British schoolboy accepted by the Bolshoi Ballet Academy

Warrington Guardian
April 18, 2012

A great Sankey schoolboy will be swapping the Golden Square of Warrington for the Red Square of Moscow after winning a place at one of the world’s most prestigious ballet schools. Alessandro Caggegi will be heading to the Russian capital in September to study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy – becoming only the fourth boy in the UK to be selected and the first to come from a mainstream school.

The 16-year-old said: “I started dancing at the age of five and I have been training at Kate Simmons Dance Ltd ever since. My mum was a dancer but she was more jazz and she took me to see my first ballet when I was four, and that was it from there.”

By day Alessandro, of Brentnall Close, is like any other pupil at St Gregory’s High School, but as soon as the school bell rings his focus turns to dance. “I train every day after school. I go straight from school pretty much every day, three hours a day depending on classes,” he added.

He decided to audition for the world-renowned ballet company after being mesmerised by the Bolshoi after seeing them perform. Alessandro added: “I have loved watching the Bolshoi. They did a tour when I was 10 and came to Manchester to perform Spartacus and Swan Lake. It’s been in the back of my mind and when it came to auditioning for dance schools I thought why not. Everyone at school was pretty supportive, everyone was so excited.”

Alessandro, who had to send off a video of his work to the Russian ballet company before being told he had been accepted, will start at the school after completing his GCSEs.

“At the moment I’m really excited about the move,” he said. “I have done a bit of travelling before but I don’t know what it will be like when I get there. I have just got a Russian book. You have Russian classes every day so everyone will be starting from scratch.”

Alessandro has already had success, winning national competitions for his impressive skills.

Kate Simmons, who trains Alessandro along with Tracey Moss and Gillian Hurst, said: “We are proud of him. We have a full time college here but he has the wanderlust and wants to travel. He has got very high marks all the way though his training. We wish him all the best.”

The annual fees for the Bolshoi Ballet Academy are £15,000 a year and a fundraising page has been set up from Alessandro’s website to help with the funds.

To find out more or if you can help with fundraising visit Assendro’s website.

© Copyright 2001-2012  Newsquest Media Group

Teen bound for Bolshoi Ballet Academy

by Gary Skentelbery
Warrington Worldwide
April 18, 2012

Schoolboy  Alex Caggegi , aged 16, currently in his last year at St Gregory’s Catholic High School and Warrington’s very own “Billy Elliot”, is only the fourth ever British boy to be accepted at prestigious ballet school in it’s 239 year history, the other three all coming from vocational dance schools.

He now needs to find £15,000 a year to help fund his time at the Bolshoi and also learn to speak Russian!

“I sent a DVD off to the academy showing class work and a classical and contemporary solo and was shocked when they emailed me back saying I had been offered a full three year course.”

Alex, who has been a member of the Kate Simmons Dance School for eleven years has progressed through the grades and is now working towards an Advanced 2 Cecchetti Ballet exam. As well as ballet he also does tap and jazz and plays in a brass band.

“I am really going to miss my family and friends but this is a fantastic opportunity,” said Alex, who hopes the experience will help ensure him a career with a top company.

While he would love the opportunity of appearing with the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre, he realises there is little chance, as Russian students generally fill all the available spaces.

He has already gained experience performing around the country in various shows and has won various awards, most recently the Ateneo Danza Summer School Scholarship in the Cecchetti International Classical Ballet Competition in July, an event which attracts dancers from all over the world.

His inspiration is Mikhail Baryshnikov, a dancer with the Kirov Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet.

Alex has already had a taste of Russia while on holiday in the country to watch the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre in action. He will start his training on September 1 for the next three years. “The training will be rigorous. I will not only dance ballet but also contemporary, pas de deux, historical dance and have a one and a half hour Russian lesson every day!

“I will definitely miss my dancing school, it has given me so many great memories over the years and the quality of the training is phenomenal, but I am so excited to begin my time in Russia.”

Now Alex and his family are busy fund-raising by organising a variety of events. He is also looking for sponsors and donations which can be made at the website by clicking here.

© Copyright 2012 Warrington News

Young British dancer makes history in Russia

By Barbara Jordan
Runcorn and Widnes World
April 17, 2012

A ballet prodigy who became only the third British boy to train at Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet Academy in 236 years is making history. Daniel Dolan, aged 19, from Widnes, scored top marks in his first two years and is now soaring to further success.

He braved the Greek riots in February to perform in Athens alongside students from London’s Royal Ballet. Daniel, of St Luke’s Crescent, said: “I was performing a piece to the music of Bach. It’s a very challenging, modern piece with quick and complicated choroeography. It includes a lot of partnering and solo work and is very exciting to dance.”

Daniel was selected to stage three pieces in a concert, after an audition in front of the entire academy. He performed the Armenian dance from Swan Lake, Fandanko from Don Quixote and the principle male variation from Le Fille Mal Gardee.

His second piece was selected to close the show and received excellent reviews.

He danced at The Bolshoi Theatre when it re-opened after a £500,000 refurbishment.

Daniel travelled 11 hours on a train to perform at a dance festival in Kazan. He said: “I absolutely love travelling to new places and new theatres to perform. It’s great to dance in front of very different audiences.” He was offered a role by two ballet companies whilst he was there.

His dad, Pete, said: “Daniel has been invited to teach students at the Bolshoi Academy in New York in the summer, a tremendous honour for a non Russian.

“He starts his final year in September and will become the second ever British student to graduate, an outstanding achievement. He will then audition for roles with top ballet companies and is set to have a world class career.”

© Copyright 2012 Newsquest Media Group

Related Articles:

Daniel Dolan, 17, makes history at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy

British Lad Dances Into The History Books

Boy who chose ballet over rugby wins place at Bolshoi Ballet Academy

Young American Dancers at the Bolshoi Theatre

By Jessica Golloher
PRI The World
October 31, 2011

Play Podcast

And with that, dancers took to the stage at Russia’s finest theatre, for the first time in more than six years, after more than $700 million in renovations.

Muscovite Maria, who didn’t want to use her last name, braved the wind and cold to see the opening gala. “This is like a big holiday for us! This is a beautiful theatre. The opening is so important for all of us, for Russia, for Moscow. This theatre is the face of all Russians,” she said.

And well, that’s what brothers Julian and Nicholas MacKay want to change. They’re 14 and 10 – the youngest Americans ever admitted to the Bolshoi Academy, the training ground for the big stage. They were relegated this weekend to watching the historic performance outside, on giant TV screens, dwarfed by the historic theatre and a nearby statue of Karl Marx.

They’ve been dancing at the Bolshoi Academy for three years and two years respectively. Julian says it’s been a struggle; both teachers and students were hard on him. “Some of them don’t like the United States, they think, “Oh … Americans.” I got a lot of that, especially from the kids. After I became friends, you kind of realized it’s not them saying that, it’s the old generation,” said MacKay.

Brother Nicholas agrees that being from the land of baseball and apple pie isn’t exactly something to brag about. He says it was hard to make friends when he first arrived, though American culture is certainly catching on.

The boys agreed to meet me after 14-year-old Julian had his birthday party at the Chili’s restaurant on Arbat Street.

“If I had understood some of the things they said, I don’t think I’d be very good friends with them right now,” said MacKay.

The sweet faced, all-American boys came from Bozeman, MT to attend arguably the best ballet school in the world.

Their mother Teresa Khan, wasn’t exactly on board when eldest son, Julian, got an invitation from the Academy at the age of 12. “When he got the invitation for Russia, I said, “No I’m not going.” It wasn’t necessarily on my bucket list to do,” said Khan.

But the family is something of a ballet powerhouse. Khan says she relented after talking to her daughter, who, along with her sister, is dancing at the state ballet in Munich, Germany.

“My son would resent it. Sooner or later he was going to realize, it’s the Bolshoi. I had the opportunity. The door opened and I didn’t run through it because my mom and dad wouldn’t let me,” said Khan.

And both her boys have been running towards that Russian stage door ever since. Julian and Nicholas spend up to 11 grueling hours, every day, on their young feet.

Blue-eyed Nicholas, the 10-year-old, looks unfazed and smiles when he describes his typical day, which includes 10 classes. “I get up about 7:30, got to school. I have Russian class, then ballet class, maybe gymnastics, historical dance class and repertoire. The final class ends at 6:30. I come home and do home schooling with my mom,” said MacKay.

Brother Julian, 14, says sometimes his schedule gets to be more than a bit overwhelming. “I do feel like that everyday, but I think you have to push through it. It’s after the long days of class your brain hurts, your legs hurt, everything hurts. I really feel that definitely it’s a challenge. It’s something you just have to push through,” said MacKay.

And Julian’s commitment has caught his teacher’s attention. He’s recently been placed in quite a few Bolshoi performances. “It’s really been quite an experience. I was in Esmerelda, Paquita, Sleeping Beauty…,” said MacKay.

Julian even danced with principal Natalia Osipova when he was 13 in Coppelia. It was broadcast live and aired in more than 300 theaters in 22 countries. “I’m standing here and there is Osipova standing right there! And she’s right there, dancing on the same stage!” said MacKay.

Little brother Nicholas has even gotten in on the action, although he would have liked to have had a slightly bigger part. “I danced in Napoli on the Stanislavsky stage. I basically had to act like a monk. I had a very long, like black dress thing. I was the priest holding the cross to bless the boats. It’s a start,” said MacKay.

Many people would argue that being at the world famous Bolshoi Academy at such a young age is more than just a start, but both Julian and Nicholas are very disciplined and focused; though they admit it’s still tough keeping up with the Russians.

“I think Russians are a bit too harsh, but they really care about their students. As you get older, they get more tough on you. I think it’s tough love,” said MacKay.

It’s that tough love that both boys say they’ve come to appreciate and expect from their teachers.

They both hope to graduate from the Academy and join the Bolshoi as a principal dancer one day… even though it may be a rough road ahead. Julian says he isn’t fazed because he says at least that path has been blazed by David Hallberg, the first-ever American to join the Bolshoi as a principal dancer. He starts in November.

© 2011 PRI’s The World

Related Articles: Julian and Nicholas MacKay

Boys and Ballet YouTube Channel

.

Bolshoi Ballet Academy 5th year boys 2011

Posted to YouTube by Ilyaballet

Ilya is better known as Ilya Kuznetsov. He attended the Bolshoi Ballet Academy from 1984-1992. After graduating, he was a soloist for the Bolshoi Theatre (’92-’94) and the Moscow Classical Ballet (’94-’95).  In 1996 he was a finalist in the Nuriev Ballet Competition and the International Ballet Competition. Mr. Kuznetsov  was a principal soloist for the Imperial Russian Ballet (’95-’98) and the San Diego Ballet (’98-’02). He has been a classical ballet teacher at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy since 2002.

The students featured in this video are 14-15 years old.  The commentary is by the boys themselves. English subtitles  

 

Boys and Ballet YouTube Channel

From Bozeman to Bolshoi to the big screen

By Alyssa Small
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
June 6, 2011

Less than two years ago, Julian MacKay was just a boy from Bozeman who liked to dance. Now, the 13-year-old is one of the youngest American dancers ever to perform with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow.

Last month, Julian performed in the Bolshoi’s “Coppelia,” a ballet that was recorded and broadcast live from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The performance aired in more than 300 theaters in 22 countries worldwide.

“When I started rehearsing the part, I didn’t really know what it was going to be,” Julian said in a phone interview. He said at the audition he hadn’t even been tall enough to fit into the costumes. “Then, the next thing I knew, I was cast and dancing on the stage and there was [Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer] Natalia Osipova.”

Julian was previously the youngest American ever to be asked to attend the Bolshoi Academy. He has since lost that title.

“His brother, Nicholas, beat him out,” said the boys’ father, Greg MacKay.

But it hasn’t upset him. Instead, having Nicholas there has made things easier. Both boys started at the academy without knowing any Russian.

“I made friends with the Russian students because they understood some American movies, like James Bond,” Julian said. “I cracked some funny jokes, and that’s how I made friends.”

Now, Julian and Nicholas are fluent in Russian, taking classes from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., six days a week, and earning top marks on their dance exams. Julian has lost count of the number of times he has performed with the ballet.

Julian played one of the village people in “Coppelia,” alongside partner Nina Biryukova. One of the best parts was that the performance was broadcast live, Julian’s mother Teresa Khan MacKay said.

“His sisters got to watch it in Munich, and I had friends watching in Paris and New York,” she said. Since Teresa moved to Russia with the boys to support them, she watched it live in the Bolshoi Theatre. Julian’s father, who lives in Bozeman, has not yet seen the performance because it did not air in Montana.

Neither Theresa nor Greg takes credit for inspiring their children’s love of dance. “I’m not even a wannabe,” said Teresa. “I don’t have the personality or the desire for dancing. But I do have a great love of beauty.”

While both boys have bright ballet futures ahead of them, and Julian hopes to one day play the role of a prince, like in “Sleeping Beauty,” the family hasn’t forgotten its Montana roots. Nicholas is looking forward to floating the Madison River and Julian loves going to the Boiling River in Yellowstone.

“I really like Russia, but Montana is still home,” Julian said.

And the boys wouldn’t have gotten far without first learning to love dance in Bozeman from their instructor, Christine Austin. “Where my children are now, they had to start somewhere,” Teresa said. “If Montana didn’t have classical ballet opportunities for kids, our children never would’ve gotten this far.”

An encore showing of the “Coppelia” broadcast will play June 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Shiloh 14 in Billings, the Carmike 10 in Great Falls, and the Carmike 10 in Missoula. Because there are no Carmike theaters in Bozeman, no local showings have been scheduled yet.

 

© Copyright 2011, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Montana dancer performs with Bolshoi

By Richard Ecke
Greatfalls Tribune
Photograph by Youth Arts in Action
June 6, 2011

Thirteen-year-old Julian MacKay is one of four dancing wunderkinds from a single Bozeman family. Eldest sister Maria once watched a live ballet performance and commented, “I should try it,” recalled youngest brother Nicholas MacKay.

All four siblings leapt into classical dancing, and have achieved international success.

Julian was the only American to dance with the Bolshoi Ballet during a performance May 29 in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre New Stage.

In a telephone interview from Moscow, Julian admitted he was nervous at first before the performance, but his Russian instructor helped him keep cool.

Julian said he was “extremely excited” to dance with the legendary Bolshoi company, especially when he spotted the giant sold-out crowd, which reacted to dancers’ performances during the ballet “Coppelia.”

“They clapped forever,” he said.

“The New York Times gave it rave reviews,” said proud father Gregory MacKay, a Bozeman computer consultant who is the only member of the family still in Montana, aside from the family dog, a miniature Schnauzer named Shakespeare.

Besides Julian, also wrapping up this school year in Russia is younger brother Nicholas, 10, who has tied on ballet shoes, along with sisters Maria Sascha Khan, 23, and Nadia Khan, 20.

Nicholas figured it made sense to join in the fun. “I thought, ‘Hey, this looks cool, and everybody else is doing it,’” Nicholas said. “I love the way that Russians teach you.”

Nicholas and Julian were both at the top of their dance classes at the Bolshoi Academy during the year, said their mother, Teresa Khan MacKay, who home-schools them in a rented apartment in Moscow, within walking distance of the academy.

Nicholas in recent months appeared in “Napoli,” playing the role of a monk at the Stanislavsky Ballet and Opera Theater in Moscow. He hopes to make his debut with the Bolshoi Ballet during the next school year.

The youngest MacKay’s friends in Montana think it’s cool he is studying ballet in Russia.”They want me to bring back souvenirs,” Nicholas said.

Teresa, Julian and Nicholas soon will leave Russia for the summer and stop in Germany to visit Maria and Nadia, who are performing with the Bayerishes Staatsballett in Munich. Then it’s back to the United States for a Connecticut summer dance program for the boys, and finally to Montana, where the family expects to reunite in August.

Neither MacKay parent has a dance background.

Teresa remembers her reaction to Julian receiving an invitation to enroll in the Bolshoi Academy. “I’m not going,” she said flatly. She changed her mind in a day or two, with Maria’s encouragement.

“It’s been an adventure,” said Teresa, who also is executive director of a Bozeman-based nonprofit group, Youth Arts in Action, which helps talented students pursue the arts.

If there is any downside to this fairytale story, it’s the big cost for kids to attend the Bolshoi Academy in Russia, Gregory MacKay said. He said British students at the academy have corporate sponsors, and he hopes some American companies will jump in to sponsor these talented, articulate and athletic young ballet dancers from Montana.

It’s hard to beat a Bolshoi education, he added. “It’s considered the best one for boys in the world,” Gregory said.

Copyright © 2011 Greatfalls Tribune

 

Related Articles: Julian and Nicholas MacKay