Q & A

Janos and Isaac
after class.

Having never been to Russia and knowing practically nothing about ballet, I had a lot of questions.  Here are some, with answers from Isaac in Green.

• What class are you in?   5B    
• How do the classes work, as far as level advancement?    For the first 5 classes it is mostly by age. The international students no matter your age must start in 5 or below. Since I am the age for 5th class I was placed in it. But if you're 16 or 17 it can be a bit of a drag.
• Do the boys and girls dance together?   Not really. There's no partnering till 6th year so we never have class together. 
• How many boys are in your class?  Seven.  
• How old are the other boys?  Fourteen and Fifteen.
• Where do you fit in in your class?   I feel right at home! The boys are very friendly and they all speak a bit of English so I've become friends with them.
• What is your schedule?      

7:30-8:00 Shower and dress
8:00-8:15 Breakfast
8:15-8:45 Personal stretch and class preparation
8:45-9:00 Preparation for class with teacher
9:00-10:40 Classical Technique      
11:00-12:30 Russian Language 
12:30-1:00 Lunch
Afternoons are different everyday. Some days we have Variations, Character  and Gymnastics.

• What do you do in your free time?   Watch movies with popcorn, go shopping, stretch,  do homework, watch Russian TV and sleep.
• Are you adapting to the unfamiliar diet?   Yes and no. However, The meals are very repetitive so even now I'm starting to get bored with the food. Hot cereal is served every morning with a plate of cold sausage and french bread. Lunch is soup with random vegetables and meats that don't always mix well. Dinner is sort of hit and miss. Buck wheat, noodles, pasta, soup and wafers.
• Is the Bolshoi Ballet Academy a good fit for your dancing style?  Definitely. The style is almost exactly the same. The only differences are small things that differ from teacher to teacher.         
• Do you think you are improving?  I'm seeing new things I can improve on. I only know that I've truly improved when I see a recent video of myself dancing.  
• How long have the other boys in your class been at Bolshoi?  Five years.
• Do all of the ballet students live at the school?  No. Most of the students live here in Moscow with their families. But 40% are from elsewhere and live at the school.
• Have you met anyone famous yet?    My teacher Ilya Kuznetsov! Also, I watched a master class with Nikolai Tsiskaridze the other day. He was a Principal with Bolshoi Theater and now he is director of the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg.        
• Who do you hope to meet or see dance? I would love to see anyone dance at the Bolshoi Theater. 
• There have been a lot of well-publicized, messy politics at the Bolshoi in recent years.  Has that affected you or any of the other students in any way?  No not really. The school is a sort of safe haven from the rest of the political drama.      
• What is your favorite moment so far?   Walking into the school doors for the first time. And seeing the hallway with all of the studios for the first time.

If you have questions you'd like to see answered here, ask Isaac on his contact form found here!