Hello! Is the russian Method of ballet the same as the vaganova method of ballet, or are they totally different? and what are the qualities of these methods. Thanks all!<P>*hugs*<BR>Jan<P>------------------<BR>Teaching Today Touches Tomorrow!<P>

In my view - they are not the same. There was a very famous group of dancers who left Russia with Diagelev (Karsavina, Nijinsky, Pavlova, etc.) around 1909 - they became the Ballet Russe. That predates the teachings of Agrippina Vaganova. Those dancers danced for many years and then when they retired settled down in many different places in the world and taught the way they had been taught, which predates Vaganova method.<P>There were also some very famous Russian ballerinas who taught in Paris - Olga Preobrajenska, Mathilde Kschessinska (to name two) - they also predate Vaganova. They predate her not in TIME - they were contemporaries but in method. <P>I am sure you can get some great dance history books out of the library - it makes for very enjoyable reading.