Vaganova Today: The Preservation of Pedagogical Tradition

230 Pages·2011·38.72 MB·English

by  Pawlick

Vaganova Today
•
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
Agrippina Vaganova as a young woman.
Photo: Mariinsky Theatre Archives.
Vaganova Today
The Preservation of Pedagogical Tradition
•
catherine e. pawlick
University Press of Florida
Gainesville • Tallahassee • Tampa • Boca Raton
Pensacola • Orlando • Miami • Jacksonville • Ft. Myers • Sarasota
Copyright 2011 by Catherine E. Pawlick
Printed in the United States of America. This book is printed on
Glatfelter Natures Book, a paper certified under the standards of the Forestry
Stewardship Council (FSC). It is a recycled stock that contains 30 percent
post-consumer waste and is acid-free.
All rights reserved
16 15 14 13 12 11 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pawlick, Catherine E.
Vaganova today : the preservation of pedagogical tradition / Catherine E. Pawlick.
p. cm.
Summary: “An exploration of the continuing influence of the Vaganova Academy
on dancing today”—Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3697-7 (hardback)
1. Akademiia russkogo baleta im. A.IA. Vaganovoi—History. 2. Ballet companies—
Russia (Federation)—Saint Petersburg—History. 3. Ballet—Russia (Federation)—
Saint Petersburg—History. 4. Ballet—Social aspects. I. Title.
GV1788.6.A37P39 2011
792.8094721—dc22 2011012173
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the
State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University,
Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International
University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of
Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida,
University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
In loving memory of my grandparents, Lorraine Lundstrum Mellin
(Penny Pepper, Princess of Swing) and Robert A. Mellin, for never
wavering in their encouragement of my love of ballet and for sharing
their passion for the performing arts, you are both still strongly loved
and missed; in memory of my great-aunt Dorothy Lundstrum for her
lifetime dedication to the art of dance; and in memory of Richard
Galla, may you continue to play Chopin among the angels.

Contents
List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . ix
Author’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Chronological History of the Vaganova Academy
of Russian Ballet . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Chronology of Agrippina Vaganova’s Life . . . . . xxv
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.Vaganova the Dancer . . . . . . . . 5
2.Vaganova the Teacher . . . . . . . . 29
Individuality . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Supporter of Reform: The 1920s . . . . . . . 44
The Results of Her Efforts . . . . . . . . 49
The 1930s and Dramballet . . . . . . . . . 52
Her Contemporaries’ Recollections . . . . . . 60
Methodology Department . . . . . . . . 71
3.Vaganova Today: Her Students. . . . . . . 75
The Role of Pedagogue . . . . . . . . . 75
Preserving Tradition . . . . . . . . . . 90
A Shift in Aesthetics . . . . . . . . . . 99
Emotion and Soul . . . . . . . . . . 113
A Faster Pace: The Twenty-First Century . . . . . 119
The Repertoire . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
One Pedagogue, One Ballerina . . . . . . . . . 130
The Changing Audience . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Two Petersburg Ballerinas: Lopatkina and Chistiakova . . . 135
The Quintessential Petersburg Ballerina: Uliana Lopatkina . . 151
A Cultural Catastrophe . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Altynai Asylmuratova—Artistic Director, Vaganova Academy . . 167
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Illustrations
Frontispiece. Agrippina Vaganova as a young woman
Vaganova in Chopiniana 18
Vaganova as Kitri in Don Quixote 24
Agrippina Vaganova teaching class at the Leningrad
Choreographic Institute 32
Vaganova in 1935 37
Vaganova with her students in the studios of the Choreographic
Institute, later renamed the Vaganova Academy in her honor 42
Irina Trofimova, present day, with her students 55
Alla Osipenko as the Mistress of the Copper Mountain from
The Stone Flower 67
Alla Osipenko as the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty 68
Alla Osipenko as Odette in Swan Lake 68
Galina Kekisheva in the role of Pasquale, early in her career 78
Gabriela Komleva today 81
Gabriela Komleva as the Firebird 81
Gabriela Komleva as Raymonda 82
Tatiana Terekhova as Kitri from Don Quixote 83
Terekhova as Kitri, 1987 84
Ninella Kurgapkina coaching Tatiana Terekhova 84
ix