Media - «World School: Ballet Academy produced the youngest deputy rector»: Interview // Novosti Petersburga. — 2003. — October 7-13. — p. 25.

WORLD-RENOWNED SCHOOL!

The Academy of Russian Ballet has produced the youngest vice rector.

It is well known that education is one of the most conservative fields. This is both good and bad. But some older officials are willing to take a chance on youngsters. The appointment of thirty-year-old Aleksey Fomkin to the position of Vice Rector of the renowned Vaganova School is a true testament to the witty aphorism of artist and director Nikolay Akimov: “The slogan ‘Make Way for The Young!’ should not be hung across the road, but along it.”

But even vice rectors remember their teachers on Teacher’s Day. Some with admiration, some with a smile. But all with gratitude.

“Extremes are foreign to me”

Aleksey’s first teacher, who taught him the basics of technique and “put him on his ballet feet”, was Yuri I. Umrikhin. He worked at the Mariinsky Theatre for almost forty years and knew how to “torment” children so that they would grow into dancers. The great art of acting – from fouette to fouette – was taught to the girls by Natalia Dudinskaya, and to the boys – from lift to lift – by Konstantin Sergeyev. The students trembled when Mr. Sergeyev, “the great and terrible”, summoned them to his office. But today, Aleksey understands that every action Sergeyev took was carefully calculated:

— He wasn’t infected by “star romanticism”, was aristocratic in spirit rather than in origin, and knew the true price of everything. He managed to preserve the traditions of 19th-century Russian ballet, although some people are now ready to condemn him for his commitment to the “Soviet aesthetics”. This is extreme, and extremes are foreign to me…

Plumbum, and turn in your notebooks…

The class teacher of the future vice rector and the teacher of many subjects was Alla P. Tsareva. A very large woman with a strong voice. When teaching science, she used dancing to demonstrate the material. Tiny Tanya Salnikova acted as the sun, and the teacher revolved mightily around her, managing to spin on her axis and not fall down. The moon was not included in the ensemble – there was not enough room in the classroom for all the celestial objects. In senior classes of school, Ms. Tsareva taught chemistry to ballet students. She used to be strict with them – when a test was over, she’d say “Plumbum!” and immediately pound the table: “Turn in your notebooks!” The kids would whine: “We’re not done yet…” But Ms. Tzareva would reply: “The time factor is important!”

The basic military training was taught to the dancers by a retired officer whose last name was Nurnberg. He tried his best to turn them into real soldiers, taught them to shoot at the shooting range, disassemble and reassemble Kalashnikov rifles, organized “war games”. But ballet students in green helmets were a sad sight to see.

Good students never blame their teachers

Leonid N. Nadirov is the rector of the Academy and the very official who was not afraid to “make way for the young”. He is also a kind of teacher for Aleksey Fomkin. “This is a man who is wholeheartedly dedicated to his work, who is open to new things, and who is able to admit when he doesn’t understand something. Like Sergeyev, he is a keeper of traditions, and in turbulent times of change, when people tend to break rather than build, I think this quality is extremely important. Of course, he has never taught and never teaches me how to be a manager, but I’m learning a lot from him.”

Because teachers are not just those who give us grades and correct our mistakes. Perhaps the best teachers are those who inspire us to learn.

Tall tale

Devious condensed milk

Learning is hard for everyone, but ballet students are also required to “keep their bodies hungry”. Forbidden fruit is the sweetest, which is why Aleksey’s favorite treat at boarding school was condensed milk. At the time, the product was hard to come by and therefore highly desirable. When you received a package from home, you had to be clever with the contents so that you could share something with your friends, but not be left holding the bag – had to keep the condensed milk. And then, crawling under the bed so that no one could see, you would finally eat it. There was a time when Aleksey dreamed of offering the forbidden product to Ulyana Lopatkina, but he never did. And that was a good thing. Who knows what effect the condensed milk would have had on the future prima ballerina, what if she had not been able to dance Odette so brilliantly at the Mariinsky Theatre?

Irina Zhukova. Photo by Ekaterina Nekrasova

Moscow. Almost the Kremlin. 1988. The Vaganova School is on tour in the capital to celebrate its 250th anniversary. Leonid Nadirov, Natalia Dudinskaya, Konstantin Sergeyev

• Dossier

Aleksey Viktorovich Fomkin was born in 1973 in Donetsk. His mother is a ballet soloist, and his father is a vocalist. In 1983, he was admitted to the Vaganova School. After graduation he worked with the Mariinsky Theatre. From 1995, he studied at the ballet science department of the Academy of Russian Ballet. Since 2002, he has been dean of the school of education. Since 2003, he has been vice rector for academic affairs and teaching methods. He is writing his dissertation. His first book is being prepared for publication.