The Russian Ballet Society is the only company offering comprehensive training in the Legat method of classical ballet, from the time of Nicolas Legat to the present.
The aims of the Society are to preserve and maintain Russian Classical Ballet, in its purity of style and tradition, and the Legat system in its classical relevance. At the same time, the basic system is being further developed according to contemporary requirements, with an eye to the future.
Our roots date back to 1923, when Nikolai Legat (Nicolas) and his wife Nadine Nicolaeva arrived in Britain. After a short period in France, they returned to London where they opened a school. Famous dancers of the time took lessons from Legat, including well-known names such as Anton Dolin, Margot Fonteyn, Andre Eglevsky, Moira Shearer & Nathalie Krassovska, etc.
Over time, an examination system was devised to benefit young students, many of whom have gone on to have glittering careers in dance.
After her husband's death in 1937, Nadine Nicolaeva – Legat retired from the theater to continue training students in the school they had created. In 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, he moved the school to a town near London, taking many students with him and thus creating the first dance college in Great Britain.
Upon her retirement, in 1967 Nadine Legat delegated the responsibility of promoting teaching with the Legat Method to her favorite student, Eunice Biedryski Bartell.
In 1986 Mme Biedryski Bartell moved the headquarters of the Russian Ballet Society to Edinburgh and has since spread the Legat Method and the Russian Ballet Society Exam Syllabus to many other parts of the world.
Teachers in Italy, Germany, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, United States of America, Thailand and Japan have studied and/or adapted their own method to the Legat one, thanks to the personal effort and attention of Mme Bartell
All teachers are members of the Russian Ballet Society and hold dance exams with the society annually.
In 2013, the Russian Ballet Society Italia was founded in Italy, with the aim of bringing together all the Russian schools already existing in Italy and promoting the Legat Method.
We are proud of our work and the successes achieved by our students and teachers, both at home and abroad, who continue to inspire interest in the Russian Ballet Society and the Legat Method.