The Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, D.C. is a ballet school that serves students in grades 7 through 12 and offers a high school diploma in addition to its dance instruction. It was founded to train dancers in a pedagogy based on that of the Vaganova Ballet Academy and the performance aesthetic of The Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky).
It was founded in 1990 under its original name, The Universal Ballet Academy, due to its affiliation with The Universal Ballet in Seoul, South Korea. The name was changed to Kirov when Oleg Vinogradov (former director of the Mariinsky Theatre became the artistic director. The name was changed back to The Universal Ballet Academy, and in September 2006 the name again became The Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, DC.
The Academy trains students in the Vaganova method. The Academy has its own in-house academic and residence program. Students at the Academy can live, eat and attend school, all in the same facility, while focusing primarily on their dance training.
The current faculty includes Martin Fredmann (Artistic Director), Elena Tenchikova, Yeu-Jung Lee, Marianna Lobanova, Nikolai Kabaniaev and Victoria Yanchuck.
Previous instructors include Marat Daukayev, Ludmilla Morkovina, Jacqueline Akhmedova, Lyubov Fominich, Rudolph Kharatian, Nikolai L. Morozov, Adrienne Dellas Thornton, Andrei Garbouz, Alla Sizova, Sasha Yapparov, Anatoli Kucheruk, Angelina Armeiskaya, and Vladimir Djouloukhadze.
Graduates of The Kirov Academy of Ballet include Patricia Zhou, Sascha Radetsky, Rasta Thomas, Michelle Wiles, Danny Tidwell, Tyler Nelson, Oscar Hawkins, Maria Bystrova, Adrienne Canterna and Ashley Canterna.
In September 2010 The Kirov Academy of Ballet announced its hiring of Martin Fredmann as Deputy Artistic Director and Nikolai Kabaniaev as senior boys’ teacher. Both studied under Konstantine Chatilov at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia.