Character Dance is a unique and integral part of Russian Classical Ballet that exists only in Russia. Its basis is the national and folkloric dance traditions that are incorporated into Classical Ballet. The Character Dance genre was codified during Petipa by Alexander Viktorovich Shiryaev, Petipa’s assistant. Although an essential part of many major ballets, there is no school of Character Dance anywhere outside of Russia. Character Dance is a unique form of art that is unknown outside of Russia and that is gradually disappearing.
When Mansur was a student at the Vaganova Academy, he studied directly with Shiryaev. In addition to performing classical roles and working as a classical teacher, beginning at age 22, Mansur also specialized in Character Dance. He was Principal Character Dancer with the Bolshoi and was the Chair of the Character Dance Department at the Bolshoi Theatre.
For the serious student, dancer or teacher, study of Character Dance with Mansur offers a unique opportunity. Please email or call for more information about this area of study.
This section of the website will be updated periodically to give more information about Character Dance and Mansur’s work to preserve this nearly forgotten but essential component of Ballet. Please see the Character Variations on our Video Clips page for examples. The video shows Polish, Hungarian and Spanish Character Dances.
Director of Program and Master Teacher. Former Principal Character Dancer, Teacher, Ballet Master, Choreographer and Acting Artistic Director, Bolshoi Ballet 