Moscow State Academy of Choreography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (Russian: Московская государственная академия хореографии - abbreviated as МГАХ, and formally known in Russian as Московское академическое хореографическое училище - abbreviated as МАХУ) is better known in the west by several unofficial names, including The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, The Bolshoi Academy, The Bolshoi Ballet School, The Moscow Choreographic Institute, The Moscow Ballet School, The Bolshoi Moscow Ballet School and The Bolshoi Theatre Ballet School.

It is one of the oldest and most prestigious ballet schools in Russia, and in the world. It is the oldest theatrical school in Moscow, founded as an orphanage by order of Catherine II in 1763. It wasn't until 1773 that the first dance classes were taught at the home. It is now the school from which the Bolshoi Theatre gets the majority of its dancers, as well as most other Moscow ballet companies. The director of the academy is currently, Marina Leonova. At the school, children from ages nine to eighteen attend academic classes in addition to their rigorous dance training, using the Vaganova method. Many of them live at the in-house school dormitories.

The long list of famous graduates of the school includes: Yekaterina Geltzer, Vasily Tikhomirov, Mikhail Mordkin, Asaf Messerer, Igor Moiseyev,Olga Lepeshinskaya, Sofia Golovkina, Maya Plisetskaya, Maris Liepa, Ekaterina Maximova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Natalia Bessmertnova, Mikhail Lavrovsky, Yuri Vladimirov, Boris Akimov, Vyacheslav Gordeyev, Irek Mukhamedov, Anris Liepa, Nina Ananiashvili, Vladimir Malakhov, Anastasia Nabokina, Nikolai Tsiskaridze.