News: Fredmann Takes Artistic Helm at Kirov Academy of Ballet
“The atmosphere and environment have changed 100 percent,” says Martin Fredmann, newly appointed artistic director of Kirov Academy of Ballet, the Washington, DC–based pre-professional residential school that replicates Vaganova-style training. “The old Soviet influence, the stodginess, the mean-spiritedness of what it was” have been set aside for a new era of openness. The former artistic director and CEO of Colorado Ballet replaces former Kirov Ballet star Marat Daukayev, who had been splitting his time between the DC school and his own academy in Los Angeles.
Created in 1990, KAB has trained numerous notable professionals, including Rasta Thomas, Michelle Wiles, Hee Seo, Sascha Radetsky, Danny Tidwell, Adrienne and Ashley Canterna and Brooklyn Mack. Yet a pall always haunted the school’s reputation: the Unification Church–backed funding and the insular atmosphere.
That curtain has been lifted. After more than 20 years, the church has withdrawn its support ($2.1 million in fiscal year 2009), which Fredmann calls exciting, not daunting. “Having to find funding for the first time makes for a very creative atmosphere,” he says. “I’m used to it after all those years begging for money at the Colorado Ballet. I thought I’d never have to do it again, but I love it.” The school will see a gap between annual expenses of $4.1 million and earned income of $3.3 million from tuition, that Fredmann, along with newly hired development director Robert Lucas, must make up through grants and other appeals.
While Fredmann concentrates on solidifying finances, he will have less time than he’d like to spend in the studio with KAB’s approximately 72 full-time students, ages 10–17. He is also busy putting new programs in place, including a post-high-school “finishing” course, expanded offerings for commuter students and an adult ballet class that he’ll teach twice a week.
“We’re going through a real renaissance right now with the school, while keeping the tremendous heritage of Russian ballet,” Fredmann says. “When I was a young dancer, I remember the first visits of the Bolshoi and the Kirov [to the U.S.]. My dream is to produce a Galina Ulanova of today. She’s the essence of the greatness of Russian ballet.” And, he says, with the right mix of teaching, financial underwriting and competitively selected students, he will.
Photo: Kirov students embody the classic Vaganova style in rehearsal (by Paolo Galli, courtesy of Kirov Academy of Ballet)
