Vaganova Ballet Academy: Russia's world-class school.

"What is unique about our school," says Leonid L. Nadirov, "is that we are conservative. By that I mean that we are uncompromising in our standards and traditions in the sense that we have had, since 1738, twelve girls and twelve boys in each class, and that we begin their study at the age of ten. That is the time body and mind are ready for work. And that has not changed, because human development cannot be rushed or changed."

As executive director of the world-class Vaganova Ballet Academy m St. Petersburg, the school that instructed Pavlova, Nijinsky, Karsavina, Nureyev, Fokine, and Balanchine, Nadirov adds, "We have a formula that works." Historically his statement needs no explanation. "An important factor in the formula is that the pedagogy, the Vaganova method [codified by Agrippina Vaganova in 1934] is handed down person to person, not in some unreal electronic or published state, but through a four-year course in teaching that includes actual classwork. Ninety-five percent of the teachers here have danced in the Kirov Ballet [the school's affiliate] and ninety-five percent of the dancers in Europe today have studied in our school. These conditions cannot be replicated."

Moreover, teachers make some individual contribution in assisting their class to reach the standards established for the school and have enough freedom to enjoy great pride in their class without diminishing the standard or the bulk of technical knowledge that must be met on every level. The academy at 2 Rossi Street, formerly Theatre Street, is a

block-long, three-story, mid-nine-teenth-century structure designed by Italian architect Carlo Rossi. It has thirty-three raked studios used by forty teachers specializing in technique and pas de deux; others teach character and historical dance, music, acting, fencing, gymnastics for boys, and other dance-related subjects. Still others instruct in academics. The structure has a small theater, museum, library, dispensary, endless halls, and cubbyhole rooms for conferences.

In the recent past, as many as 3,000 children from the former Soviet republics auditioned each year for the tuitionless privilege of enrollment. Today, no longer compelled to accept students from all the former states, only forty-five are admitted, leaving room for more foreign students who can meet VBA's rigid standards to become boarders.

The three-part audition for ten-year-olds consists of evaluating the child's general capacity to follow instructions; a physical exam that takes measurements to estimate proportional development, and a medical exam for eyes, ears, and general health. The third exam, before a large selection committee, tests musicality, coordination, and responsiveness to simple given movements. Ideally, the girls should be light-boned, with soft, resilient muscle texture, and ligaments of supple elasticity.

Nadirov continues, "While we acknowledge the level of the eighteen schools throughout the country that teach the Vaganova method, our main concern is the misuse and misrepresentation of the name Vaganova and Kirov by persons not accredited or entitled to these terms as teachers or dancers, and who promote themselves using these names without authorization. It's a form of pirating on the fame of the method and the company by making false claims."

Foreign students in the school have had some previous training with VBA teachers. Auditions for foreign students are held in a school or city where VBA may be performing on tour. No photos or videos are accepted. If auditioning in St. Petersburg, or to check the accreditation of a teacher, fax VBA with details of arrival and other pertinent information.

"Although the school is badly in need of repair, and government aid has diminished," Nadirov adds, "we have survived invasions, natural disasters, wars, and all manner of obstacles. Our people love the arts, and especially the ballet. I have no doubt that the standards will be maintained throughout the next century."

Rachel Rutland, 18, with Heidi Knirinen, 18 (Tampa, Florida), Joanna McDermid, 20, (British Columbia), and Vicki Rockhill in the teacher's course are North Americans in VBA. The students trained with VBA teachers outside Russia, auditioned, and were accepted as boarding students. They live in six-room dormitories, as do other foreign students (there are fifteen Japanese students in a separate class). Rutland chose VBA in St. Petersburg to complete her study because "with this training," she says, "I can go into any company, reach my potential, and be the best I can be." Despite missing movies and restaurants, Rutland claims that "Whatever it takes, it's worth it. It's time I can't lose or ever regain."

Knirinen, like Rutland, has family support. She finds VBA's biggest advantage the edge it will give her in employment in European companies that are more secure and have pensions. It was her friends who didn't understand her wanting to go to Russia. "When I visited them at home," she explains, "my friends greeted me as if I had been a hostage. Then the envy and admiration set in. We feel protected in the school despite political changes in the country." (During the invasions by Napolean and Hitler, the school was moved elsewhere.)

McDermid, on the other hand, enjoys the strength she has gained and appreciates the image of great dancers and the tradition held before her everywhere in the school. "The Vaganova method," she says, "makes it possible for us to do everything in dance. There is nothing we will encounter that is not possible for us to attempt."

Well, the jazz and modern dance classes could use updating.

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The turquoise-and-gold curtain of the Maryinsky Theatre (shown above), now the Kirov Theatre, home of the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg which is the goal of the students of the Vaganova Ballet Academy. Only three of five students will reach their goal. The rest find jobs in other companies in the country or in Europe. Artistic director of the Kirov Ballet, Oleg Vinogradov, directs the 210 dancers in the major company, two other Kirov companies, and four smaller companies. All perform on a regular basis. He is also artistic director of the American wing of VBA, the Kirov Ballet Academy in Washington, D.C.

"Our ballet is traditional," Vinogradov explains, "because our audiences would never forgive us if we strayed too far from the classics. They are loved, and high traditional standards are expected in performance. But neoclassic works are accepted, and there will be more of them.

"I think ballet exists for women - beautiful dancers - or those with a sense of beauty. Physical proportions are important because stage work is larger than life, and the proportions that look well on stage are long limbs, small head, and a harmonious balance.

"I cast on the basis of looks, although that may sound superficial, because I know my dancers have been properly trained at the school, are professional in attitude, and individual as artists. So I look for intelligence, because a character portrayed on stage must be absolutely believable: for imagination that will bring uniqueness to a role; and ultimately, for what the dancer presents on stage, a presence, something that makes me notice her."

Defections? "Every company has always had dancers who leave for various reasons. But our dancers have a good salary, the opportunity to tour the world; they live in the best apartments, have cars, and are the 'stars' of Russia. After twenty years of performing, there is a pension or retraining to become teachers. How many other companies can offer this?

"Changes are inevitable, however, and it will take time for us to learn how to fund-raise, manage ourselves, and be self-sufficient. Our people have not had to be disciplined to these things. But it will come."