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The Vaganova method is a method of teaching classical ballet that was founded by Agrippina Vaganova and developed into an exact science by her pedagogical pupil for over 30 years, Vera Kostrovitkaya and countless other teachers in the decades following Vaganova's death in 1951. A combination of the French, Danish, and Italian schools, the method has produced many of the world's best dancers and continues to do so today. Vaganova is known for founding the Soviet System of Ballet Education, but her and Kostrovitskaya's teaching method is constantly revised and modified, and still used worldwide.
The method promotes precision in instruction, including how to teach, when to teach, how much of each exercise to give and for how long and when to change forms. Its results in addition to sound technique are a strong lower back, plasticity of the arms and the exact amount of strength, flexibility and endurance in the muscle needed to execute one of the most difficult movements known to ballet technique - that of the classical pas de deux. Although it is widely in use, being the most common ballet teaching method in Russia and parts of Europe, and popular also in the North America and other parts in the world, in today's world, few really understand fully the material. Only a few people outside of the Russian state schools for ballet are certified to teach the true Vaganova method.
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