Bolshoi: A Classical Ballet Company In The World

“Bolshoi” translates to “great” in English, and is certainly a fitting name for one of the oldest and most respected classical ballet companies in the world. Founded in 1776, the company originated from a ballet school created for the children of the Moscow Orphanage, which was founded in 1763 by Catherine the Great. Filippo Beccari, an Italian ballet master who had been dancing with the St. Petersburg Court Theatre, was hired to produce professional-level dancers in only three years. He was successful, and thus the legacy that is the Bolshoi was born. The company was not always so great (many great things weren’t always so- sometimes it is the difficult journey which creates such greatness). During the first couple of centuries, the company suffered many fires caused by the stage lights, which required frequent relocations. Eventually (in 1825) they moved in to the Petrovsky Theater, which would later become the Bolshoi Theater. After surviving many ups and downs, the company finally found security with the rise of the Soviet Union. During this time, classical

Dancers were picked from around the age of nine or ten, after undergoing rigorous tests on flexibility, musicality, physical health, and even a test by which doctors could predict their adult body shape. They were then admitted into a ballet school closest to them, such as the Bolshoi, where they lived away from their families. Once at the school, they trained for long hours every day, with a full load of academics as well as piano and ballet history to support their training. The classes would be cut down in size every year, sometimes for reasons as superficial as a few pounds too many, and so only the physically and mentally strongest would graduate. Even graduation was not a guarantee for a job with a