The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...

company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. 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 Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

History

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 ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Étie ...

'' (1901), ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'' (1901), '' La fille mal gardée'' (1903), ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon ...

'' (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 i
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

* ''A Hero of Our Time'', Yuri Possokhov * ''A Legend of Love'', Yuri Grigorovich * ''Anna Karenina'', John Neumeier * ''Anyuta'', Vladimir Vasiliev * ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

'', George Balanchine * '' Carmen Suite'',

Alberto Alonso Alberto Julio Rayneri Alonso (22 May 1917 – 31 December 2007) was a Cuban dancer and choreographer, the brother of Fernando Alonso and brother-in-law of Alicia Alonso (née Martinez). He was influential in the development of the Cuban style ...

* ''

'',

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (russian: Мариус Иванович Петипа), born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (11 March 1818), was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters an ...

and Enrico Cecchetti; Revived by

Sergei Vikharev Sergei Vikharev (Russian: Сергей Геннадьевич Вихарев) (15 February 1962 – 2 June 2017) was a Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and historian. Biography Sergei Vikharev was born in Saint Petersburg and trained at the ...

* '' Don Quixote'', Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky; Revived by Alexei Fadeyechev * ''

Études Études is French for "studies". It is used as a name for several music or dance works, including: * ''Études'' (Chopin), three sets of studies for the piano by Frédéric Chopin, composed between 1829 and 1839 * ''Études'' (Debussy), a set of 1 ...

'', Harald Lander * ''Forgotten Land'' * ''Frank Bridge Variations'', Hans van Manen * ''

'', Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''Ivan the Terrible'', Yuri Grigorovich * ''

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

'', George Balanchine * '' La Bayadere'', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * '' La Fille du pharaon'', Pierre Lacotte * '' La Fille mal gardée'', Alexander Gorsky; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' ( en, The Sylph; da, Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. ...

'',

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the ne ...

; Version of

Johan Kobborg Johan Kobborg (born 5 June 1972) is a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, director and visual artist. He is most noted as a ballet dancer, having been a principal dancer with both the Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London, as well a ...

* '' Lady of the Camellias (La Dame aux camelias)'', John Neumeier * '' Le Corsaire'', Marius Petipa; Version of Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka * ''Nureyev'' * ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaik ...

'', Yuri Grigorovich * ''Ondine'', Vyacheslav Samodurov * '' Onegin,

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Transv ...

* '' Raymonda', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', Yuri Grigorovich * ''Romeo and Juliet'', Alexei Ratmansky * '' Russian Seasons'', Alexei Ratmansky * ''Short Time Together'', Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon * ''

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

, Yuri Grigorovich * ''

', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''Symphony of Psalms'',

Jiri Kylian Jiri ( ne, जिरी) is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people.. Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the m ...

* ''

The Bright Stream ''The Limpid Stream'' (russian: Светлый ручей, also translated as ''The Bright Stream'') is a ballet in 3 acts, 4 scenes, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich on the libretto by Adrian Piotrovsky and Fyodor Lopukhov, with choreography by Fy ...

, Alexei Ratmansky * '' The Cage',

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

* '' The Flames of Paris'', Vasily Vainonen, Version of Alexei Ratmansky * '' The Golden Age'', Yuri Grigorovich * '' The Sleeping Beauty'', Marius Petipa; Version of Yuri Grigorovich * ''Taming of the Shrew'',

Jean-Christophe Maillot Jean-Christophe Maillot (born 1960) is a French dancer and choreographer born in Tours. Early life and education He studied at the dance conservatory in Tours before enrolling at the École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, wh ...

Notable staff

Dancers

Galina Ulanova Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (russian: Галина Сергеевна Уланова, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Biography Ulanova was born ...

Marina Semyonova Marina Timofeyevna Semyonova (russian: Марина Тимофеевна Семёнова, – 9 June 2010) was the first Soviet-trained prima ballerina. She was born in Saint-Petersburg. She was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1975. E ...

* Olga Lepeshinskaya *

Mikhail Mordkin __NOTOC__ Mikhail Mordkin (russian: Михаил Михайлович Мордкин; December 9, 1880, Moscow, Russian Empire - July 15, 1944, New York) graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet School in 1899, and in the same year was appointed ballet ...

Vasily Tikhomirov Vasiliy Dmitriyevich Tikhomirov (1876–1956) was a dancer (from 1895) and a choreographer (from 1913) with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, Russia. His most distinguished production was ''The Red Poppy'' (1927), with his wife Yekaterina Geltzer in ...

Yekaterina Geltzer Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (November 2, 1876 – December 12, 1962) was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet who danced in the theatre from 1898 to 1935. She was the daughter of the famous Russian dancer Vasily Geltzer. She worked with Marius ...

Asaf Messerer Asaf Mikhailovich Messerer (Russian: Асаф Михайлович Мессерер, November 19, 1903 - March 7, 1992) was a highly influential Soviet ballet dancer and ballet teacher. He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. From 1919 until 1921 he tra ...

* Maya Plisetskaya *

Pyotr Gusev Pyotr Andreyevich Gusev (russian: Пётр Андреевич Гусев) was a ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. He was born on 29 December, 1904 in St. Petersburg. He studied at the St. Petersburg School of Choreography under . He was a ...

Aleksey Yermolayev Aleksey Nikolayevich Yermolayev (Russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Ермола́ев; 12 December 1975) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. He played an important role in the development of Russian ba ...

Nikolai Fadeyechev Nikolai Borisovich Fadeyechev (russian: Николай Борисович Фадеечев, 27 January 1933 – 23 June 2020) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer and teacher. He was awarded People's Artist of the USSR in 1976. Biography Fa ...

* Maris Liepa *

Ekaterina Maximova Ekaterina Sergeevna Maximova (russian: Екатерина Сергеевна Максимова; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. Sh ...

* Vladimir Vasiliev *

Natalia Bessmertnova Natalia Igorevna Bessmertnova (Russian: Наталья Игоревна Бессмертнова; – ) was a Soviet prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet and a People's Artist of the USSR (1976). Life Natalia Bessmertnova was born in Moscow in ...

* Ludmila Semenyaka *

Nadezhda Pavlova Nadezhda Vasilyevna Pavlova (russian: Надежда Васильевна Павлова; born 15 May 1956) is a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer. People's Artist of the USSR (1984). Life and artistic output Nadia Pavlova liked to dance from an ...

* Joy Womack * Svetlana Adyrkhaeva * * Nina Timofeeva * *

Irek Mukhamedov Irek Dzhavdatovich Mukhamedov OBE (russian: Ирек Джавдатович Мухамедов: tt-Cyrl, Ирек Җәүдәт улы Мөхәммәтев; born 8 March 1960), is a Soviet-born British ballet dancer of Tatar origin who has danced ...

* Alexander Godunov * *

Nina Ananiashvili Nina Ananiashvili (born: ''Nino Ananiashvili'', ka, ნინო ანანიაშვილი; born March 19, 1963) is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the ''Daily Teleg ...

* Dmitry Belogolovtsev *

Natalia Osipova Natalia Petrovna Osipova (russian: Наталья Петровна Осипова; born 18 May 1986) is a Russian ballerina, currently a principal ballerina with The Royal Ballet in London. Early life and training Born in Moscow, Osipova began ...

Svetlana Lunkina Svetlana Aleksandrovna Lunkina (russian: Светла́на Алекса́ндровна Лу́нькина; born 29 July 1979) is a Russian-Canadian ballerina who is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. Biography Lunkina was ...

* Dmitry Gudanov *

Anna Antonicheva Anna Antonicheva (russian: Анна Анатольевна Антоничева) is a ballerina and People's Artist of Russia, who was a principal dancer of Bolshoi Ballet. Biography Antonicheva was born in 1973 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and was a grad ...

Directors

* Alexander Gorsky *

* Vladimir Urin

Conductors

* *

Yuri Fayer Yuri Fyodorovich Fayer (also seen as Faier) (3 August 1971), was a Soviet conductor specializing in ballet. He was the chief ballet conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre from 1923 to 1963. Fayer's range extended from the classical repertoire (he conduc ...

*Algis Shuraitis

Choreographers

* Rostislav Zakharov *

Leonid Lavrovsky Leonid Mikhailovich Lavrovsky (1905–1967) was a Russian ballet choreographer, most famous for choreographing the first full version of Sergei Prokofiev's ''Romeo and Juliet''. Early life Lavrovsky was born in 1905 in St. Petersburg, the son ...

* Fyodor Lopukhov * Yury Grigorovich

Composers

* Dimitri Shostakovich *

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenia ...

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,

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 *

Maria Alexandrova Maria Aleksandrovna Alexandrova (russian: Мари́я Алекса́ндровна Алекса́ндрова; born 20 July 1978) is a Russian principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, People’s Artist of Russia. Biography Alexandrova was bor ...

(working under contract) * Maria Allash (working under contract) * Nina Kaptsova (working under contract) *Alena Kovaleva * Ekaterina Krysanova * Anna Nikulina * Evgenia Obraztsova * Yekaterina Shipulina (working under contract) * Anastasia Stashkevich *Yulia Stepanova * Svetlana Zakharova Male * *Semyon Chudin *Egor Gerashchenko * Vladislav Lantratov * Mikhail Lobukhin * Vyacheslav Lopatin *

Artem Ovcharenko Artem Vyacheslavovich Ovcharenko (russian: Артём Вячеславович Овчаренко; born 31 December 1986) is a Russian classical ballet dancer. He is a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet and a guest artist with the Hambur ...

* * *

Ruslan Skvortsov Ruslan Vasilyevich Skvortsov (russian: Руслан Васильевич Скворцов; born 31 January 1980) is a Russian principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet. Biography Ruslan Skvortsov was born in Yelets, Lipetsk Oblast, where he receive ...

(working under contract) *Alexander Volchkov (working under contract)

Leading soloists

Female *Anastasia Goryacheva * Kristina Kretova *Olga Marchenkova *Eleonora Sevenard *Maria Vinogradova Male

First soloists

Female *Daria Khokhlova *Elizaveta Kokoreva *Anastasia Meskova *Eva Sergeyenkova *Margarita Shrayner *Anna Tikhomirova Male *Vitaly Biktimirov *Alexander Vodopetov *Denis Zakharov

Soloists

Female *Anastasia Chapkina *Anastasia Denisova *Yulia Grebenshchikova *Kristina Karasyova *Olga Kishnyova * *Elizaveta Kruteleva *Yulia Skvortsova * *Anastasia Vinokur *Angelina Vlashnets *Viktoria Yakusheva *Ksenia Zhiganshina Male *Karim Abdullin *Klim Efimov *Alexander Fadeyechev *Georgy Gusev *Egor Khromushin *Anton Savichev *Alexander Smoliyaninov

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 Anastasia Yuryevna Volochkova (russian: Анастасия Юрьевна Волочкова; born 20 January 1976)NEWSru, newsru.com, 20 January 2006. is a former Russian prima ballerina.Anastasia Volochkova Official Homepage, volochkova.ru, 8 ...

claimed that female dancers were forced to sleep with wealthy patrons, saying: "It mainly happened with the corps du icballet but also with the soloists. ..I repeatedly received such propositions to share the beds of oligarchs." 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." In January 2013, a

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular fo ...

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. 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." In July 2017, the Bolshoi Theatre cancelled the premiere of a ballet about openly gay Soviet dancer

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

. The Director General claimed that it was due to poor dancing quality; however, principal dancer

claimed it was the first sign of a 'new era' of censorship. 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.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Ballet companies in Russia National Dance Award winners History of ballet

History

Repertoire

Notable staff

Dancers

Directors

Conductors

Choreographers

Composers

Company structure

Performance style

Dancers

Principal dancers

Leading soloists

First soloists

Soloists

Corps de ballet

Controversies

See also

References

External links