In this Book
- Vaganova Today: The Preservation of Pedagogical Tradition
- Book
- 2011
- Published by: University Press of Florida
Agrippina Vaganova (1879-1951) is revered as the visionary who first codified the Russian system of classical ballet training. The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, founded on impeccable technique and centuries of tradition, has a reputation for elite standards, and its graduates include Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, and Diana Vishneva. Yet the "Vaganova method" has come under criticism in recent years.
In this absorbing volume, Catherine Pawlick traces Vaganova's story from her early years as a ballet student in tsarist Russia to her career as a dancer with the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet to her work as a pedagogue and choreographer. Pawlick then goes beyond biography to address Vaganova's legacy today, offering the first-ever English translations of primary source materials and intriguing interviews with pedagogues and dancers from the Academy and the Mariinsky Ballet, including some who studied with Vaganova herself.
Table of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- pp. ix-x
- Author’s Note
- p. xi
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xvii-xviii
- Chronology of Agrippina Vaganova’s Life
- pp. xxv-xxvii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-4
- 1. Vaganova the Dancer
- pp. 5-28
- 2. Vaganova the Teacher
- pp. 29-74
- 3. Vaganova Today: Her Students
- pp. 75-178
- Conclusion
- pp. 179-182
- Bibliography
- pp. 191-195
- About the Author
- p. 201