Vaganova Ballet Method: What Is the Vaganova Method?

The Vaganova method is a classical ballet technique named for its creator, the Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova. In the early twentieth century, she developed the technique using the methods of her own teacher, French ballet master Marius Petipa. Vaganova's teaching methods are heavily associated with Russia's Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg—later renamed the Leningrad Choreographic School and today known as the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.

The Vaganova method of ballet training mixes the basic principles of Petipa's French ballet technique with the physically demanding pedagogy of the Italian Cecchetti method. The Vaganova training system dominates Russian ballet companies (not just the Vaganova Ballet Academy), and has also gained international notice at institutions like the American Ballet Theatre in New York City.

Agrippina Vaganova was a Russian ballerina, choreographer, and pedagogue who lived from 1879 to 1951. She studied under the French ballet dancer and teacher Marius Petipa (known in his time as Le Premier Maître de Ballet) at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, Russia. During this time, she made notable appearances at the ballet school's affiliated theater, Mariinsky Ballet Theatre in Saint Petersburg.

Vaganova's teaching career began in 1916 and in 1921, she returned to teach at the Leningrad Choreographic School. In 1931, she also became the artistic director of Leningrad’s Kirov Ballet (known today as the Mariinsky Ballet), the performing company associated with the school, and trained and directed famous dancers including Galina Ulanova, Olga Jordan, and Konstantin Sergeyev. Vaganova's choreography and teaching techniques borrowed from her own teacher Petipa but also from the demanding Italian ballet master Enrico Cecchetti. She documented her methods in a 1934 textbook called Basic Principles of Classical Ballet, which is still widely used today. She retired as artistic director in 1937 but continued teaching until her death in 1951.

The Vaganova Method of ballet training arises from a distinct history and set principles.

• A full-body, step-by-step approach: The Vaganova method highlights understanding the body as a whole. Movements encompass arms, legs, core and facial expressions supporting each other, rather than the legs propelling movement and the rest being purely aesthetic. Training is progressive and works on building strength and flexibility and minimizing injury.
• International influences: Agrippina Vaganova developed her technique in Russia under the influence of her French teacher Marius Petipa and her knowledge of the Italian ballet maestro Enrico Cecchetti. Bringing together these three traditions, Vaganova method combines athleticism, expression, and soulfulness.
• Centered at the Imperial Ballet School: Vaganova developed her signature technique at her alma mater, the Imperial Ballet School. It later changed its name to the Leningrad Choreographic School. Today, it is known as the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, having been named for its most famous teacher.
• Emphasis on a grand pas de deux: The Vaganova method postulates that all essential ballet techniques can be summed together in a single grand pas de deux, which is a dance duet famously seen in works like Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.
• A well-rounded education: As the Vaganova method evolved, Agrippina Vaganova and her fellow teachers decided it was not enough to study ballet standards like barre, pointe work, plié, and jeté. Vagnova students must also study dance history, music theory, character dance, modern dance, and foreign language.
• Famous alumni: A great number of Imperial Ballet School alumni went on to perform with the world's most acclaimed ballet companies, including the Bolshoi Ballet, the Mikhailovsky Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Royal Ballet.
• Present day influence: Today Vaganova is one of several pedagogues—along with Enrico Cecchetti, George Balanchine, Nikolai Legat, and August Bournonville—whose methods are taught in ballet classes worldwide. A great number of the leading ballet ballet dancers and choreographers of the last century, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Irina Kolpakova, Natalia Dudinskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Yulia Makhalina, have studied the Vaganova technique at the Vaganova Ballet Academy.

The Vaganova Method is a style of ballet instruction developed by Russian ballerina Agrippina Vaganova; it involves gradually introducing students to dance techniques that will later be used in performance. Training is progressive and works on building strength and flexibility while minimizing injury. The Vaganova method highlights understanding the body as a whole. Movements encompass arms, legs, core and facial expressions supporting each other, rather than the legs propelling movement and the rest being purely aesthetic.

The Balanchine method of ballet instruction was developed by twentieth-century Georgian-American ballet dancer, choreographer, and pedagogue George Balanchine, a graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy and founder of the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet. In contrast to the Vaganova method, this teaching style trains dancers with exercises that will not be used in performance. As a performance style, it is aesthetically stark, with minimal costumes and plot underpinning the choreography.

Compared to the Vaganova method, the Balanchine style also emphasizes highly athletic movements, a notably deep plié, an open-hipped Arabesque (where Balanchine would encourage dancers to "reach for diamonds"), and asymmetrical choreography focused on line and shape.

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