POSTED ON16.02.2021
George Balanchine is often quoted saying ballet is woman. Nevertheless, it is not the case at the Vaganova Ballet Academy. It has always been famous for the renowned male graduates, Balanchine being one of those.
Today we’d like to tell you about the renowned teacher of the Vaganova Academy, who coached Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Yury Solovyov, and Oleg Vinogradov. Alexander Pushkin, a namesake of the greatest Russian poet, was a legend of the Soviet ballet.
He started teaching in 1932 and spent 38 years raising the great dancers. Unlike Vaganova, he always spoke at a low voice and was very kind to his students. He was sure that clear instructions and encouragement worked like magic. “You need to get the basics, to understand how it all works and only then jump and turn”, he used to say.
Pushkin had a keen eye for talent: he immediately noticed Rudolf Nureyev, who studied under him for three years. When the dancer injured himself during the rehearsal of “Laurencia”, Pushkin even invited Nureyev to live in his house, as he knew that there was nobody who would take care of the young man.
In 1964, he saw the 16-year-old Mikhail Baryshnikov and immediately offered him a place at the Vaganova School: thus he nurtured another world ballet star.
In “White Crow”, Ralph Fiennes portrayed the great coach, who will always be our inspiration.
See video in our Instagram
Today we’d like to tell you about the renowned teacher of the Vaganova Academy, who coached Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Yury Solovyov, and Oleg Vinogradov. Alexander Pushkin, a namesake of the greatest Russian poet, was a legend of the Soviet ballet.
He started teaching in 1932 and spent 38 years raising the great dancers. Unlike Vaganova, he always spoke at a low voice and was very kind to his students. He was sure that clear instructions and encouragement worked like magic. “You need to get the basics, to understand how it all works and only then jump and turn”, he used to say.
Pushkin had a keen eye for talent: he immediately noticed Rudolf Nureyev, who studied under him for three years. When the dancer injured himself during the rehearsal of “Laurencia”, Pushkin even invited Nureyev to live in his house, as he knew that there was nobody who would take care of the young man.
In 1964, he saw the 16-year-old Mikhail Baryshnikov and immediately offered him a place at the Vaganova School: thus he nurtured another world ballet star.
In “White Crow”, Ralph Fiennes portrayed the great coach, who will always be our inspiration.
See video in our Instagram
