The Work of Pedagogue-Repetiteurs
“Swan Lake,” “Spartacus”… “Sleeping Beauty,” “Don Quixote,” “Ivan the Terrible,” “Giselle,” “Raymonda”… Each production demands its own preparation for the artist, each with its own style.
“Guys, tonight’s ‘Spartacus’. It will be a medium difficulty class, but will have more jumps… Today we’ll focus on the adagio, get ready…” – these are the words of a pedagogue-repetiteur giving a morning ballet class in the theater. I won’t mention his name. He wasn’t the only one to say this… Every day we begin in the ballet studio with a ballet class.
The words of Leonid Timofeevich Zhdanova, my teacher at the Moscow Choreographic School (now the Moscow State Academy of Choreography), echo in my mind: “Regardless of what you danced yesterday, you come to the ballet class in the morning to cleanse yourself. Class is our purification.”
Thank you, Leonid Timofeevich, for these words! Thank you!
Class, lesson, morning training – different theaters use various terms for this unique, essential time for ballet artists. An hour of classical ballet class without which we cannot live. I miss the opportunity to stand at the barre, do adagio in the center, or feel like a bird, lifting off the floor in a grand jeté.
The morning ballet class is preparation for a group of artists for a performance tomorrow or in two days, for rehearsals of a new production, whether it is a classical work or modern choreography. The class is about aligning our bodies, legs, arms, and turns… It is purification and finding tranquility and self-confidence.
The pedagogue knows, feels, and designs the class for this task, preparing the artists. Preparing every day, every rehearsal (rehearsals continue our day after the class). And patiently waits for success.
Rehearsals. Exploration with students. Preparing the corps de ballet for the stage. Anticipating the performance. And new notes, exploration, refinement.
There are so few good pedagogue-repetiteurs today, and so little attention is paid to them by theater directors. For us, ballet artistic directors/chief choreographers, and choreographers, it is a joy to have talented pedagogues in the company. Without them, no project can succeed, young artists cannot grow, and tours cannot be successful.
There are very few of them now. Why? Is it due to lack of attention? Low salaries? Poor training? Or a loss of understanding of the significance of these individuals?
How much a correct word during a lesson or rehearsal matters. A precise note. The close work with a dancer searching for the right pose, expression, and direction of movement. Patience. Patience and faith in a person who has devoted their life to the art of dance.
I am grateful to my teachers who passed on this art to me, who initiated me into classical ballet. I am happy that wonderful, talented people – the pedagogue-repetiteurs of our theater – serve alongside me, and that together we pass our knowledge to the next generation.
© Konstantin Uralsky