Bolshoi Ballet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bolshoi Ballet |
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| General information | |
| Name | Bolshoi Ballet |
| Local name | Большой Театр Балетная труппа Большого театра Baletnaya truppa Bol'shogo teatra |
| 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 a world-famous classical ballet company. It is based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. The company was started in 1776. This makes the Bolshoi one of the oldest ballet companies in the world.
In the early 1900s, it became very well-known around the globe. This happened as Moscow became the capital of Soviet Russia. The Bolshoi is now seen as one of the best ballet companies. It even has a branch in Joinville, Brazil.
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History of the Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet started from a dance school. This school was created for a Moscow orphanage in 1773. In 1776, dancers from this school joined a new theatre company. This company was formed by Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Urusov and Michael Maddox.
They first performed in private places. Later, they got the Petrovsky Theatre. This theatre was rebuilt several times due to fires. It eventually became today's Bolshoi Theatre. Most dancers in the company come from its own academy. Some guest dancers join from other famous companies. These include the Mariinsky Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. In 1989, Michael Shannon became the first American dancer. He graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and joined the company.
The Bolshoi Ballet staged many famous ballets. But it struggled to be as famous as the Imperial Russian Ballet. That company is now called the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg. The Bolshoi began to find its own style in 1900. This was when Alexander Gorsky became the Ballet Master.
He created new and restaged ballets. These included Don Quixote (1900) and Coppélia (1901). Other famous works were Swan Lake (1901) and Giselle (1911). Le Corsaire (1912) and La Bayadère (1917) were also popular.
Yuri Grigorovich became director in 1964. He stayed in this role until 1995. After him, several directors led the company. These included Boris Akimov and Alexei Ratmansky. They brought more modern dance ideas to the Bolshoi.
Bolshoi Ballet Performances
- A Hero of Our Time, Yuri Possokhov
- A Legend of Love, Yuri Grigorovich
- Anna Karenina, John Neumeier
- Anyuta, Vladimir Vasiliev
- Apollo, George Balanchine
- Carmen Suite, Alberto Alonso
- Coppélia, Marius Petipa and Enrico Cecchetti; Revived by Sergei Vikharev
- Don Quixote, Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky; Revived by Alexei Fadeyechev
- Études, Harald Lander
- Forgotten Land, Jiří Kylián
- Frank Bridge Variations, Hans van Manen
- Giselle, Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot; Version of Yuri Grigorovich
- Ivan the Terrible, Yuri Grigorovich
- Jewels, George Balanchine
- La Bayadere, Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich
- La Fille du pharaon, Pierre Lacotte
- La Fille mal gardée, Alexander Gorsky; Version of Yuri Grigorovich
- La Sylphide, August Bournonville; Version of Johan Kobborg
- Lady of the Camellias (La Dame aux camelias), John Neumeier
- Le Corsaire, Marius Petipa; Version of Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka
- Nureyev
- The Nutcracker, Yuri Grigorovich
- Ondine, Vyacheslav Samodurov
- Onegin, John Cranko
- Raymonda'', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich
- Romeo and Juliet, Yuri Grigorovich
- Romeo and Juliet, Alexei Ratmansky
- Russian Seasons, Alexei Ratmansky
- Short Time Together, Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon
- Spartacus, Yuri Grigorovich
- Swan Lake'', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich
- Symphony of Psalms, Jiri Kylian
- The Bright Stream, Alexei Ratmansky
- The Cage'', Jerome Robbins
- The Flames of Paris, Vasily Vainonen, Version of Alexei Ratmansky
- The Golden Age, Yuri Grigorovich
- The Sleeping Beauty, Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich
- Taming of the Shrew, Jean-Christophe Maillot
People of the Bolshoi Ballet
Dancers
- Galina Ulanova
- Marina Semyonova
- Olga Lepeshinskaya
- Mikhail Mordkin
- Vasily Tikhomirov
- Yekaterina Geltzer
- Asaf Messerer
- Maya Plisetskaya
- Pyotr Gusev
- Aleksey Yermolayev
- Nikolai Fadeyechev
- Maris Liepa
- Ekaterina Maximova
- Vladimir Vasiliev
- Natalia Bessmertnova
- Ludmila Semenyaka
- Nadezhda Pavlova
- Joy Womack
- Svetlana Adyrkhaeva
- Marina Kondratyeva
- Nina Timofeeva
- Nina Semizorova
- Irek Mukhamedov
- Alexander Godunov
- Alla Mikhalchenko
- Nina Ananiashvili
- Dmitry Belogolovtsev
- Natalia Osipova
- Svetlana Lunkina
- Dmitry Gudanov
- Anna Antonicheva
- Nikolay Tsiskaridze
Directors
- Alexander Gorsky
- Vasily Tikhomirov
- Vladimir Urin
Conductors
- Andrei Anikhanov
- Yuri Fayer
- Algis Shuraitis
Choreographers
- Rostislav Zakharov
- Leonid Lavrovsky
- Fyodor Lopukhov
- Yury Grigorovich
Composers
- Dimitri Shostakovich
- Aram Khachaturian
How the Bolshoi Ballet is Organized
Today, the Bolshoi Ballet is one of the world's top ballet companies. It is also one of the largest. It has about 220 dancers. The word "bolshoi" means "big" or "grand" in Russian.
The company uses a system like other big European ballet companies. Dancers are ranked in order of importance. The highest rank is principal dancer. Then come lead soloists, first soloists, and soloists. The lowest rank is corps de ballet. Because it is so large, the company has two groups of corps de ballet dancers.
In 2000, the Bolshoi Ballet opened its first academy outside Russia. This school is in Joinville, Brazil.
Bolshoi Ballet Style
The Bolshoi Ballet's style is known for being colorful and bold. It combines strong dance technique and athleticism. It also shows a lot of emotion and drama. This style is often linked to Alexander Gorsky.
Historically, there has been a big rivalry. This was between the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg. Both companies developed very different ways of performing. The Bolshoi has a more lively and powerful approach. The Mariinsky is known for a purer and more refined classical style.
Bolshoi Ballet Dancers
Principal Dancers
Female
- Maria Allash (working under contract)
- Nina Kaptsova (working under contract)
- Elizaveta Kokoreva
- Alena Kovaleva
- Ekaterina Krysanova
- Anna Nikulina
- Evgenia Obraztsova
- Eleonora Sevenard
- Yekaterina Shipulina (working under contract)
- Anastasia Stashkevich
- Yulia Stepanova
- Svetlana Zakharova
Male
- Artemy Belyakov
- Semyon Chudin
- Egor Gerashchenko
- Vladislav Lantratov
- Mikhail Lobukhin
- Vyacheslav Lopatin
- Artem Ovcharenko
- Denis Rodkin
- Denis Savin
- Dmitry Smilevsky
- Igor Tsvirko
- Ruslan Skvortsov (working under contract)
- Alexander Volchkov (working under contract)
Leading Soloists
Female
- Anastasia Goryacheva
- Kristina Kretova
- Olga Marchenkova
- Eva Sergeyenkova
- Margarita Shrayner
- Maria Vinogradova
Male
First Soloists
Female
- Arina Denisova
- Daria Khokhlova
- Anastasia Meskova
- Anna Tikhomirova
Male
- Klim Efimov
- Alexander Vodopetov
- Dmitry Vyskubenko
- Denis Zakharov
Soloists
Female
- Anastasia Chapkina
- Anastasia Denisova
- Yulia Grebenshchikova
- Kristina Karasyova
- Olga Kishnyova
- Nelli Kobakhidze
- Elizaveta Kruteleva
- Yulia Skvortsova
- Ana Turazashvili
- Anastasia Vinokur
- Angelina Vlashnets
- Viktoria Yakusheva
- Ksenia Zhiganshina
Male
- Karim Abdullin
- Klim Efimov
- Alexander Fadeyechev
- Georgy Gusev
- Egor Khromushin
- Anton Savichev
- Alexander Smoliyaninov
Corps de Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet has two groups of corps de ballet dancers. There are about 169 dancers in total in these groups.
See also
In Spanish: Ballet Bolshoi para niños
- List of productions of Swan Lake derived from its 1895 revival
- Moscow State Academy of Choreography, affiliate school
- Mariinsky Ballet
