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Bolshoi Ballet

{{Short description|Ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

{{Infobox ballet company

| name = Bolshoi Ballet

| logo = Bolshoi Ballet logo.svg

| local_name = Большой Театр
Балетная труппа Большого театра
Baletnaya truppa Bol'shogo teatra

| previous_names =

| predecessor =

| founded = {{start date and age|1776}}

| founders =

| founding_director =

| founding_choreographers =

| founding_person_type =

| founding_person_name =

| venue = Bolshoi Theatre

| website = http://www.bolshoi.ru

| chief_executive =

| director = Vladimir Urin

| coordinator =

| company_manager =

| ballet_staff_type = Ballet Director

| ballet_staff_name = Makhar Vaziev

| artistic_director =

| deputy_director = Galina Stepanenko

| ballet_mistress =

| music_director = Tugan Sokhiev

| principal_conductor =

| choreographers =

| artistic_staff_type = Ballet Master

| artistic_staff_name = Yuri Grigorovich

| parent_company = Bolshoi Theatre

| sister_company =

| orchestra = Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre

| official_school = Moscow State Academy of Choreography

| associated_schools =

| 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.{{cite web

|author = Galayda, A.

|url = https://www.rbth.com/arts/331673-bolshoi-theater-school-brazil

|title = Why the only Bolshoi Theater school outside Russia is in Brazil

|language = en

|publisher = Russia Beyond the Headlines

|date = 11 February 2020

|access-date = 19 February 2020

}}

History

File:Aankomst solisten van het Bolshoiballet op Schiphol, de danseressen op het platf, Bestanddeelnr 911-3243.jpg 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0808195.html|title=Bolshoi Ballet |website=InfoPlease|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118154231/http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0808195.html|archive-date=18 January 2012}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.imgartists.com/?id=833&page=artist|title=The Bolshoi Ballet |website=IMG Artists|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008030651/http://imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=833|archive-date=8 October 2011}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-18-ca-1313-story.html |title=American Michael Shannon Joins the Bolshoi Ballet |first1=Michael |last1=Parks |website=Los Angeles Times |date=18 November 1989 |access-date=21 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20150423150738/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-11-18/entertainment/ca-1313_1_bolshoi-ballet |archive-date=23 April 2015 }}

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).{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.theballetbag.com/2010/08/12/the-bolshoi-ballet/ |website=The Ballet Bag |title=The Bolshoi Ballet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816163134/http://www.theballetbag.com/2010/08/12/the-bolshoi-ballet/ |archive-date=16 August 2010 |date=12 August 2010 |author1=Linda }}

The Soviet leadership's preference for uncomplicated moral themes in the arts was demonstrated in Yuri Grigorovich's appointment as director in [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/23/bolshoi-ballet-black-swan 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.

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Repertoire

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Notable staff

=Dancers=

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

=Directors=

=Conductors=

  • {{ill|Andrei Anikhanov|ru|Аниханов, Андрей Анатольевич}}
  • Yuri Fayer
  • Algis Shuraitis

=Choreographers=

=Composers=

{{div col end}}

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.{{cite news| url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/classical-bolshoi-finds-a-home-in-the-land-of-samba-30371155.html | work=Irish Independent | title=Classical: Bolshoi finds a home in the land of Samba}}{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/03/arts/discipline-bolshoi-land-samba-satellite-school-brazil-train-tomorrow-s-ballet.html | work=The New York Times | first=Larry | last=Rohter | title=The Discipline of the Bolshoi In the Land of the Samba; A Satellite School in Brazil to Train Tomorrow's Ballet Stars | date=3 July 2001 | url-status=live | archive-date=14 March 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314033754/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/03/arts/discipline-bolshoi-land-samba-satellite-school-brazil-train-tomorrow-s-ballet.html }}{{cite web |url=http://centroysur.com/2012/02/13/the-bolshoi-ballet-the-discipline-of-russia-in-brazil/|title=The Bolshoi Ballet: The Discipline of Russia in Brazil|website=Centro Y Sur|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140718020328/http://centroysur.com/2012/02/13/the-bolshoi-ballet-the-discipline-of-russia-in-brazil/|archive-date=18 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.escolabolshoi.com.br/bolshoi/Portugues/detIdioma.php?cod=1|title=The Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil – a reference in art and education|website=Escola Bolshoi|access-date=22 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106182059/http://www.escolabolshoi.com.br/bolshoi/Portugues/detIdioma.php?cod=1 |archive-date=6 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}

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:{{cite web |title=Bolshoi Ballet, Artists & Staff |url=https://bolshoi.ru/en/people/ballet/soloists |access-date=19 April 2025}}

Female

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{{div col end}}

Male

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

{{div col end}}

=Leading soloists=

Female

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

  • Arina Denisova
  • Kristina Kretova
  • Olga Marchenkova
  • Eva Sergeyenkova
  • Margarita Shrayner
  • Maria Vinogradova

{{div col end}}

Male

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

{{div col end}}

  • Dmitry Vyskubenko

File:Anna Tikhomirova.jpg

=First soloists=

Female

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

  • Daria Khokhlova
  • Anastasia Meskova
  • Anna Tikhomirova

{{div col end}}

Male

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

  • Mark Chino
  • Klim Efimov
  • Daniil Potaptsev
  • Alexei Putintsev
  • Alexander Vodopetov
  • Denis Zakharov

{{div col end}}

=Soloists=

Female

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

  • Anastasia Chapkina
  • Anastasia Denisova
  • Yulia Grebenshchikova
  • Olga Kishnyova
  • {{ill|Nelli Kobakhidze|ru|Кобахидзе, Нелли}}
  • Maria Koshkaryova
  • Elizaveta Kruteleva
  • Sofia Maymula
  • Uliyana Moksheva
  • Anastasia Smirnova
  • Alexandra Trikoz
  • {{ill|Ana Turazashvili|ru|Туразашвили, Ана}}
  • Ekaterina Varlamova
  • Anastasia Vinokur
  • Angelina Vlashnets
  • Viktoria Yakusheva
  • Ksenia Zhiganshina

{{div col end}}

Male

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

  • Georgy Gusev
  • Egor Khromushin
  • Anton Savichev
  • Alexander Smoliyaninov

{{div col end}}

=Corps de ballet=

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

Controversies

In 2013, ballerina Anastasia Volochkova claimed that female dancers were forced to sleep with wealthy patrons, saying: "It mainly happened with the corps du [sic] ballet but also with the soloists. [...] I repeatedly received such propositions to share the beds of oligarchs."{{cite news|title=Bolshoi ballet was 'giant brothel' claims former dancer|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21856516|work=bbc.co.uk/news|publisher=BBC|access-date=21 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320222734/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21856516|archive-date=20 March 2013}} American dancer Joy Womack echoed this concern when she left the company after being told that, to secure solo roles, she must either pay $10,000 or "start a relationship with a sponsor."{{cite news

|last = Files

|first = Emily

|title = American ballerina lobs a $10,000 accusation at the Bolshoi Company

|newspaper = PRI

|location = Boston, United States

|date = 14 November 2013

|url = http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-14/american-ballerina-lobs-10000-accusation-bolshoi-company

|access-date = 14 November 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131117230659/http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-14/american-ballerina-lobs-10000-accusation-bolshoi-company

|archive-date = 17 November 2013

}}

In January 2013, a sulfuric acid attack on art director Sergei Filin once again steeped the company in scandal. Bolshoi dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko was convicted of organizing the attack and was sentenced to six years in prison. Reasons for the attack include corruption within the company.{{cite news|last=BBC News Europe|title=Bolshoi acid attack: Soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko jailed|work=BBC News|date=3 December 2013|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25197504|access-date=2 March 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325150550/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25197504|archive-date=25 March 2014}}

In 2014, 25-year-old ballet dancer Olga Demina mysteriously went missing. In September 2020, Russian investigators announced that they believe Demina may have been killed in a blackmail plot by Malkhaz Dzhavoev, whom she was dating and was allegedly her "manager".{{Cite web|last=Steinbuch|first=Yaron|date=17 September 2020|title=Missing Russian ballerina may have been dismembered, dissolved in acid|url=https://nypost.com/2020/09/17/missing-ballerina-may-have-been-dismembered-dissolved-in-acid/|access-date=17 September 2020|website=New York Post|language=en-US}}

In July 2017, the Bolshoi Theatre cancelled the premiere of a ballet about openly gay Soviet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. The Director General claimed that it was due to poor dancing quality; however, principal dancer Maria Alexandrova claimed it was the first sign of a 'new era' of censorship.{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BWR9VV3h0GY/ |title=Maria Alexandrova Instagram Post |work=Instagram |date=8 July 2017 |access-date=11 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504181751/https://www.instagram.com/p/BWR9VV3h0GY/ |archive-date=4 May 2018 }} It was the first time a show has been pulled in such a way since the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking rumours about the motivation behind the move.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-40570212/bolshoi-theatre-postpones-rudolf-nureyev-ballet |title=Bolshoi Theatre postpones Rudolf Nureyev ballet |work=BBC News |date=11 July 2017 |access-date=11 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711140528/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-40570212/bolshoi-theatre-postpones-rudolf-nureyev-ballet |archive-date=11 July 2017 }}

See also

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite news

|last = Mackrell

|first = Judith

|title = Sergei Filin may be as much a victim of Bolshoi ballet politics as acid attack

|newspaper = The Guardian

|location = London, UK

|date = 18 January 2013

|url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/jan/18/sergei-filin-bolshoi-politics-acid-attack

|access-date = 18 January 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160104101321/http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/jan/18/sergei-filin-bolshoi-politics-acid-attack

|archive-date = 4 January 2016

}}

}}

External links

  • {{Official website|http://www.bolshoi.ru}} {{in lang|ru}}
  • {{Official website|http://www.bolshoi.ru/en}} {{in lang|en}}

{{Ballet companies}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Ballet companies in Russia

Category:National Dance Award winners

Category:History of ballet