year course straight away, especially if they are good enough and have experience of the Russian language and Russian training. Also I know factually that three students who were selected for the trainee course were asked to leave half way through the year this last year. I know that all the British students and not all had to go onto the traineeship course by the way, were all offered vocational schools in this country and all with funding. Heahter herself was offered five different schools in this courntry three with dadas and two would have been student funding (central and Rambert). So i will reinterate that NO, they do not just take anybody onto the course. Can you imagine a student who is a large person with flat feet being accepted. Come on get real.

[Jellybeans]

I am not trying to make a point. I am trying to show where the information I have comes from and how I made my assumptions, which from what the website says, were quite reasonable. How many times do I have to say that I am happy to be corrected?

[Tulip]

Well it seems you have been corrected by somone who has actual knowledge and experience of the accademy/school. Ofcourse anyone can apply but it depends on whether they even get considered. Thankyou for your very informative answers Primrose and may I go on to wish all the children going out to Russia lots of luck, they have earned their places and I think that they are very brave to leave their country to experience a different culture and method of training.

[primrose]

Just thought I would add the requirements for the DVD all internation applicants who cant attend the actual audition on the day has to submit. he audition is a ballet class comprising bar, centre work, basic adagio, allegro, point work and variation, if any.

• International students unable to attend an audition in person may submit a DVD (no longer than 15-20 minutes) showing their class work (bar, center work, adagio, allegro, point work and repertoire, if any) along with proper documentation confirming their previous training experience and background information.

Please, be sure to include the following exercises into your video:

For students 10-14 years old:

Bar: 1. Demi-plies+Grands plies

2. Battements tendus

3. Battements fondus

Center work: 1. Temps lie par terre

2. Battements tendus

Allegro: 1. Pas echappe + Changement de pied

2. Pas assemble

3. Pas jete

Point work: 1. Releve+Pas echappe

2. Pas-coupe-ballonne

3. Pas couru

 

For students 14-18+ years old:

Bar: 1. Grand plies

2. Battements tendus+jete

3. Rond de jambe par terre+en l’air

4. Grands battements jetes

Center work: 1. Temps lie on 90dg with tire-bouchon

2. Battemets tendus+Pirouettes

3. Grands battements jetes+Grands pirouettes

Allegro: 1. Pas eshappe battu+ pas assemble battu

2. Sissonne ouverte

3. Grand pas assemble + Grand pas jete

Point work: 1. Pas echappe en tournant

2. 2 pirouettes en dehor& en dedans

3. Grand fouette en face

4. Pirouettes en dehors & en dedans (diagonals)

I think from this the faculty would have a good idea of the suitability of the students. Edited to add that oops it didnt t come out very clear at all sorry.

Edited August 25, 2012 by Janet McNulty

[primrose]

Sorry, I dont know why the above information came out so small and strange.

 

 

Primrose - I hope you don't mind but I have managed to increase the font size on your previous post. Janet McNulty (Moderator).

[Jan McNulty]

Can I please remind everyone about the "Acceptable Use Policy", particlularly this paragraph:

 

Contributors must be respectful to others. Vulgar, abusive, racist, and sexist language will not be tolerated. Any posts determined by a moderator to be either offensive or potentially libellous or unlawful or to be against the spirit of this acceptable use policy will be removed. The relevant poster's account may be suspended or banned. If a member chooses to make highly critical comments this must be done in their own full name and not behind an anonymous user name and email address.

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/417-the-balletcoforum-acceptable-use-policy/

 

This forum is read worldwide and, as one whose integrity has previously been queried across the internet, I can attest to the fact that wording which can seem inocuous and uncontroversial to some can prove very hurtful to others.

[aileen]

Janet, there may be a disagreement here but I don't think that anyone has said anything in contravention of the Acceptable Use Policy.

[Lildancer96]

I think that being respectful to others is very hard to enforce- what one person finds upsetting, another may find completely acceptable. However, I think a little more diplomacy wouldn't go a miss! We are all entitled to our opinions of course but I would certainly not share mine if I thought for a minute they would cause anyone else offence. Lil

[veryskint]

I agree with Aileen on this. I do not believe any of the contributors to this discussion contravened the "Acceptable Use Policy". Jellybeans made it clear that it was their opinion (which was expressed politely) and they were happy to be corrected. I believe it is very important that members of the forum can feel comfortable expressing an opinion. I would imagine that most contributors to this forum have a child already at a vocational school or who aspire to gain a place at a vocational school or are involved in dance in some way. Therefore, I think it is valuable to have both sides of a discussion presented so others can learn from more knowledgeable members. I personally have experience as a parent of three vocational schools and I could both praise and criticise all three of them at various stages of my child's education. Also, my opinion is that of a parent and therefore it is objective which means another person could have a contradictory but nonetheless valid opinion on the same topic. It is my opinion there is a need for caution in case you put less frequent contributors off from posting.

[dancerbabe82]

I have been following this thread and what strikes me more than anything re the 'acceptable use policy' is that perhaps everyone needs to remember not to take comments personally unless directly written aimed at you (which in itself contravenes the policy).

 

It seems here that one person has misunderstood something and has perhaps inadvertently made an assumption, and in explaining their assumption (based on what they have read, which may have been misunderstood), some people have taken offence to this, and have thus been a little rude back eg telling someone that they are "naive", "silly", "insulting" or "without manners" for this innocent misunderstanding.

 

As for saying " I feel that people need to be very careful what they write unless they have their facts correct....... Please have manners and think before you write" - Surely the whole point of this forum is to answer people's queries about such schools?! Therefore people ARE going to have beliefs and assumptions based on things they have heard or read which may not be correct. It was my understanding that the poster was happy to be corrected, but also felt the need to defend herself as there was a slight 'attacking tone' to those who indeed did correct her,

[Tulip]

I agree this forum is here to support people and answer queries, but there is also a fine line in what and how we write things, as it can come accross very different to how the writer wanted to sound. For all of us on this forum we do have to be aware of what we write as it can be or come accross as insulting to people even if that was not their intention. I do not have a child at the Bolsoi, so therefor I was not defending my own, but I do know of children or rather young adults who have gone to Russia to train. It is great that we have got a mum on this forum to tell us all about her experiences seeing as she has a daughter who has already gone through the process of applying and going to the Bolshoi. We do have the freedom of speach on this forum but thank goodness we have our moderaters to step in when needed which has happened quite a few times during different heated topics.

[aileen]

Well, I wish all the British students, both the new starters and those already at the BBS, the very best of luck. It takes tremendous guts to do what they are doing. I have the utmost respect for their hard work and determination.

[dancemad]

By coincidence there is an identical topic on BalletTalk this morning which has been bumped up in the news feed following a new comment. The two comments before the latest one read as follows. They are from 2010 but mention the levels Primrose was explaining about. In my ignorance I didn't realise there were so many students!

 

6 posts

Gender:Female

Connection to/Interest in Ballet:Student

Posted 15 August 2010 - 10:29 PM

>A friend of mine who attends there says that the school is split into two parts- a russian school and an international school, the international school being the less talented students who pay for training whereas the russian school's students attend for free. I was just wondering if this is this true?

 

 

419 posts

Interests:watching ballets, sewing costumes, reading, scrapbooks

Connection to/Interest in Ballet:Parent of a dancer

Posted 16 August 2010 - 05:17 PM

>Actually, the school is not separated quite like the way you are describing, but I can see how someone with the information given to them by the school would think that. The way the school is set up is that there are 3 "courses" for the higher grades, which correspond loosely to high school years in the U.S. The lower grades are also divided into "classes" 1-5.' There are a variety of ages in each "class" and "course," but there is usually not much more than a 2 year spread in the "classes," and a 3 year spread in the "courses." 3rd Course is the graduating class. Now, within those "classes" and "courses" (aka levels), there are several sections of each. Usually 3 sections, or sometimes 4 sections. Within those sections, students are placed in such a way that solely Russian students comprise at least one section, solely Foreign students comprise at least one section, and the other section(s) are comprised of a mix of foreign and Russian students. In addition, those sections are divided into "boys" and "girls." Each section has academic and "other than ballet" classes (i.e., character, acting, modern, historical, partnering) with boys and girls combined. Ballet classes and "variations" classes are with the main ballet teacher, and are divided by gender. In addition, the complexity of the schedule is such that it is difficult to move between levels. There are about 700 students in the school, with about 100 being foreign. Many of the Russian students are commuters, and live at home in Moscow, not in the dorms.

 

 

[primrose]

It is true that the Russian students dont pay for their places at the academy and the Internationals do, I agree with this. Why should the Russian government pay for the internationals. The same happens in Britain. Most foreign students have to pay for their places in our schools. It doesnt mean that they are less able than our students, just that they have been lucky enough to have been selected for a place at the school, but have to pay for the privaledge.

 

Getting back to the feel good factor of this post, I would just like to wish all students returning to their dancing schools this year a very happy and exciting year with hopefully lots of wonderful opportunities. I would also like to send good wishes to those who are about to go into their graduation years and wish them lots of luck in gaining good contracts, and to those students who have just taken up their first contracts after graduation a huge pat on the back, xxxx

[dancemad]

Totally agree Primrose about the international students paying and of course it doesn't reflect the international students talent in any way.

Ditto to good luck wishes too

[Sim]

Hello all. I am posting on behalf of the committee to clarify why we felt it necessary to intervene in this thread and remind everyone of the forum's acceptable use policy.

 

Whilst it is not our intention to stifle fair debate (on the contrary, we try to actively encourage it) or people expressing their opinions, we do have to ensure that such debate is carried out without leading to insults (even when they are not meant as such by the writer). In the case above, we were contacted privately and therefore decided to take some remedial action.

Of course we understand that everyone on the forum is passionate about dance (as we are) and therefore things can get a bit heated, which is where we step in just to calm things down. Inevitably, this will lead to some people thinking that we are trying to put a clamp on freedom of expression. However, we are here to try to take a dispassionate approach and ensure that no-one feels aggrieved, or, if they do, take some steps (if we deem it appropriate) to bring things back to where they should be.

 

We look forward to the future of this thriving forum, a forum which is working so well thanks to all of our contributors.

 

Best wishes

 

Simonetta (Sim) Dixon

Chair

BalletcoForum Committe

[primrose]

Well, I am stressing big time this morning as Heathers Visa has still not arrived and she flies out early Friday morning. This dancing mullarky is never plain sailing is it.

[Anna C]

Oh gosh Primrose! :-(

 

Has the bank holiday delayed things, I wonder?

[JulieW]

Eek!

[Jete]

I will keep my fingers crossed for you both and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow.

 

Jete

[patsomerset]

 

Hello all. I am posting on behalf of the committee to clarify why we felt it necessary to intervene in this thread and remind everyone of the forum's acceptable use policy.

 

Whilst it is not our intention to stifle fair debate (on the contrary, we try to actively encourage it) or people expressing their opinions, we do have to ensure that such debate is carried out without leading to insults (even when they are not meant as such by the writer). In the case above, we were contacted privately and therefore decided to take some remedial action.

Of course we understand that everyone on the forum is passionate about dance (as we are) and therefore things can get a bit heated, which is where we step in just to calm things down. Inevitably, this will lead to some people thinking that we are trying to put a clamp on freedom of expression. However, we are here to try to take a dispassionate approach and ensure that no-one feels aggrieved, or, if they do, take some steps (if we deem it appropriate) to bring things back to where they should be.

 

We look forward to the future of this thriving forum, a forum which is working so well thanks to all of our contributors.

 

Best wishes

 

Simonetta (Sim) Dixon

Chair

BalletcoForum Committe

 

Well said Sim. Ballet Co has always been different from other internet sites where personal remarks, insults and attacks seem to be commonplace. Long may it remain so. If we want people to ask questions or for advice, they should expect to be treated with courtesy and patience, not called 'naive' or made to feel stupid

[Tulip]

Some people insist in bringing this topic back away from the original focus which was a huge well done to Tala. I feel that for some people on here I perhaps need to explain why I used the words silly. The word was used as I felt that it was silly to presume that just anyone can get into the Bolshoi ballet school, even though another person is clearly trying to explain the actual procedure of what actually happens at the school. If I did offend Jellybeans and she hasn't actually said then I appologise. Things got heated, especially when it was mentioned that 'Russian students take much longer to audition whereas internationals is by DVD only, this speaks volumes'. Even if this remark was not meant to be insulting, I felt that it was taking away the sense of achievement that these international students had in securing their places at this school and that therefore was insulting to them. That may not have been the intention, but that is how I personaly read it and took it to mean. Like I said earlier things can come across very differntly in written form as apposed to a general conversation where subjects can be verbally discussed and explained and them moved on. As has already been said we do have the freedom of speech on this forum, things do get heated, but hopefully we all move on and we help each other out on the next topic. It feels wrong to even have to bring Jellybeans into this post, as she has kept out of any further discussions regarding this topic. Jellybeans I do appologise bringing your name into this particular post, but I just felt that I had the need to explain a couple of things.

 

Getting back to the original post A huge congratulations to Tala in securing her place at the Bolshoi and good luck to the other four student from our country going out there this year. A safe journey to the other additional four student going back there this Friday. Sorry for the rant folks but I felt that it was needed.

[primrose]

Oh goodness things dont run smoothly, apparently the visa was delivered to the wrong address, now we have to travel to some depot to pick it up. This is the last thing we need with Heather flying out early in the morning and my husband detatched to Afghanistan on Monday for four months. Lets hope things run smoothly from now on.

[Jan McNulty]

Good luck for getting it sorted out Primrose and good luck to your daughter and everyone else starting at the school.

[Anna C]

Oh Primrose, what an absolute nuisance. :-(

 

Really hope everything gets sorted out quickly. I echo the good wishes for your lovely dd's continuing training and everyone starting their training.

[aileen]

Gosh, primrose, two family departures in four days. That's tough for you. I'm thinking of you.

[Fiz]

Good luck, Primrose. I hope you won't be lonely

[Tulip]

A very stressful time for you all then Primrose. My thought go out to you all, but Heathers visa will come, so that will be one less stessful thing that you will have to deal with.

[webfoot]

Sorry that Heather's visa has caused you so much stress. You should be able to enjoy your holiday together.

Good luck to the whole family and hope to see you at the Christmas classes! Oh that is so terrible, talking about Christmas already!

 

Also good luck to all those DD and DS going back to vocational school.