Being a professional ballet dancer is an exhausting job. To live a fairy-tale on stage, ballet dancers have to suffer for their art behind the scenes: they follow a gruelling training schedule and stick to a strict diet. From an early age, they live in the ballet academy so that they can dedicate the most time possible to their training. As a consequence they are separated from their families. They leave their friends and their schools behind, and enter a new, very competitive environment, where it’s difficult to form friendships as their classmates are also their rivals.
However, young hopefuls who make these sacrifices may find they are not enough to achieve their dreams. On top of all their hard work, professional ballerinas must have the right physique and be good looking. Besides, the challenging training regime may lead to injuries that can potentially put an end to their careers.
Still, none of this deters young girls who are in love with dance and are determined to make it their career. They travel from across Russia to St. Petersburg, where they audition to enter the world-renowned Vaganova Ballet Academy. They are ready to trade a carefree childhood for a chance to become ballerinas and shine on stage. However, very few of them will be accepted to study in the famous academy since it has very high standards. As many of its past graduates have become international ballet stars, it has a rich heritage and a reputation that must be maintained.
Vaganova Ballet Academy was founded in 1738 by Imperial Decree of Empress Anna in the then-capital of Russia, St. Petersburg. Initially it was named the Imperial Ballet School, but as times and the country’s political systems changed, so did its titles. In 1957, the school was renamed in honour of its teacher, Agrippina Vaganova, who became famous for developing the method of classical ballet training that is still taught there.
Head of Vaganova Ballet Academy is Nikolay Tsiskaridze, former Principle Dancer of The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. He holds the title of People's Artist of Russia and has received numerous other honours and accolades. Over his career, Nikolai Tsiskaridze has performed over 70 roles in major classical and contemporary ballets. Prior to joining the Vaganova Ballet School, he taught at the Bolshoi Theatre as well as at the Moscow Ballet Academy. He has been a member of the President's Council for Culture and Arts since 2011.
Today, the Academy has 340 students, and competition for a place here is extremely tough. Each year, thousands of children audition, but only around 70 are accepted. In total, only about half of each year's intake will complete the eight year curriculum and graduate. Those who persevere are rewarded with contracts with the leading ballet companies in Russia and abroad.
In August - December 2015 RT Doc met some of the young hopefuls storming the doors of the famous Academy to find out more about the dream they share, and to follow them on their first steps towards achieving it.
Alyona Simkina.
The 44-th annual Prix de Lausanne international ballet competition held in Switzerland has come to an end. One of the seven Prix de Lausanne 2016 prize winners is Laura Frnandez, the international trainee of the Vaganova Ballet Academy. She was also admitted the best Swiss candidate and received a Contemporary Dance Prize.
Last year Laura already made an attempt to make the way in to the finals of Prix de Lausanne, however was not selected by the jury. The VBA principal Nikolai Tsiskaridze who was present at the competition invited Laura to become an international trainee with the Vaganova Ballet Academy. The young dancer has been coached by Irina Sitnikova, who heads the Chair of Classical and Classical Duet Dance.
Laura Fernandez, solo from the ballet 'Rossini Cards'.
Another Prix de Lausanne participant representing VBA was Alena Kovaleva, the first year student following the Bachelor’s Programme at the Department of Performing Arts (coached by Yulia Kasenkova).
A;ena Kovaleva, Gamzatti variation from'La Bayadere' (selections).
This time 292 candidates representing 36 countries submitted their applications to participate in Prix de Lausanne 2016. Sixty seven of them were selected to participate in the competition on the basis of video records, and only twenty got a chance to compete in the finals.
The jury was made up of 9 internationally renowned dance professionals – ballet stars and Prix de Lausanne prize winners of the previous years, heads of ballet companies and ballet schools, including Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
The prize winners get a chance to continue their studies or apprenticeship at one of the world’s finest ballet schools and academies, partners of the Prix. The competitors are being observed by the jury members over the course of the whole week. The jury makes its decision evaluating not only the level of performance of classical and contemporary variations, but also the way the candidates work at the lessons of classical and contemporary dance, including improvisation. At the same time the participants have a unique opportunity to work with the teachers and coaches from different countries and companies, get acquainted with unusual choreography and show their potential to the heads of the ballet schools and companies.
Five performances of The Nutcracker, featuring choreography by Vasily Vainonen will be presented by the VBA students at the Mariinsky Theatre in December.
On December 20, the leading parts of Masha and the Nutcracker Prince will be performed by the VBA senior students Eleonora Sevenard and Pavel Ostapenko, on December 21 – by Anna Smirnova and Oleg Ignatyev, on December 26 – by Alexandra Korshunova and Roman Malyshev, on December 27 – by Vera Segova and Pavel Ostapenko and on December 28 – by Maria Ilyushkina and Oleg Ignatyev.
The part of the little Masha will be performed by the VBA junior students Angelina Karamysheva (December 20), Anna Sharova (December 21), Darya Neupokoeva (December 26), Sofia Valiulina (December 27) and Yana Cherepanova (December 28).
In January, the Vaganova Ballet Academy will be touring Japan presenting 11 performances of The Nutcracker. Last time the VBA students visited Japan 12 years ago, in 2004, having also presented the same ballet. In 2016, over 100 young dancers will go to Japan to become the first foreign company performing at the new Kyoto Theatre.
During the VBA tour, on January 30, 2016, a 45-minute documentary featuring the daily routine of the VBA, its rehearsals and performances will be shown on the Japanese TV. The material for the documentary has been filmed by the Japanese WOWOW TV-company. The Japanese team had been working on the film for about 110 days.
On December 14-16, the Fourth International Cultural Forum was held in St. Petersburg. The Vaganova Ballet Academy took part in the work of the «Ballet and Dance» Section.
On December 14, a roundtable discussion «Classical heritage – a museum or a theatre?» was held at the Mariinsky Theatre. Those present tried to figure out the challenges of preserving, restoring and adapting the masterpieces of the classical dance, outline the basic approaches to re-analyses of the ballet heritage and share their experience in this field. Among the participants of the roundtable discussion were Boris Eifman, choreographer (moderator); Alkis Raftis, president of the International Dance Council (UNESCO); Nikolay Tsiskaridze, principal of the Vaganova Ballet Academy; Ana Laguna, dancer and coach; Feng Ying, artistic director of the National Ballet of China; Yury Fateyev, acting director of the Ballet Company of the Mariinsky Theatre; Tamás Solymosi, artistic director of the Hungarian National Ballet, Kang Sue-jin, artistic director of the Korean National Ballet; Petr Zuska, artistic director of the Czech National Ballet and Xin Peng Wang, artistic director of the Dortmund Ballet.
The principal of the Vaganova Ballet Academy Nikolay Tsiskaridze explained how the work on the «reconstruction» of the old ballets goes on and how difficult it is to preserve the authenticity of the performances created by even those choreographers who are still alive. He also complained that many modern ballet-master do not know historical details of those ballet masterpieces they turn to.
On December 15, the first meeting of the Organizing Committee in charge of arranging the festivities on occasion of Marius Petipa’s 200th Birthday in 2018 and a roundtable discussion «Petipa's Home» were held at the Vaganova Ballet Academy.
On May 21, 2015, Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, signed a decree mandating to organize in 2018 the celebration of 200th Birthday of Marius Petipa, who created the immortal ballet heritage. However, the idea of celebrating the jubilee of the great choreographer emerged at the Vaganova Ballet Academy, that is why the first meeting of the Organizing Committee founded in accordance with the Decree of the Russian Government, was held there – at the Marius Petipa Hall where the ballet-master created the major part of his ballets.
Before the meeting started, the VBA students had presented a few pieces to the members of the Organizing Committee and the participants of the roundtable discussion «Petipa's Home» who have consequently discussed the possibilities of perpetuating the memory of Marius Petipa in St. Petersburg and submitted a few concrete proposals. Among the speakers were Professor Gabriela Komleva, ballet-mistress and coach of the Mariinsky Theatre; Yuri Fateyev, acting director of the Ballet Company of the Mariinsky Theatre; Professor Valeria Uralskaya, editor-in-chief, “Ballet” magazine; Professor Marina Vasilieva, dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts of the Vaganova Ballet Academy; Boris Illarionov, PhD in Art Criticism and head of the Chair of Ballet Studies; Dmitry Rodionov, director general of the A.A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum; and Nikolay Tsiskaridze, principal of the Vaganova Ballet Academy.
The participants of the roundtable discussion have unanimously passed a resolution containing proposals on perpetuating the memory of Marius Petipa.
The roundtable discussion ended with the signature of the Agreement on Cooperation, Student and Academic Exchange between the Vaganova Ballet Academy and the University of Paris VIII (the University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis, France)
Meeting of the Organizing Committee in charge of arranging the festivities on occasion of Marius Petipa’s 200th Birthday.
Participants on the concerts at the School Theatre.
Adagio from 'The Nutcracker' (E.Sevenard, P.Ostapenko, R.Malyshev, N.Vorobiov, М.Ushanov, P.Mikheev).
Fragment from 'The Awakening of Flora' (А.Popova, Zh.Lazko, А.Ledyakh, А.Yaromenko).
О.Golodets and N.Tsiskaridze are giving an interview after the meeteing of the Organizing Committee.
Roundtable discussion «Petipa's Home» at the Vaganova Ballet Academy.
Roundtable discussion «Petipa's Home» at the Vaganova Ballet Academy.
N.Tsiskaridze and Y.Fateev.
N.Tsiskaridze signs the Agreement between the Vaganova Ballet Academy and the University of Paris VIII.
Photographies by Ekaterina Kravtsova and Marina Radina.
The Vaganova Ballet Academy has presented a dance suite from The Fairy Doll by Josef Bayer that was intended as a present for the Hermitage Theatre's 230th birthday.
Celebrations of the Hermitage Theatre Jubilee began with the benefit performance that took place on November 24. On that day a lot has been said on the Theatre’ history. The staff and administration received multiple greetings and musical gifts. The benefit performance concluded with a piece from The Fairy Doll by Josef Bayer presented by the Vaganova Ballet Academy students. On November 26, the whole dance suite from the same ballet was first shown on the same stage.
The performance was specially prepared for the anniversary of the Hermitage Theatre as soon as that version of the ballet had been one day created for its stage. It is also remarkable that as far back as 1738, the Imperial Theatre School that was consequently reorganized into VBA had been accommodated at the Old Peter's Palace where the Hermitage Theatre was constructed later.
The Fairy Doll was staged there in 1903 by the graduates of the Imperial Theatre School – Nikolas and Serge Legat. Later on, the ballet was transferred to the Mariinsky stage and remained on repertoire till 1925. Later on, in 1932, The Fairy Doll was renewed by Vladimir Ponomoriev for the Leningrad Choreographic College, however just a few performances have been given. In 1989, Konstantin Sergeyev prepared his own version of the ballet having returned it to the Kirov (Mariinsky) stage as VBA school performance. The young dancers have been preforming in it till 2001.
Today it is already impossible to restore the authentic choreography by Legat brothers, however the VBA teachers including those who worked on Sergeyev's version of the ballet made every possible effort to ensure success of the new version created under the guidance of the VBA Principal Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
Among those who worked on the latest version of the ballet were first Vice-principal (Artistic Director) Zh. Ayupova; Professors M. Vasilieva, T. Udalenkova, V. Desnitsky; Associate Professors I. Sitnikova, V. Sirotin as well as VBA teachers G. Enikeeyeva, Yu. Kosenkova, E. Poryvkina, T. Solomyanko, E. Zabalkanskaya, A. Ermolenkov, A. Ilyin, F. Miotsi and I. Novoseltsev.
In 1903, The Fairy Doll has captured the audience. To a great extent, it was due to Leo Bakst’s costumes and sets design. Fortunately, all the sketches for costumes are still available nowadays. Having an opportunity to use the best modern materials, it became possible to make the costumes look exactly the way they have been designed by Bakst. Created under the guidance of Dmitry Paradizov, the costumes have again impressed both the audience and the young dancers.
Addressing the public before the ballet was presented on the day of the benefit performance in honour of the Hermitage Theatre, Nikolai Tsiskaridze told a story highlighting an old tsarist tradition to wine and dine the artists after the end of the performance. As soon as the ballet performances always concluded the program, opera singers and dramatic actors who performed before the ballet dancers usually managed to eat up everything while the dancers were changing their costumes for casual clothes. The same thing happened on the day of the first performance of The Fairy Doll. Being outraged by such a treatment, Nikolai Legat invited the whole company to the restaurant what could have been considered as an insult to the tsar’s family. With the help of Mathilde Kschessinska Legat managed to settle the matter, while the ballet dancers were promised a splendid dinner after the next performance for the tsar's family.
Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage didn't only like the story, but also paid special attention to it. After the end of the performance on November 26, an arrangement of special treats looking like a huge cake was brought onstage to be offered to all the dancers who participated in the performance.
This year the VBA students will perform a dance suite from The Fairy Doll several times. A full version of the ballet in two acts will be included into the program of the VBA graduate performances and presented on the Mariinsky stage in June, 2016.
Porcelain and Lace dolls. Photo by M.Logvinov.
Porcelain and Lace dolls. Photo by V.Vasiliev.
Bunny-Drum Doll (Aleksandra Korshun). Photo by M.Logvinov.
Fanciful Doll (Vlada Borodulina). Photo by M.Logvinov.
Tyrolienne Doll (Anna Sharovieva). Photo by M.Logvinov.
Baby Doll (Elizaveta Kulikova). Photo by M.Logvinov.
Buffon (Timur Dymchikov) and Punchinello (Marsel Kazykhanov). Photo by M.Logvinov.
Russian Dance (Aleksandra Popova and Ilya Mogilnikov). Photo by V.Vasiliev.
French Doll (Vera Segova). Photo by M.Logvinov.
Spanish Doll (Eleonora Sevenard). Photo by M.Logvinov.
Japanese Doll (Alyona Kovaliova) and Chinese Doll (Alyona Ledyah). Photo by V.Vasiliev.
March of Dolls. Photo by M.Logvinov.
Little Dolls. Photo by V.Vasiliev.
Waltz of Dolls. Photo by V.Vasiliav.
Fairy Doll (Anastasiya Yaromenko) and Two Pierrot (Pavel Ostapenko and Oleg Ignatiev) pas de trois. Photo by M.Logvinov.
Fairy Doll (Anastasiya Yaromenko). Photo by V.Vasiliev.
Two Pierrot (Pavel Ostapenko and Oleg Ignatiev). Photo by V.Vasiliev
After the performance. Photo by M.Logvinov.
Pupils and teachers of the Academy at the Hermitage Theatre auditorium. Photo by V.Vasiliev.
The Prix de Lausanne announced the appointment of Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Principal of the Vaganova Ballet Academy, to the Prix de Lausanne jury for the 2016 Prix de Lausanne competition. Mr. Tsiskaridze has graciously agreed to take on this role after Ms. Shelly Power retired from the jury upon her appointment as full-time Artistic Director and CEO of the Prix, effective in late 2016.
In his interview to the Prix Mr. Tsiskaridze gives an advice for the candidates: ‘Competition – this is wonderful, this is your chance. But the implication of our profession is ballet performance. Not all dancers who can and who become ballet artists, those who are in the lead ballet roles, participate in competitions. I wish the Prix de Lausanne participants to believe in themselves’.
In 2016 the Vaganova Academy student Alena Kovaleva will represent Russia on the Prix. Laura Fernandez, the international trainee of the VBA, will represent Switzerland.
The 28th of October 2015 marked the end of Nikolay Tsiskaridze’s first two years as head of the VaganovaAcademy and the staff celebrated the occasion with a small get together.
His appointment was controversial at the time, and many high ranking dancers and administrators spoke out against the Bolshoi dancer being given the top job at the Mariinsky school, a school that he hadn’t come through himself. However, after two years the consensus seems to be that he is doing a good job and is popular both inside and outside the revered Academy’s walls.
On paper his achievements look good, though of course it is the calibre of the dancers who graduate which counts in the end, but as the Vaganova is not only a ballet school but also an academic institution, paper does play its part. For example, Tsiskaridze re-launched the Vaganova’s publishing house which has published both new Russian works as well as translating books into Russian. He has also raised the profile of The Bulletin of the VaganovaBalletAcademy which from 1991 was published every two years, yet now has a 200 to 300-page edition coming out every two months. The rather austere publication contains original articles and as well as dissertations by degree and doctorate students, and is also freely available to consult online. Recent articles have included The concept of choreography, dramaturgy and motifs in Balanchine’s ‘Symphony in C’; John Cranko: revisiting the creation of a full-evening narrative ballet; various essays on Tchaikovsky’s music; and a piece by Tsiskaridze himself called, We had to find our own accents which discusses Roland Petit’s Carmen. He also restored the chair of Ballet History and Theory at the Academy.
Tsiskaridze’s exotic mane, plucked eyebrows and flamboyant nature probably did not help him to be taken seriously when he was appointed head of the VaganovaAcademy, yet there was a very practical reason for why he was selected for the job, as he explained in a recent press conference.
'When Russia entered the Bologna Process, Grigory Ivliev [former head of State Duma Culture Committee and current Deputy minister of Culture of the Russian Federation] asked me to act as representative of the ballet world. I ended up regularly attending the State Duma meetings, although I don’t belong to any party.'
The Bologna Process aims to ensure comparability in the standards of higher education qualifications among European countries.
'In order to be able to properly communicate with the ministers and the government officials, I had to familiarise myself with the laws. I read everything I could get my hands on, and my hair stood on end as I did. There are so many things that are completely incompatible with ballet! I did my best to make sure that some changes were made to the proposed laws. To illustrate my point, I had to literally perform fouettés in front of the Duma members.'
The Vaganova was facing similar bureaucratic situations:
'Laws, norms and standards are continually updated by the government, to a point where they begin to contradict the ballet and classical music education system. We can no longer teach music or ballet in the same way as we always have, because we will be breaking the laws of human and children’s rights. Unfortunately, due to the fact that my predecessors didn’t react to or resist any of these changes, my staff and I are now being forced to clean up the mess.
For example, a ballet class runs for one and a half hours but, according to the new laws, we are required to take a break. We cannot do this. A class has to run interrupted. It’s difficult to explain this to government officials, bureaucrats or the public from a moral point of view.'
Tsiskaridze got the job but, as with any changeover, noses were put out of joint and there were resignations.
Some of the management left of their own free will, but all of the teaching staff stayed put. There haven’t been any conflicts [he knocks on wood], only emotions. When it comes to creative individuals, bursts of emotion can sometimes be confused with conflict. When the parties are no longer speaking to each other – that’s conflict!
One of the changes that Tsiskaridze has brought about is to change employee contracts from one-year to five-years to give them more job security
When I came to the Academy, the staff were very nervous. They thought that I would rent the buildings out and fire everyone. I promised them a number of things, and I can honestly say that I’ve kept my promises.
During his first meeting with the Vaganova staff, he told them,
'It doesn’t matter what school I belonged to. I’ve given my whole life to ballet and serving this art form is the only thing that matters to me. Coming to this holy place only to leave a bad mark is unthinkable to me. How you choose to see this situation is entirely up to you, I only care about one thing: I don’t want to betray the trust and sully the memory of the great people who taught me.'
He quickly demonstrated that he was on their side and wished to respect and uphold the Vaganova method and traditions.
'I realised within weeks of joining Vaganova, that not a single meeting ensuring a consistency of the teaching method had been held at the Academy since the death of Konstantin Sergeyev 23 years before. I watched classes and saw the same movement taught differently by different teachers.
There are still some ballet teachers around who were taught by Vaganova herself so I brought them in for a meeting. They told me, ‘Kolya, no one’s asked us for advice, and we’re not even invited to the exams.’ They were very grateful when I called a meeting to discuss teaching methods.'
Tsiskaridze doesn’t have his head in the clouds with theoretical notions. As a dancer with an important international career, he is practical about the requirements of ballet companies and their repertoires.
'At first, I listened to everyone’s opinions, but now I simply say, ‘This is how we’re going to do it.’ This is because we have Vaganova’s textbook to rely on, and there is also a wonderful film, which was recorded in the 1940s, in which Vaganova and Tarasov spend an hour and a half explaining how each little thing must be done.
Also, I’ve performed everything there is to perform on the world’s stages and I know which things will be useful to our students when they graduate and which won’t be. That’s why, when someone tells me that we must teach something in a particular way, I respond by saying that although I understand that’s it’s part of Vaganova’s method, I know that when these dancers enter the Mariinsky theatre, they’ll be told that that no one does it this way anymore.'
Of course, as well as new ways of dancing, new styles of dance have been developed since Agrippina Vaganova died sixty-odd years ago.
'Modern dance isn’t currently part of the Vaganova’s compulsory curriculum; our priority is classical ballet. I don’t feel that we are teaching classical dance at a high enough level yet, there is still work to be done. I’ve managed to achieve some things but progress takes time.'
Pushing to modernise some of the repertory danced by the students, Tsiskaridze managed to negotiate with the sometimes tricky George Balanchine Trust to secure the rights for his students to perform Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations. He also contacted Russian choreographer Boris Eifman:
'I love and respect Boris Eifman. I told him that if he was interested in getting involved with the Academy, the doors are open.
Tsiskaridze is trying to broaden the school’s horizons in other ways too. The students now have the opportunity to perform entire acts of a ballet – from Sleeping Beauty and Laurencia – and not just divertissements as was the custom. Also, for more than 10 years the students have not performed outside St Petersburg, but last June, 170 of them danced at the Moscow’s Kremlin Palace, and soon they will tour to Japan.'
Encouragingly, the VaganovaAcademy is seeing a surge in applications,
'The teachers holding the auditions were completely overwhelmed and struggled to cope. They haven’t seen anything like this in years.'
Sadly, Russian health is poor – life expectancy in Russia is twelve years less than that in Britain, for example – and this is reflected in the children who present themselves to the Academy.
'The majority of the candidates didn’t meet the physical criteria. What’s even worse is that a lot of the children were turned down because of their weak health. It’s a huge problem. The second stage of the application process – this has been the case since the Imperial times – is a physical examination. Only a healthy child can pursue ballet.'
So what are the differences between the school that trained him and the school he now governs?
'I don’t think that there is a difference between the two schools. There is, however, a different dancing style, which is dictated by the respective sizes of the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky theatres. Albert E. Kahn talks about this in his book about Galina Ulanova: Ulanova moved to Moscow at 35, so she was a mature dancer with an impressive repertoire, yet she was forced to adjust all of her roles to the new environment.
You have to work very hard to be noticed on the Bolshoi stage. Making a movement with your arm isn’t enough – you have to take three steps and then move your arm. Only then will the audience be able to see you. You have to wear much heavier make-up too, because the space between you and the audience is so enormous. The pas de deux in Act III of Sleeping Beauty is a good example: while dancing this pas de deux at the Bolshoi, I would move two metres in either direction, but on the Mariinsky stage I essentially danced on one spot.'
In a comment about theatre in general and how he (encouragingly) goes to see many plays and not just dance, Tsiskaridze said,
'Sometimes I don’t understand how a show could have possibly been allowed to run. I lament the lack of a tougher approval process: I am against censorship but I am all for common decency. I don’t think there’s a need to show inappropriate things. I don’t feel that it is necessary for an actor to unzip his fly between proclaiming “To be,” and “or not to be”.'
He is certainly no revolutionary and so maintaining tradition is something that is in his nature, but not something that he will do simply by standing still:
'The tragedy of the Titanic took place because it was impossible to make a ship going at full speed come to a halt. Momentum carried it forward, and it’s the same here. One can only achieve change gradually.'
Earlier this year he trod on many international toes when he proclaimed the supremacy of the Russian schools, and he echoed that again at the press conference:
'As far as classical ballet education is concerned, the rest of the world struggles to compete with Russia. Our knowledge has been passed on ‘from feet to feet’ for centuries. Now that I’ve been a director for two years, I can tell you for a fact that a great deal depends of whoever is in charge of the school. It’s an enormous responsibility.'
In September his early champion, Valery Gergiev, said,
'Nikolay has already proven that he does a better job at Vaganova than his predecessors.'
There will be people who disagree with this, but his determination to do a good job can’t be denied.
'I’ve always been a straight-A student. I always try to do my best. I can’t say that I’m a genius who’s done everything perfectly, but I’ve certainly aimed for perfection.'
There are currently rumours in the corridors of the Bolshoi that as his contract with the Vaganova finishes in 2018, which is also when the Bolshoi’s General Director Vladimir Urin’s contract expires, then maybe Tsiskaridze will take over in Moscow.
'I will always be a Bolshoi Principal Dancer but one day I will become a former director of the Vaganova Academy. There is no such thing as a former principal dancer but there can be a former artistic director. Managers have an expiration date.'
Graham Gramilano Spicer
10 November 2015, resource: Gramilano: ballet, opera, photography…