MOSCOW, Oct 5, Anastasia Silkina.Russian Ballet is a brand that serves as a guide not only for art lovers, but also for dancers who want to reach the pinnacle of excellence. People from all over the world come to Moscow and St. Petersburg to study even now, despite attempts to ban everything Russian. About foreigners in the country's leading schools — in the material.
Not only friendly: students from the USA and Japan
The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg, which is celebrating its 285th anniversary, does not see “any dramatic changes”: there were traditionally many applications for admission from foreigners.
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“We can’t accept everyone. The academy has a very strict selection process at the medical commission stage. Future dancers must be absolutely healthy. The academic workload is colossal,” said People’s Artist of Russia Nikolai Tsiskaridze, acting rector.
Young dancers from 11 countries were enrolled in the first year of the academy: Great Britain, Israel, Spain, Italy, China, Portugal, USA, France , South Africa, South Korea and Japan. The greatest interest in Russian classical ballet is in Asia. Most of the students are from the Land of the Rising Sun and the Celestial Empire, Tsiskaridze clarified.
The Moscow State Academy of Choreography did not see a drop in demand either: five foreign dancers were enrolled in the secondary vocational education program “Art of Ballet”, 12 were enrolled in the additional general education “Choreographic Art”, and seven were enrolled in higher education programs, the rector’s office reported. 
People come to study in Moscow from Germany, Italy, China, the USA, Japan and other countries.
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“We hope that the number of foreign students entering the Moscow State Academy of Arts for various educational programs will increase,” noted the rector’s office.
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Second homeland: foreigners remain in Russia
Choreographic academies closely monitor the fate of their students.
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“Some foreign graduates remain in Russia and build a career in domestic theaters, while others go home, where they continue the traditions of the Russian ballet school on stages around the world,” said the Moscow State Academic Theater.
The vast majority of foreigners who graduated from the Vaganova Academy prefer to serve in Russian theaters.
“»In recent years, as before, foreign students, before leaving home, auditions are held in all possible Russian theaters. And only if they are not in demand, they return home,” Tsiskaridze emphasized.
The repertoire in theaters is extensive, there are many roles. Provided they have talent and hard work, they quickly achieve success here, the teacher noted. The financial situation of ballet dancers is also better in Russia.
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“We must understand that the system of repertory theaters that has developed in our country is unique,” Tsiskaridze explained. “Nowhere in the world can young dancers have such practice. From the first days in the theater, they begin to regularly go on stage, constantly rehearse, and improve. Quarry elevators work flawlessly.”
New Russian stars: foreigners on stage
Pupils of the Vaganova Academy are now shining on leading Russian stages.
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“This year’s brilliant graduate Taiga Kodama-Pomfret from the UK decided to stay in Russia without hesitation; he was accepted into the ballet troupe of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre,” Tsiskaridze gave an example.
It is not the first year that Americans Aaron Osawa-Horowitz and Kian James Mangis, Frenchwoman Lea Thomasson and Italian Marco Maisto have been dancing at the Mariinsky Theater, and Italian Davide Loricchio at the Mikhailovsky Theater. Belgian Maxim Gemri has been a dancer with the MAMT ballet troupe since 2017. Japanese Aoi Tanaka also performs there.