Photos: En pointe as young as three at Moscow’s ballet schools

In a small studio in northern Moscow, parents and grandparents sit in a corridor waiting for children –overwhelmingly all girls and some as young as three to finish their ballet class. Russian ballet schools are considered the best in the world because of their adherence to tradition and rigid training. With many run by former professional ballerinas, it is in these types of studios that a dancer's willpower and character is forged before going on to the country's prestigious ballet academies.

Updated on: Nov 28, 2018 9:42 AM IST

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In a small studio in northern Moscow, girls as young as three in tutus and pointe shoes practise their ballet moves in front of a mirror. Lined up on their mats, the youngsters have no difficulty stretching their legs up over their heads -- let alone doing splits. (Mladen Antonov / AFP)

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A pair of pointe shoes hangs on the wall at a ballet studio in Moscow. The studio is one of dozens in the Russian capital, home to some of the world’s best ballet troupes. Many are run by former professional ballerinas. Children and teenagers meet at the studio in a Soviet-era community centre three times a week for classical ballet classes. (Mladen Antonov / AFP)

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They are overwhelmingly girls, their long hair tied tightly in buns high on their heads. “We have boys, but unfortunately not many,” the studio’s director and former ballerina Oksana Mironova tells AFP. She proudly adds that one boy she taught is now a dancer at the historic Bolshoi Theatre. (Mladen Antonov / AFP)

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Girls attend a class at a ballet studio in Moscow. Mironova herself started out at a ballet school in Saratov, a city on the Volga river. She went on to train at a Saint Petersburg academy, where she was taught by Russia’s legendary prima ballerina Natalia Dudinskaya. (Mladen Antonov / AFP)

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After a 10-year career in Moscow, a knee injury that stopped her from dancing, and she opened a ballet studio in 2001. It is in these types of studios, she said, that a dancer’s “willpower and character” is forged before going on to Russia’s ballet academies -- famed for their strict and rigid training. (Mladen Antonov / AFP)

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Girls use a smartphone at the dressing area of a ballet studio. Mironova stressed that while “you have to shout a bit” during a class, the teachers are “warm” to the children. (Mladen Antonov / AFP)

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Girls attend a class at a ballet studio in Moscow. Russian ballet schools, she said, are considered the best in the world because of their adherence to tradition. (Mladen Antonov / AFP)

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An instructor helps a student’s pose during a class at a ballet studio in Moscow. “We (the teachers) are all professionals from these academies and theatres and we safeguard these traditions,” she said. (Mladen Antonov / AFP)