Vaganova: A Dance Journey from Petersburg to Leningrad

by Vera M. Siegel (Translator), Lynn Garafola (Editor)

 The only authorized biography about the creator of the renowned Russian ballet curriculum–for the first time in English. The first English edition of the only authorized biography of Agrippina Vaganova (1897-1951) was originally published in Russian in 1989. It tells the story of one of the most important dance teachers of the 20th century, who created a system of teaching ballet that spread throughout the former Soviet Union and beyond.Vaganova rose through the ranks to become a ballerina in the Imperial Ballet during the last days of Tsarist Russia. After the Revolution of 1917, she became a teacher and transformed the St. Petersburg/Leningrad School of Ballet into a premier institution. She also served as the artistic director of the Kirov Theater.Written by a direct eyewitness to many of the described incidents, someone who knew Vaganova intimately, the biography is a window into the personality and thinking of this great teacher. It vividly recounts the training and individual styles of such world-renowned ballerinas as Marina Semyonova, Natalia Dudinskaya, Galina Ulanova, and Tatiana Vecheslova, and it offers a unique insight into the world of classical ballet during the era of Tsarist Russia and the early Soviet years.  

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2005

Reviews

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

FIRST LINE REVIEW: "St. Petersburg -- a city of horizontal lines." I grabbed up this book so I could learn more about the famous ballet teacher and the first half of the book was quite good for that, but then the author got bogged down in meticulous descriptions of various ballets and lost sight of the biography. Still, it was fairly well-written and would certainly be of interest to someone who wants to know more about Russian ballet. Unfortunately, I wanted to learn more about Vaganova.

[Nora Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaganova combined the French Danish and Russian styles in a complete system based on anatomically correct and biomechanically sound principles. Her seminal work, Basic Principles of classical Ballet has been accepted worldwide as a standard teaching tool. The biography gives a complete history of Vaganova's accomplishments while providing cultural background. .

[Siobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was glued to it for about a week. We went to visit friends and I sat in a corner and read my book like I was 14 again. I put so many sticky notes on the things that I want to do follow up research on that the book now looks like a tree!
You do need to have some ballet history knowledge to really enjoy it, or the whirlwind of names and references belonging to this rich period might be too much.