USA International Ballet Competition

In its early years, the program was developed by the late Jurgen Schneider, former Ballet Master and Company Teacher for American Ballet Theatre and the late Janina Ciunovas, former faculty member of the Australian Ballet School. Together, they compiled their information from their studies as teachers, at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, GITIS, under Nikolai Tarasov and at the Vaganova Academy, under Alexander Pushkin.

In 1987, Mrs. Schneider began six years of study of The School of Russian Classical Dance with both Mr. Schneider and Ms. Ciunovas. In 1993, Mrs. Schneider was accepted to the methodology course at the famed Vaganova Academy under the artistic director, Igor Belsky, and the director of methodology, Margarita Zagorskaya. She completed the two-year course for international teachers, where she studied with Valentina Vasilievna Rumyanseva. Mrs. Schneider has been certified as a teacher of the Vaganova Program from the Vaganova Academy. She is the only natural-born American to hold this certification.

Mrs. Schneider has the benefit of her studies with her late husband, Jurgen Schneider, and the late Ms. Ciunovas, as well as from her studies in St. Petersburg, to provide a unique and important perspective on the teaching of The School of Russian Classical Dance. Along with her 23 years of experience teaching at the HARID Conservatory, she is able to offer this all-important thorough breakdown of the first year of study. This is not an overview, rather it is an in-depth breakdown of the “hows” and “whys” of the teaching of this methodology.

The Teacher Training Program will be held in four-hour afternoon sessions, Monday-Friday for two weeks during the USA IBC. Participants may also observe competitor class and dance school classes in the mornings. Additionally, Teacher Training Program participants will have observation access to Alexei Ratmansky’s lecture demonstrations and Joffrey master classes.