Bossov Ballet Theatre - Vaganova Ballet Technique

In Another World: An American Ballet School Visits St. Petersburg

by Alexandra Williams

We crossed the Atlantic as twelve individual dancers with separate expectations. We returned as a cohesive group, similarly motivated, having shared experiences impossible to describe except to one another: awakening in another world, then, finally performing on a stage where we stood together in front of strangers with whom we shared one love, ballet.

This trip of a lifetime was Bossov Ballet Theatre’s participation in Russia’s largest ballet festival — the tenth International “Dance Open” in St. Petersburg in April 2011. Bossov Ballet Theatre, located in central Maine and named for our Artistic Director, Andrei Bossov, is our ballet school and performing company, co-located with Maine Central Institute, the private high school we attend in Pittsfield, Maine.

We had been anticipating the trip for months. But we had no idea of what was awaiting us in the opposite hemisphere. It was a dream come true, and so much more than we had ever imagined!

We had put hours of rehearsal into perfecting a group piece choreographed by Andrei Bossov, “Enchanting Notes”, set to the First Movement of Mozart’s 40th Symphony, which we had first presented to the public at Bossov Ballet Theatre’s 15th Anniversary celebration only two weeks earlier. Costumes had been altered and re-altered to ensure the right fit and the best possible presentation and they were now safely and carefully packed in our hand luggage, along with numerous other ballet necessities which we could not afford to let go astray en route to the city of the Tsars.

Our journey was long and tiring but we were far too excited to let that affect us. It began with a bus ride from tiny, rural, Pittsfield, down to Boston’s sprawling Logan Airport where we would board a Lufthansa Airbus bound for Munich where twelve time zones later, we changed planes to reach our final destination. As our plane lifted off on our journey’s final leg, we chattered about our expectations. But, as the sun set at 30,000 feet, our talk gave way to deep sleep and dreams of soon setting foot in the city so strongly linked to the culture of classical ballet.

On 30 March 2011 this group of young dancers from Maine, USA, arrived in the city founded by Peter the Great in 1703. We were smoothly processed through Russian immigration and customs and before long were on our bus, intrigued by a short tour by Andrei of St Petersburg, his home town, on the way to our hotel. The architecture and landscape gripped me, the amazing amount of culture and care with which St. Petersburg was conceptualized and built. This was Tsar Peter’s “Window to the West”, not a city that had sprung up out of the country, but a work of beauty that was planned, organized, and designed — a monument to a grand idea.

The Ambassador Hotel was elaborately decorated with helpful and efficient staff. Russian food was a new experience to us, and we enjoyed tasting food that we had never heard of nor imagined. Our meals were rich in all the things one needs to stave off the effects of the long frigid Russian winters, especially carbohydrates and fat. Every meal seemed to feature potatoes in different forms!

The next day flew by. It began with the first master class. Russian ballet instructors, instillers of iron discipline, we had all heard stories about them and were naturally nervous. We took, comfort, however, knowing we had been trained by Andrei and Natalya, whose technique is the same as the teachers’ of the master classes. One main difference between Bossov Ballet Theatre and the classes we took in St. Petersburg was the physicality of the corrections. At Bossov, the corrections are mainly given verbally, but in Russia the majority were received through physical movement and firm touching. Perhaps this was due to the difference in languages spoken, preventing the teachers from interacting with us verbally.

We met Olga and Tatiana, our guides, helpful and organized women who ensured that the festival was running smoothly.

We were simply speechless as we walked into the theatre in which we would perform three hours later. None of us would have ever imagined that we would receive the opportunity to dance at such a highly esteemed event in Carnival Concert Hall of the St. Petersburg City Palace, formerly Anichkov Manor, a long ago residence of Russian Emperors.

We all danced the Mozart piece the best ever and, as a reward, received a surprisingly enthusiastic reception from the audience. Andrei knew how to capture the Russian imagination, sense of humor, and deep introspection through his choreography. Our fellow student, Gentry Fielder, the male soloist in our group, danced the role of what seemed a crazed patient surrounded by doctors in smocks. The observer might see himself in illness, seeking simply to get well, frustrated by the doctors and finally stripping them of their identity as Gentry tears off their smocks so that they all become a corps of dancers in skirts, all moving to the same enchanting notes. And all is well again. The ballet is a unique piece of creativity — Andrei’s work at its best. Only he knows the origin of the idea and it is to us to interpret.

We were proud that our Bossov Ballet Theatre seemed more professional than the other groups which attended the festival. For example, there was a group from Panama who were fantastic soloists, but when it came to corps dances their lack of unison showed. After our performance we attended a celebratory cocktail party where I had the opportunity to talk to dancers from other countries, including Japan, Panama, Ireland and Denmark. Their interest in us, as “American dancers” was universal.

Sightseeing was a highlight. After learning about the history of the evolution of ballet in Russia during school, it was thrilling to finally see the places we had heard so much about. Also, Natalya had been giving us lessons in Russian language, and we were pleased when we were able to put this into practice!

In the distance we could see the gilded spire, and magnificent golden angel holding a cross, of the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress, and the sight increased my excitement for seeing it all close-up. These architectural works of art were begun for a purpose. In 1703 20,000 conscripts labored to build an edifice that could fend off an attack by the Swedish Navy. The Peter and Paul Cathedral in the center is the burial place of all the Russian Emperors from Peter the Great to Alexander III.

As I passed the threshold of the Alexandrinsky Theatre, the oldest Russian National Theatre, I immediately recalled learning about its founding by Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, in 1756. This was the location of the Gala of the Russian Ballet Stars, and the roof under which we all witnessed some of the finest dancing and most perfected technique in the world. The way these dancers presented themselves on stage differed from all other dancers I had ever seen. Their combination of expressiveness and control of the upper body stood out to define them as artists in every sense of the word. The act that really amazed me was that danced by Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev. Their harmony in movements made them dance as one beautiful unit.

The third master class we took was the advanced level one, and it was very crowded with fast combinations. The teacher had some slightly different technique compared to Natalya and Andrei. For example, he preferred the arms in first position lower during pirouettes. I will never forget how he explained how to execute a controlled fouetté: “Make a choice mentally to finish the turn with control, and never allow gravity to make the choice for you”.

Later that day we visited the Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace. From across the Neva River, it was such a majestic building that we were overwhelmed by the “1050 rooms, 1886 doors, 1945 doors and 117 staircases” (Figes, Orlando. Natasha's Dance. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002. Print). We were lucky to have a guide, because the museum was a confusing labyrinth! I was especially taken in by the Roman and Egyptian collections, which were full of bright mosaics and statues. The guide told us the story of the curse of the golden throne - every ruler who had sat on this throne had an unfortunate fate, so it is believed that those who sit on it will be cursed for life. It is now covered up to avoid this!

The final event of the ballet festival was the International Dance Open Gala, which once again showed several amazing dancers whose names I had only read about. It was thrilling to be so close to such ballet legends as Osipova and Makarova! To end the trip with a fantastic surprise, I shared an elevator with Valery Gergiev, the Director of the Mariinsky Theatre!

On the departure day, everyone’s spirits were down as we knew our once in a lifetime opportunity was quickly coming to a conclusion. We rose early. Luckily the hotel staff was efficient and checked us out quickly. Before we knew it we were once again on a plane travelling back across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Western Hemisphere this time.

This trip has been one that I will never forget, and I’m sure all of us will cherish these memories and pass our stories on to our children in the future. Not only did our technique and stage presence improve, but also our cultural knowledge broadened. The Bossov Ballet Theatre group has also become much closer as a result of spending a week together in a foreign land where we would rely on each other. I am of course very grateful for the tremendous time and effort from Colonel Wyly, Andrei Bossov and Natalya Getman dedicated to arranging this trip for all the dancers fortunate enough to take up this amazing opportunity.

It was a trip to another world, a world we had never before beheld. Yet, the world we saw on the other side of the globe, was eerily familiar. We recognized it. As dancers, trained in the Russian way, we were home. It was our world.