Bolshoi Ballet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bolshoi Ballet
General information
Name	Bolshoi Ballet
Local name	Большой Театр Балетная труппа Большого театра Baletnaya truppa Bol'shogo teatra
Year founded	1776; 248 years ago (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. In the early 20th century, it came to international prominence as Moscow became the capital of Soviet Russia. The Bolshoi has been recognised as one of the foremost ballet companies in the world. It has a branch at the Bolshoi Ballet Theater School in Joinville, Brazil.

History

Soloists of the Bolshoi Ballet at the Schiphol airport, 9 June 1960

The earliest iteration of the Bolshoi Ballet can be found in the creation of a dance school for a Moscow orphanage in 1773. In 1776, dancers from the school were employed by Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Urusov and English theatrical entrepreneur Michael Maddox to form part of their new theatre company. 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. While some guest dancers come and go from other prestigious ballet companies, such as Mariinsky and American Ballet Theatre, most company dancers are graduates of the academy. In 1989, Michael Shannon was the first American ballet dancer to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and join the Bolshoi Ballet company.

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).

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 more modern dance performance ideas to the company.

Repertoire

Notable staff

Dancers

Company structure

Today the Bolshoi Ballet remains one of the world's foremost ballet companies, in addition to being one of the largest, with approximately 220 dancers. The word "bolshoi" means "big" or "grand" in Russian. The company operates on 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.

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 Alexander Gorsky. Historically there has been a fierce rivalry with the 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 more pure and refined classicism.

Dancers

Principal dancers

Source:

Female

Male

Leading soloists

Female

Male

Anna Tikhomirova performing in Delhi

First soloists

Female

Male

Soloists

Female

Male

Corps de ballet

The Bolshoi Ballet operates two troupes of corps de ballet, with approximately 169 dancers in total.

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