Vaganova Today: The Preservation of Pedagogical Tradition

3. Vaganova Today: Her Students

75 3 Vaganova Today Her Students For those who knew her, Vaganova held an important place in their lives. Nearly sixty years after her death, Vaganova’s traditions are still continued by her pupils. The discussions with eight pedagogues that follow illuminate their opinions on the current state of training at the Vaganova Academy, to what extent they believe the Vaganova style and tradition is beingpreservedbytheMariinskyTheatre,andthedevelopmentofballet technique in general. The Role of Pedagogue UniquetotheVaganova-Mariinskyorganizationistherigorousandinsular pedagogy designed to preserve tradition and shield the style, for the most part, from outside influence. In Russia, pedagogues are much more than simple “coaches” in the Western sense of the term. A pedagogue is a former dancer who has gone through the full nine years of training at the Vaganova Academy, received a diploma, danced in a professional Russian theater, and then completed the Vaganova Academy’s graduate program for pedagogues, which is approximately four years in length. Only after passing that set of examinations can the dancer be called a • 76 • Vaganova Today “pedagogue” and be allowed to coach other dancers in the theater or teach in the school. In the pedagogical system, dancers who studied under Vaganova herself or, more recently, those who have passed through the school system, often perform on stage and, once retired, begin to coach the younger generation. Others may not perform as much, but they still receive the required teaching diploma in order to teach in the School. Thus the Vaganova methods are preserved orally, through words, and physically, through demonstration of specific movements and body positions or, as the Russians prefer to say, the traditions are passed along “from hand to hand, from foot to foot.” Teachers and coaches trained in other ballet schools are banned—unless a Westerner arrives to set a new addition to the ballet’s repertoire, which is then a case of staging within the theater and not one of training the dancers in their own heritage—and the details of the classical Vaganova-Mariinsky style are singular, never mixed. Those who train future generations have all received the same education at the Vaganova Academy. Additionally, in the Mariinsky there is a correct way of performing each classical role and, for that matter, each classical step. Variation and individuality in terms of technique—the placement of arms or head, the execution of batterie, or the way a jeté is approached—are not allowed; the dancers are trained in the same system, and this is visible especially when observing the Mariinsky corps de ballet. Attention to detail is paramount . In each role, in each step or pose or movement, the inclination of the head, the angle of a wrist or elbow can make a huge difference, not only in the effect on the viewer but on whether the dancer is executing the movement properly. “Properly,” in this lexicon, means according to tradition, according to Vaganova’s style, and also “the way it has always been done.” In the Vaganova technique, there is a correct way, and usually only one correct way, to perform a step. In addition to technique, however, dramatic expression must also be cultivated.Discussingthiscrucialcomponentofdance,Vaganovaherself wrote the following: Why does classical dance so move the viewer? Because the task of the dances [performed] with such lightness, without emphasizing effort, achieved by painstaking work, is a victory. Of course it is not Vaganova Today: Her Students • 77 the definitive victory of an artist. Expression, meaningfulness, that is what we aim for.1 What was this great pedagogue herself like? Galina Petrovna Kekisheva is one of Vaganova’s last remaining students. She graduated in 1948 and danced with the Kirov until 1971, performing solo roles such as Amour in Don Quixote, the pas de deux from The Flames of Paris, and the Nocturne in Chopiniana. She conducted the Kirov’s class of perfection after 1971 and continues to work at the Mariinsky. A petite woman, Kekisheva carries herself with a grace that speaks of another era entirely. Although a dancer of the Soviet era with sharp opinions to match, Kekisheva ’s shock of white hair and smart eyeglasses lend her the appearance of a warm grandmother, a mother hen looking after her chicks. At the Mariinsky, she does just that, continuing to uphold the strict Vaganova traditions in her classes and rehearsals. Kekisheva coaches many notable dancers, including Valeria Martiniouk and Evgenia Obratsova. She also teaches two women’s...