Alexander Pushkin: Master Teacher of Dance (Hardcover)

~ Gennady Albert (Author) "Dry lines from an application and an excerpt from an official order, but behind them lies the fate of an artist and master teacher..." (more)
Key Phrases: graduation performance, fifth position, entire combination, Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Ivanovich, Kirov Theater (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

At the great Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, Alexander Ivanovich Pushkin (1907-1970) danced many leading roles from 1925 to 1953. However, it was as a teacher at the Leningrad Choreographic School that he became a legend. Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov were his star pupils, but nearly all the leading male dancers of the Kirov Ballet from the 1940s through the 1960s were taught by him. Filled with personal photos, as well as others of his students and classes, this concise, insightful biography reveals to us the life and techniques of a master teacher.

Alexander Pushkin: Master Teacher of Dance presents in detail three of Pushkin's classes: a Senior Class from the late 1930s-early 1940s; a Graduating Class from 1967; and an Artists' Class from the 1960s. The classes reveal the inventiveness of his combinations and the logic of his class progressions. Pushkin always refused to write a ballet textbook because he did not want his method, which was flexible and adapted to the individual needs of his students, to turn into a rigid lesson plan. However, he was generous in sharing his ideas on teaching with all who came to observe his classes. His openness is reflected in this biography by a former student, which makes available for the first time in English the techniques of one of the greatest and most influential of all modern ballet teachers.

For dance enthusiasts as well as for the serious student and teacher, this small volume illuminates the methods and personality of a man little known in the West, but someone who has made significant contributions to the international world of dance.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 198 pages
• Publisher: New York Public Library (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871044528
• ISBN-13: 978-0871044525
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,885,956 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)