A Day in the Life: Vaganova Ballet Academy

Many people have reached out to me asking me about my daily life here in Russia.

So today I will take you through what a day is like training at Vaganova, as well as show you around some of the inside of the academy.

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My life in Russia definitely has its differences, but in many ways it’s similar to my life back in America. I spend most of my time training, doing school work, eating and sleeping; you know, the usual life of a ballet dancer😆. My day usually starts at around 8:00 am. I wake up, eat breakfast and get ready for my day. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I have Russian Language class starting at 9:00 am. This class usually lasts for around an hour and a half. If I am not in this class, I am doing my own online high school until I have lunch a little before noon. Then I head over to the academy to go warm up. Every day except for Sunday, I have my Classical lesson starting at 1:00 pm. There are three times you can have classical: 9 am, 11 am or 1 pm. Your schedule can vary a lot depending on which class you are in. My class can last up to 3 hours, give or take or basically however long our teacher wants to go for that day! (I plan on doing a post talking more about the structure of the training at VBA soon!)

After that class, depending on the day, I either have character, gymnastics (stretch + strength) or sometimes a практика ("practika" --Russian word for practice) which your teacher can schedule when necessary. We usually have these a lot when we are preparing for an exam or performance. In the evening, there are many rehearsals scheduled; there is basically always something students are preparing for! These rehearsals are usually from around 5:30-7:00 pm. If I don't have a rehearsal, I like to find an empty studio and practice on my own for a while in the evening.

Additionally, 2-3 days a week I have a Variations class that is specifically for foreign students. This class is taught by Yulia Makhalina, former principal dancer with the Mariinsky!! I love this class and always look forward to it! This class is usually scheduled from 5:30-7:00 or if there are rehearsals, 7:00- 8:30. After my classes are done for the day, I go eat dinner and come back to my dorm room and relax. I like to roll out my muscles, soak my feet, finish schoolwork I need to complete, do my Russian language class homework if any was assigned, and FaceTime my family and friends and tell them about my day.

Saturdays in Russia are just normal work days; students have all their normal academic and dance classes! Sundays are our rest day. (Post coming soon about what I like to on my day off!)

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Here are some photos showing you where I am every day!

One thing about Russia is there are a lot of stairs and no elevators! Every day to go to and from my dorm room, I have to walk up 74 stairs --not that I've counted lol🤣. And that doesn't even include all the stairs I walk up to get to the studios in the academy. Well, on the bright side, my legs will be very strong by the end of the year!

This photo shows part of the courtyard I walk through to get to and from the dormitory to the academy.

Here are my academy ID's. On the left, is my key card that I have to swipe to get in and out of the academy and dormitory. On the right, is my official student card. This card can get me into Mariinksy and Mikhailovsky performances for free! Definitely my favorite bonus! Also, this card allows students to get into the famous Hermitage museum for free as well as gives discounts for several other museums and cathedrals around the city and at many ballet stores. So that's pretty awesome!

These are photos from my русский язык (Russian language) class showing the classroom and some of my homework.

Another thing I think is really cool about the academy is that they have framed lists of every graduating class since 1742! They are all lined up along the walls of the stairs I walk up every day. To put things in perspective, America was founded in 1776!😱 I find the long history of the academy to be so inspiring!

Here's a picture of our Раздевалка (dressing room). Usually a couple levels share one dressing room.

Here is the area my class warms up in every day. I like to warm up for around 45 mins before class. Additionally, my class has a long warm-up that we do all together at the barre before the teacher comes in. The second photo is of the view I look out at while I warm up.

Here are some photos of the studio I have my классический урок (ballet lesson🩰) in every day! It is hard to tell from the picture, but the studio floor is very raked (slanted). That was a bit challenging to get used to at the beginning, but now I don't even notice it.

This is a picture of me in the studio where I have my Характерный урок (character lesson). It is one of my favorite studios in the academy! My character teacher is Vadim Sirotin. He is one of the most highly regarded teachers in character dance. He has been teaching at the academy since 1994. It is crazy to think he has been teaching character classes since years before I was even born. 😱

This is the studio where I have my variations class taught by Yulia Makhalina. This is the most well known studio in the academy as it features a portrait of Agrippina Vaganova. It is also the studio where the upper courses have their exams and is the one you see in all the graduation exam videos posted online. I have to say this studio has a special feel and I love having class in there. 🤩

One of the many staircases inside Vaganova... 😍

This is the room where we have our гимнастика (gymnastics) lessons. We do stretching and strengthening exercises during this class.

My bed💗 Don't ask why all the outlets are way up high on the walls... I have no idea!😆

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Stay tuned for my next blog posts sharing some of my recent experiences as well as my first exam at VBA! Comment below what else you are interested in hearing about!

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