Russian Season

Want to get your Vaganova on this summer? There are a few new programs out there that fly American students to Russia, but there’s also great Russian training closer to home. One place to look into is master teacher Mansur Kamaletdinov’s Vaganova Summer School in Crafton, PA. Kamaletdinov studied directly under Aggripina Vaganova, and went on to perform with both the Kirov and the Bolshoi Ballets. His summer school focuses on improving students’ musicality and performance quality by coaching classical and character variations from Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire and Giselle, among other iconic ballets. Kamaletdinov also teaches the dancers Russian ballet history, music and theatrical design. The program is split by level into five one-week sessions, held throughout July and August. Admission is by audition, either during one of Kamaletdinov’s master classes or by DVD. For more information, see russianballet.net.