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Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova
(1879-1951)

vaganova.gif - 20kbMme. Vaganova's superlative teaching method has been the Foundation of ballet instruction in Russia since the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova; dancer, choreographer and master teacher. She was born in June 1879 in St. Petersburg, Russia and died in Leningrad at the age of 72 on February 5, 1951. Known as the "Queen of the Variations" at the Maryisnky Theater, Vaganova became a ballet teacher as a result of her own deep dissatisfaction with the methodology of her day. She merged the pure academic dance from Russia's past with the then contemporary innovations of the ballet academies throughout Europe to create a methodology all her own.

After her graduation in 1897 from the St. Petersburg School of Theatre, Vaganova danced until her retirement from the stage in 1916 and thence devoted her career entirely to teaching. For 30 years, 1921-1951, Vaganova taught at the School of Russian Ballet, known for her chiseled precision and attention to detail; she was named a Professor in 1946. In 1957 the Academy was renamed in Vaganova's honor.

The Vaganova method emphasizes that all movement originates from the center of the body which ensures strong, powerful, reliable support with full artistic coloration of the steps. The principles of her revered technique is the melding of perfect technical virtuosity with truthful expression and elegance, training that leads to artistic freedom. Intense specific attention is given to epaulment (the turning of the shoulders, head and upper body). The Vaganova system aims to teach students to dane with their whole body in order to acquire a harmony of movements and a broadening of artistic expression.

Her Fundamentals of the Classic Dance was published in 1934.

And thus, the pedagogical model for American Vaganova Ballet Conservatory's (AVBC) ballet program has roots in the Petipa-Vaganova method developed in Russia over the past 270 years.

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