the director
VLADIMIR ISSAEV
BALLET MASTER | CHOREOGRAPHER | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Passionate About
Inspiring Others
EXTRAORDINARY AWARD by the Miami Latina Magazine
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PROCLAMATION June 11, VLADIMIR ISSAEV DAY by Miami Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
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A LIFE FOR DANCE - LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD by the International Ballet Festival of Miami
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2009 Best Arts Educator of the State of Florida by the Florida Alliance for Arts Education.
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2002 “Best New Choreographer” at the Dance Under the Stars Choreographic Competition in Palm Springs, California.
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Honorable Merit Diploma by 2002 from the Terpsihora Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts in Dance of Saint Petersburg, Russia, in recognition for his outstanding performance enhancing the art of classical ballet on the Vaganova Style in the United States.
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Most influential Ballet teacher by the National Foundation 2000 of the Advancement of the Arts.
Vladimir Issaev is currently Ballet Master, Choreographer & Artistic Director of Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida and former Ballet Master of Ballet Nacional de Caracas - Teresa Carreño and Miami City Ballet School. He was born in Siberia, Russia, in 1954. At the age of 11 he began his ballet studies at the Choreographic School of Voronezh, obtaining the degree of “Ballet Artist” in 1973.
After working as a ballet dancer for several years at the Opera House of Ufa, also home to Rudolf Nureyev (who is considered one of the most influential and inovative male ballet dancers), and the Opera House of Odessa dancing the whole classical and modern repertoire, he was admitted at the State Institute of Arts Lunacharsky G.I.T.I.S. in Moscow to complete his superior studies for Ballet Master & Choreographer under the tutelage of the great Russian Masters such as: Eugeny Rudenco and Guerman Pribilov (both direct pupils of Nicolai Tarazov) Yulii Plagt (Vaganova’s direct pupil), Rastizlav Zaharov, Larissa Trembovelskaya, Tamara Varlamova, Raiza Struchkova, Tamara Tkachenko, Boris Jojlov, Marina Kondratieva, Eugeny Valukin, and Ludmila Kolenchenko. He graduated in 1986 as Ballet Master and Master Choreographer with the highest grades and honors of the Institution.He has been Academic and Artistic Director at the Choreographic School of Frounze where he held the title of youngest director of all ballet schools in the Soviet Union territory at the time, and as a Ballet Master for the disciplines of Classical Ballet, Character Dance, Court Dances and Pas de Deux.
He relocated to Venezuela in 1987 and worked as Ballet Master and Regisseur for the Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas for a year. In 1988, he was invited by Maestro (Mo.) Vicente Nebrada to take the place of Ballet Master at the Ballet Nacional de Caracas - Teresa Carreño. After being invited by Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico to hold a Russian Ballet seminar, Vladimir traveled to Puerto Rico where he remained working as Ballet Master and Director of Rehearsals. During that time he also worked as assistant to the famous Choreographer and ballet dancer Papa Beriozoff for Don Quixote. He returned to Venezuela in 1991 to continue his work as Ballet Master for Ballet Nacional de Caracas - Teresa Carreño and repetiteur for the principal roles of its classical and neoclassical repertoire. During those years he prepared with the finest technical skills, the principal dancers of the company for their soloist roles.
As a Choreographer he has staged several ballets in Russia, United States, Puerto Rico and Venezuela for the Choreographer School of Voronezh and Frounze, the Ballet School Teresa Carreño, Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas, Ballet Nacional de Caracas Teresa Carreño – Second Company and for the Ballet Nacional de Caracas Teresa Carreño itself, Ballet Concerto de Puerto Rico, Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, Miami City Ballet School, The Georgia Youth Ballet, The Vaganova Ballet Academy (Kirov) in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Among his many works we find: “Swan Lake”, II & IV Acts for Ballet Nacional de Caracas and in conjunction with Mo. Vicente Nebrada, (Acts I & III); “Chipollino” (Music: Karen Kachaturian) a two acts Ballet for Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Ballet Juvenil de Venezuela, South African Ballet and Georgia Youth Ballet; “Nutcracker Suites” for Ballet Nacional de Caracas - Second Company , The Ballet School of Teresa Carreño Cultural Center and Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida; “The Seasons” for The Vaganova Ballet Academy- Mariinsky Ballet; " Stone Flower", “Firebird” and “Polovetsian Dances” for the Matsumoto Ballet in Nagoya, Japan.
Since 1991, Mo. Vladimir Issaev has been invited repeatedly by the Dance Educators of America Association and by the Russian Ballet Seminar to hold Russian Ballet Seminars alongside the great stars of the Kirov Ballet Alla Sizova and Irina Kolpakova in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ballet Theater of Scranton, California University, Santa Barbara and Sacramento.
Mr. Issaev has developed the Imperial Ballet Seminar of Russian Technique in Miami, Florida, under the sponsorship of the Miami-Dade Cultural Affair Council, having Madame (Mme.) Alla Osipenko (world renown primaballerinaabsoluta and star of the Kirov Ballet and one of the latest students of Agrippina Vaganova), Mme. Alla Sizova, and Tatiana Terekhova formerly prima Ballerinas of the Kirov and faculty members of the current Vaganova Ballet Acadcemy as guest ballet teachers.
Mr. Issaev has been guest Ballet Master for the Florida Dance Festival and the Cecchetti Seminar at the Harid Conservatory.
Five CD’s of Music for Ballet Technique Classes have been released, interpreted by pianists Marina Stolyar and Karl Moraski under Issaev’s direction. Every CD has received the best reviews. He is working now on 2newCD's for the collection Ballet Music for Ballet Masters.
He has also been invited as guest Ballet Master by several international companiessuchas: Le Jeune Ballet de France, Ballet Nacional de España and Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal among others. He was invited by late Fernando Bujones to teach Master Classes for Orlando Ballet and later at the Florida International University.
In May of 2001 Mr.VladimirIssaev, was honored to be called as a Judge for the First International Competition of Choreographers held in Russia.
Vladimir Issaev was awarded in September of 2002 as “New Choreographer” at the Dance Under the Stars Choreographic Competition in Palm Springs, California.
In August of 2002, Issaev received an Honorable Merit Diploma fromtheTerpsihora Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts of Dance of Saint Petersburg, Russia, in recognition for his outstanding performance, enhancing the art of classical ballet on the Vaganova Style in the United States.
In 2003 Mr. Issaev was nominated for the Dance under the Stars Choreographic Competition in Palm Springs, California, for two of his choreographies: “Endless” and “Taiko-Women”.
In September of 2004, Vladimir Issaev staged “Shostakovich Suites” for the Voronezh Choreographic School in Russia. After, he also accepted an invitation from Prima Ballerina Altinay Asylmuratova, director of the Vaganova Ballet Academy – Kirov School of Ballet in Saint Petersburg to stage a Ballet for the graduating students who will be joining the Kirov Ballet Company. This choreography was premiered March of 2006, followed by 3 more performances in June of 2006 during the “White Nights Festival” at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In June of 2005 Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico presented the premiere of Issaev’s new work “Doctor Ouch!”, a ballet in two acts based on the story of Korney Chukovskiy with great success.
In June of 2007 Mr. Issaev served as Ballet Master for the second International Ballet Competition of Korea.
His dancers have been recently awarded at the American Ballet Competition in Miami, Florida and the Youth America Grand Prix in 2007.
In 2010 the Michiko Matsumoto Ballet performed Issaev's ballet "Stone Flower" with great success and achieving the best reviews.
His career continues to outstand when he is invited to stage more ballets for Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico, guest star for the Gala of the Camera Ballet of Lima in 2015 and 2016. Choreographer for the Polovetsian Dances and Firebird for the Michiko Matsumoto Ballet in Nagoya in 2014. Guest Ballet Master in Queretaro , Mexico; Lima , Peru; Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa; Saint Petersburg and Voronezh in Russia; Nagoya, Japan; Jakarta, and Surabaya in Indonesia and Menorca, Spain.
Vladimir Issaev has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Classical Dance Alliance and the UNESCO International Dance Council. Vladimir Issaev has been awarded Best Arts Educator of the State of Florida by the Florida Alliance for Arts Education. He has been artistic Director of the Russian Ballet Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, the International Ballet Competition in Caracas, The International Ballet Competition "Golden Pointe" in Poland, the International Ballet Competition of Lima, Peru and has received an important recognition from the Department of Cultural Affairs in Peru for his contribution to the development of the art of ballet in Peru.
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In 2018 Mr. Vladimir Issaev founded and is the Artistic Director of the Miami International Ballet Competition. He has recently been appointed as the Artistic Director of the Asia Ballet Academy in Malaysia.
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Mr. Issaev is considered one of the top ballet masters and choreographers worldwide.