JoJo Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I'm a relative newcomer to this forum and this is my first post! My daughter is currently in her second year of training at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and is getting immense value from the training and Moscow life in general! She writes a blog on her experiences and recently posted some tips for international sudents considering training at the Academy, with the aim of providing helpful information and a feel for what it is actually like. There is very little formal information available (as we found when she initially applied). As a result of the post she has been inundated with questions from far and wide and it has been re-posted on a couple of international blog sites. I thought it might, therefore, be interesting for forum members - not just if you or your son/ daughter is considering the Bolshoi but also because it gives an insight into the Russian style and approach - which is working very effectively for my daughter. Here is a link to the post: http://talaleeturton.wordpress.com/2014/03/08/top-tips-for-international-students-thinking-about-training-at-the-bolshoi-ballet-academy/ I hope you find it interesting and informative. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Hello JoJo and welcome to the forum. :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat09 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 JoJo - what a wonderfully written and informative Blog - you must be very proud of your daughter,it sounds as if she is having an amazing experience and training. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Thank you very much for the welcome and the kind words! Yes my daughter is thriving in Moscow and is benefitting greatly from the training! It's been a great learning experience (for us both) and is paying off in her improvement and confidence! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancemad Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Thanks for sharing this JoJo Very interesting & glad to hear Tala is doing so well. My DD was in the same class as a Tala all those years ago at NBT Junior Associates! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Ah wow - that's such a long time ago and lovely memories! Tala so enjoyed her four years at NBT! Is your daughter still dancing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishrose Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 That was very interesting thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancemad Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Yes JoJo. DD will graduate in July and already has a job offer 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 That's great news - Tala has two more years before she starts the audition trail for jobs! Your daughter has done very well - it's a competitive world - I'm sure she's looking forward to becoming a professional dancer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stirrups36 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Really interesting blog - all the articles are very well written. A question. Why do so many of the Brits leave 'after a couple of months'? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I didn't know Alice Cunningham had left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 (edited) There is quite a high turnover of international students generally - you'd have to ask the individuals themselves for their actual reasons but at 16, there's quite a lot to adapt to. It's a really major step going to live and train in another country at that age - particularly as there are only two holiday periods where you can travel back home - three weeks at Christmas and two months in the Summer. Very few of the teachers, academic staff or admin staff speak English - so you have to learn Russian very, very quickly. Tala had some lessons before she went out there but she had to rely a lot on other English speaking international students to help her out in the first instance - particularly with things like setting up comms back home - so getting a mobile and wifi contract set up. Frunzenskaya, where the Academy is based, is just outside the heart of Moscow but is not touristy - so you will be lucky to find English speakers in any of the shops and supermarkets where you will need to go for a whole range of provisions. Moscow is very different culturally - so it may be that the culture just doesn't suit some people. And then of course there's the training - which is very intense. This has been to Tala's benefit and advantage and she cannot imagine getting this kind of support anywhere else - but it might not suit everyone! Edited April 4, 2014 by JoJo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double trouble Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Enjoyed reading the blog and videos are lovely. My DDs are doing Russian training and eldest also A level Russian she is having lots of help but it's a hard language. You mentioned Natalie Carter she is dancing at London Russian with my DDs she is a lovely dancer and I'm sure going to Bolshoi Academy was a great experience but I expect for some it wasn't and that is why they didn't continue with their training. Best of luck to Tala 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon2 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Should we be mentioning other's dc by name on the forum? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Names have only been mentioned where the information is already publicly out there in the media etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I tend to agree with Jane that I don't think we should be mentioning DCs by name on a public forum. JoJo has given her daughters name and a link to her DDs blog, which reveals the names of other students but she has not discussed other students individually. I appreciate that it is out in the public for students success stories in gaining places for at the Bolshoi but not for why individuals did not continue and I thought a parent had to give permission for their own childs name to appear on here. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 Thank you 2dancersmum - the post is intended to give an insight into Russian training with a particular perspective from the Bolshoi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Natalie Carter has already posted on the forum about where she dances: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/5000-questions-about-upper-school-auditions/page-16?hl=natalie#entry80551 so has not been "outed" on this thread. For clarification, here's what the "Privacy" section of the Acceptable Use Policy has to say on the subject: "Privacy Gossip about dancers or other company members, e.g. ballerina x is pregnant, is not tolerated unless such information has been confirmed officially or in print. Comments of this sort are likely to be removed. Most members post via a pseudonym. It is for them to reveal their full name if they wish. (This topic also arises in the context of highly critical postings above.) Other people must respect this and ‘outing’ of other members is not allowed. No member should give details of another member’s children such as their name or their dance school, unless the parent has already done so publicly here – this applies particularly in the Doing Dance forum. (When details may be found on the website of a competition organiser or school or listed in a printed programme it is acceptable to post the names and schools of student competition participants and winners, and of performers in school shows.) Photos or videos displaying others’ children may not be linked to or displayed unless they are already in the public domain." Alice Cunningham is mentioned here: http://www.thehammondschool.co.uk/news-events/destinations-and-achievements/ - presumably with her/her parents' permission, so nobody has contravened AUP on this thread as far as I can see - but yes, please do exercise caution. Thank you. :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stirrups36 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Thanks JoJo, that's all really interesting. best wishes to Tala for the rest of her training. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 There is also a printed newspaper article from two years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primrose Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 My dd loved dancing at the Bolshoi Academy she loved the training and the culture. Unfortunately she left half way through the second year due to a horrific event and one I dont wish to go into. The training at the academy was outstanding and the changes in my dd over just 18 months was incredible. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primrose Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Just to add that I know 4 Brits graduated from the Academy which is commendable given the intensity of the training and changes of culture. The benefits and experiences of training at such a world recognised school is wonderful. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 I came across this film about the Bolshoi Ballet Academy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDR-y8jC6kM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flora Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Re intensity of training, how many hours of training a day at the school? DD is also overseas but not Russia. She is clocking up 7-8 hours a day in the studio but only 5 days a week. There are no weekend classes or rehearsals. Not sure what hours are like at the UK Upper Schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 On 02/11/2017 at 23:23, Flora said: Re intensity of training, how many hours of training a day at the school? DD is also overseas but not Russia. She is clocking up 7-8 hours a day in the studio but only 5 days a week. There are no weekend classes or rehearsals. Not sure what hours are like at the UK Upper Schools. Training at the Academy is six days a week. It’s very rigorous and intensive but made my daughter the dancer she is today, honing her technique and focus in a way that enables her to dance, as she describes it, ‘from the soul’. She graduated after four years in 2016. She wrote a post post on her blog about a day in the life of, which I think I posted before but here it is again. You’ll see the days are very long, with a combination of vocational, academic and rehearsal. https://talaleeturton.wordpress.com/2014/11/30/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-bolshoi-ballet-academy-student/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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