Moscow State Academy of Choreography (MGAH)

Main article: Ballet in Russia

The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (MGAH) (The Bolshoi Ballet Academy) is one of the oldest ballet schools in the world. It was founded in 1773, when "dance classes" were opened by Decree of Catherine II at the Moscow Educational House. The first teachers in the ballet department of the school were Italian and French masters of academic dance, but already at the beginning of the 19th century Russian teachers began to teach there, who became the founders of the Russian ballet school. For 250 years, a difficult path has been traveled from the Educational House to the Academy of Choreography - a major international educational and scientific center.

Hundreds of wonderful artists came out of the walls of the Academy. The names of I. Moiseev, O. Lepeshinskaya, A. Messerer, M. Plisetskaya, N. Bessmertnova, M. Lavrovsky, V. Vasiliev, E. Maksimova, V. Gordeev, M. Liepa, I. Mukhamedov, N. Tsiskaridze, and many other dancers, ballerinas and choreographers are associated with it. Graduates of the Academy led and lead the world's leading ballet companies.

History

2024: Appointment of Svetlana Zakharova as rector of MGAH

In September 2024, Svetlana Zakharova became rector of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (MGAH). She replaced Maria Leonova, who had headed the institution since 2001. Read more here

2012

Students of MGAH at the Paris National Opera, 2012. Photographer: Mikhail Logvinov. Bakhrushinsky Museum

1948

E. Gerdt conducts a lesson with R. Struchkova, E. Ryabinkina, V. Mitryaeva and M. Lisetskaya, 1940s

1942

Students of the Moscow Art Institute at the Bolshoi Art Theater of the USSR, 1942

1931

V. Semenov, O. Lipeshinskaya, A. Tsarman at the rehearsal of The Nutcracker, Choreographic School of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR, 1931. Photo from the collection of the Bakhrushinsky Museum