BOLSHOI
BALLET
ACADEMY

Indiana Woodward: The Ebullient Ballerina With a Human Touch

 

Pointe Magazine: "The summer that Woodward was 15, she received a scholarship from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy to train in Moscow for two months. But though she’d grown up traveling regularly to see her father, this was her first time taking on a foreign city—and language—alone. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Woodward reflects. But as she slowly adjusted to the studios’ raked floors and rigorous stretching practices, Woodward started learning Russian together with another scholarship winner, Gabe Stone Shayer—now a soloist with American Ballet Theatre and still a friend. She also fell in love with her character-dance classes. “The teachers would ask us to be very aware of our fingertips or the placement of our port de bras to explain a story with movement, which is such a delicate thing,” she says. These skills remain evident in Woodward’s emotive approach to roles like Princess Aurora and Juliet."  Read More

Lessons Learned from a Pandemic Summer—And How Intensives Might Adapt

 

Dance Magazine: "Kirshner says, they were able to bring Russian students from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow into Zoom classes to demonstrate Vaganova combinations. "The students saw Academy dancers who have been living, training in this technique from the youngest age demonstrate it in a very accurate, age-appropriate form," she says. Feedback from families said it was an inspirational alternative to the status quo—one that wouldn't have been achieved in a live format. Kirshner says, "We always say within our program that ballet transcends cultural barriers, and physical borders. I think the takeaway is a reminder of how resilient we are and driven by love for this art form."  Read More

Three summer BBASI Alumni finding success on the world stage

San Antonio Report: "Sixteen-year-old ballerina Kate Thomas has danced in Texas, Florida, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Denver, and at the prestigious Lincoln Center in New York. For the moment, pandemic travel restrictions limit her to dancing in her hometown of San Antonio, but once those lift and life returns to some semblance of normal, she will dance at The Royal Ballet School in London. Thomas entered competitions and earned scholarships from her efforts, traveling to summer intensives put on by the Bolshoi Ballet, Ballet West, the Houston Ballet, and the Colorado Ballet Academy. "  Read More

Rising Star Gabe Stone Shayer on Breaking Stereotypes

as a Black Male Ballet Dancer

Philadelphia Magazine: " At 14, he finally achieved his childhood dream of living internationally. He moved to Moscow, Russia to split his time between The Rock and the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet Academy — an institute which is older than the U.S. itself — before moving there full time. At Bolshoi, he was the first Black dancer to ever attend the program and the first Black dancer to graduate at the top of his class."  Read More

BBASI & NSLI-Y Alumna named Main Line Student of the Week

Main Line Times: " A senior, Brooke McCarthy is a ballet dancer extraordinaire. In her junior year, she was part of the National Security Language Initiative for Youth, a scholarship program funded by the State Department that involves intensive ballet and Russian language training through the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. As a rising sophomore, she participated in the Ellison Ballet Summer Intensive, and as a rising freshman she was part of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive, which involved ballet technique, classical repertoire, character dance and partnering."  Read More

American Ballet Theatre Promotes Gabe Shayer, BBASI Alumnus and RAF Training and Performing Scholarship Recipient, to Soloist

Dance Magazine: " This morning, in a sweeping move, ABT promoted six of its soloists—Cassandra Trenary, Skylar Brandt, Calvin Royal III, Joo Won Ahn, Thomas Forster and Aran Bell—to principal dancer. Longtime corps standout Gabe Stone Shayer is promoted to soloist.

The announcement ushers in an exciting new era of young, home-grown stars, and adds welcome diversity to ABT's top ranks."  Read More

Colorado Ballet Announces 2020/2021 Season Dancer Roster

Broadway World: "Jacob Ray was born in Irvine, California and moved to Michigan at an early age. He began his dance training at age eight at the Grand Rapids Ballet Company. He spent summers training at intensives such as American Ballet Theatre in Irvine and The Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive in New York on full scholarship, receiving an invitation by academy teachers for full-time study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. In 2019, Jacob joined the Colorado Ballet Studio Company and was excited to be promoted to Apprentice in 2020."  Read More

BBASI Alumnus, Julian MacKay, to join San Francisco Ballet as a Principal

Pointe Magazine: "He is known for being the youngest American to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, completing the upper-division in 2015 at age 17 and becoming fluent in Russian. Following his training, MacKay made his professional debut as Siegfried with the Russian State Ballet in Berlin. He later won the Prix de Lausanne, and spent a year as an apprentice with The Royal Ballet."  Read More

From gaining resilience to acquiring new languages, ballet has significantly shaped Abby Zhang’s life

The Central Trend: “ 'It’s really an eye-opening experience to [attend the Bolshoi Ballet Academy] because it’s just so diverse,” Abby said. “You meet people who speak all of these different languages and who have come from all these different backgrounds. And you get to dance with them, and in the end, you all are doing the same thing. You all are doing ballet together.' ”  Read More

Local Dance Student Takes First Place in Worldwide Competition

Insider NJ: "Sophia Musal, 14, of Mount Olive also received accolades from the judges...Ms. Musal earned a spot in the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive which provides expert training for serious ballet students ages 9-14."  Read More