Editing Vaganova method

{{Short description|Ballet technique and training system}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2015}}
[[File:Agrippina Vaganova -Esmeralda 1910.jpg|thumb|Agrippina Vaganova, founder of the Vaganova method, pictured in 1910.]]
The '''Vaganova method''' is a [[ballet technique]] and [[training system]] devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue [[Agrippina Vaganova]] (1879–1951). It was derived from the teachings of the ''Premier Maître de Ballet'' [[Marius Petipa]], throughout the late 19th century. It was Agrippa Vaganova who perfected and cultivated this form of teaching [[classical ballet]] and turned it into a viable syllabus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.russianballethistory.com/balletteachingmethods.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221083848/http://www.russianballethistory.com/balletteachingmethods.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 21, 2012|title=Ballet Teaching Methods|website=Russian Ballet History|access-date=2017-06-09}}</ref> The method fuses elements of traditional French style from the romantic era with the athleticism and [[virtuoso|virtuosity]] of Italian [[Cecchetti method|Cecchetti]] technique.<ref name="balletfantastique1">
{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.balletfantastique.org/academy/info_for_parents/vaganova_syllabus.htm
 |title        = About the Vaganova Syllabus
 |publisher    = Ballet Fantastique
 |access-date   = 2011-10-27
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111006040948/http://www.balletfantastique.org/academy/info_for_parents/vaganova_syllabus.htm
 |archive-date = 2011-10-06
 |url-status     = dead
}}
</ref> The training system is designed to involve the whole body in every movement, with equal attention paid to the upper body, legs and feet. Vaganova believed that this approach increases consciousness of the body, thus creating a harmony of movement and greater expressive range.<ref>
{{cite web
 | url = http://web.grinnell.edu/courses/tut/F01/TUT100-04/vaganova/The%20Vaganova%20Method.htm
 | title = The Vaganova Method |publisher=Web.grinnell.edu
 | access-date = 2011-10-27}}
</ref>

==History==
Upon graduating from the [[Imperial Ballet School]] in [[Saint Petersburg]] in 1897, Agrippina Vaganova began dancing with the school's associated professional company, the [[Imperial Russian Ballet]]. She retired from dancing in 1916 to pursue a teaching career and in 1921 returned as a teacher at the school, which had been renamed the Leningrad Choreographic School.

During the 30 years she spent teaching at the Leningrad Choreographic School, Vaganova developed a ballet technique that combined elements of French, Italian, and earlier Russian technique, and a training method to teach the technique. Tenets of the training method included development of lower back strength and arm plasticity, and the strength, flexibility and endurance required for ballet, and it incorporated a detailed instruction process that specified when to teach each topic and how long to teach it. In 1934, Vaganova wrote ''Fundamentals of the Classical Dance'', which remains a standard textbook for the instruction of ballet technique. In 1948, Vaganova authored a book titled ''The Foundation For Dance'' (more commonly known as ''Basic Principles of Russian Classical Dance'') that outlined her training method and ballet technique. Following Vaganova's death in 1951, her teaching method was preserved by instructors such as [[Vera Volkova]], and Vera Kostrovitskaya.<ref name="kostro81">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/100lessonsinclas0000kost/page/n3/mode/2up |isbn=978-0-87910-068-1 |title=100 lessons in classical ballet |date=2004 |last1=Kostrovit_s_Kai_a_ |first1=Vera Sergeevna |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation }}</ref>

Today the Vaganova method is the most widely used ballet teaching method in [[Russia]], but is not limited to that country. It has been the predominant method in many other countries, such as Ukraine,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Micale |first=Jennifer |title=Research explores ballet training in Ukraine - Binghamton News |url=https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/4422/dance-and-the-state-research-explores-ballet-training-in-ukraine |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=News - Binghamton University |language=en}}</ref> Germany,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Berlin's state ballet school faces abuse allegations – DW – 09/09/2020 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/berlins-state-ballet-school-confronts-allegations-of-abuse/a-54863263 |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> and China.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hernández |first=Javier C. |date=2022-07-28 |title='Princes Can Be Asian, Too': A Dancer Breaks Barriers in Ballet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/arts/dance/chun-wai-chan-new-york-city-ballet.html |access-date=2024-02-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The State Ballet School of Berlin is the most well-known school using the Vaganova method outside Russia.<ref name=":0" /> There is a growing trend among American ballet schools to adopt the Vaganova method.<ref>https://repository.tcu.edu/bitstream/handle/116099117/59361/Russell__Ashley-Honors_Project.PDF_A.pdf. Retrieved 2024-02-05.</ref>

==Criticism==
One criticism is that it overemphasizes perfection of physical conditioning.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web | title=History of the Vaganova Ballet Academy | url=http://www.vaganova.ru/page_en.php?id=266&pid=272}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111006040948/http://www.balletfantastique.org/academy/info_for_parents/vaganova_syllabus.htm About the Vaganova Syllabus]
* [https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/92919 The first level of Vaganova Ballet Syllabus (Seda Ayvazoglu)] 

{{Ballet}}

[[Category:Ballet training methods]]