Agrippina VaganovaBasic Principles of Classical Ballet: Russian Ballet Technique

The formation of the Russian classical style at the end of the 19th century was an extremely important event in the history of ballet, yet it is not something that happened all at once.This book helps explain how the different national techniques of Italy/France/Denmark came together to inform the Russian technique--probably the most influential training style of the 20th century.The pictures are pretty cute, too.

An extraordinary work, this book sets forth the foundation of the teaching methods at the Bolshoi. Mrs. Vaganova conflated the sprightly Italian style with the affected Russian style to forge the “right” way of dancing ballet.A+++++

Buena encuadernación, las ilustraciones son muy buenas también. El contenido es muy útil.

Classic of classical ballet. A small book, old-fashioned little drawings, but all is explained. I had this one growing up, and now got it for my daughter. It contains everything from basics to more complicated positions, so one uses it differently as one advances through the art.In any case also an item of general ballet culture, giving good insight into the Russian Classical Ballet school.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book. I read it before class, in particular, I read about the things I will be doing in that class so that I am well prepared. I often read it during a relaxing stretch. If there's anything in particular that I want to learn it's great because of the very descriptive language. I only wish it had a glossary of terms with a picture/diagram next to it, so that if you're in a hurry you won't have to read through a whole paragraph. The russian to english translation in some places are a bit iffy, which causes some vagueness and ambiguity in it when trying to understand it. But as whole, it is a very good read. To sum it up:PROS:- very descriptive- good diagrams- easy to read and to understandCONS:- a few areas of vagueness due to the russian to english translation (a very minor con)ADVICE:- I suggest you use this book along side with 100 Lessons in Classical Ballet: The Eight-Year Program of Leningrad's Vaganova Choreographic School (Vera S. Kostrovitskaya).- Highlight particular words or phrases that help you understand the particular term, so that later if/when you're in a hurry you can just flick through the book to find what you need.

It is a very useful guide for anybody trying to enter the world of ballet, and it tries to make every movement clear, i think it is almost imposible to describe dance with words but with the help of the book and some visual aids, like videos on youtube, you can have a very complete understanding of this marvelous world

The book was a Christmas present for my daughter. She dances and teaches Russian ballet. It was perfect.

This book has great ballet history and techniques.