Moscow, Russia  - 11 June 2019

1. Bolshoi Theater Ballet Director Makhar Vaziev (right in purple shirt and orange trousers) stands talking colleague then turns and rebukes a dancer arriving late

2. Mid Vaziev and Nardelli talking

3. Wide of Vaziev walking into the artists' door of the Bolshoi

4. Various of Vaziev in his office walking to his desk, speaking to his assistant on speakerphone

5. Wide of assistant entering room and changing channel on CCTV

6. Close of television showing CCTV output of a ballet class

7. UPSOUND: (Russian) Makhar Vaziev Bolshoi Theater Ballet Director (sitting at his desk using remote control to change classes on screen)

"For example here I have all the rooms, (close on TV screen as he changes the camera) the sixth, in the seventh room the lesson is already ending."  

8.UPSOUND: (Russian) Makhar Vaziev Bolshoi Theater Ballet Director (shows app on his phone with live picture from Bolshoi stage)

"Here is the same thing on the stage and sometimes I watch from here, or if I am walking along the corridors, I turn it on and watch."

9. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Makhar Vaziev, Bolshoi Theater Ballet Director:

"Our work is such that in order to achieve something you need watch the whole process closely from start to finish." then answers the phone.

10. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Makhar Vaziev, Bolshoi Theater Ballet Director:

"From here I phone and say do it again, repeat it or put your hands this way, your head that way and it's not because I want to control things."

11. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Makhar Vaziev, Bolshoi Theater Ballet Director:

"I am interested in the result, everything I do, why I give my time, my experience, my strength, it's for the result on the stage ".

12. Dancers in ballet class

13. Mid of Vaziev watching ballet class

14. Various of dancers in ballet class and Vaziev watching

15. Mid of pianist playing in ballet class

16. Wide of Vaziev leaves ballet class

17. Mid tilt down on ballet dancers practicing steps as they walk along corridor

18. Wide of tutus hanging in corridor

19. Various of dancer putting on ballet shoes

20. Wide of Vaziev calling dancers on stage to listen to him ahead of final rehearsal of George Balanchine's 'Symphony in C'

21. UPSOUND: (Russian) Makhar Vaziev, Bolshoi Theater Ballet Director pep talking dancers on stage

"It's not as if I have 100 complaints but even if I have 100 complaints we need to deal with them. Right come on ! Let's go! "

22. Wide of conductor and orchestra playing

23. Various of dancers rehearsing

24. Mid of Vaziev watching, giving instructions and looking stressed

25. Various of dancers

26. Mid of silhouette of dancer watching dancing on stage from the wings

27. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Klim Efimov, 28 year old Bolshoi Ballet dancer:

"If you love what you do and get pleasure from it and want to get better, then I think you just have to work at it. It's not a barrier it's a step towards greater excellence."

28. Various of ballet dancers talking in the wings during rehearsal

29. Mid tilt up of dancer sitting in wings

30. Wide of dancers waiting in the wings

31. Close tilt up from dancer's bodice

32. Various of ballet dancer stretching her leg

33. Close of dancer's dancing on stage during dress rehearsal

34. Wide of dancers during dress rehearsal instructed by Vaziev

35. Various of dancer sitting and panting in wings after she has performed difficult steps on stage

36. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Ksenia Zheganshina, 24 year old Bolshoi Ballet dancer

"It's the carrot and stick (whip and cake in Russian) of course, but I believe you can only get results by being tough. Perhaps it's the Russian way but improvement comes after tough words, tough demands and so we improve."

37. Various of Vaziev instructing dancers on stage during rehearsal

38. Ballet Mistress Elyse Borne demonstrating moves to dancers and Vaziev

39. SOUNDBITE: (English) Elyse Borne, Ballet Mistress, Bolshoi Ballet

"They make them very, very strong, very strong and it's very strict in the style and the musicality which is quite different from Balanchine – who was Russian – so they are struggling a little with that, it's hard to drill in something different than what they are used to doing."

40. Dancers in the wings

41. Dancers on stage during rehearsal

42. Mid of Vaziev giving instructions on stage

43. Low wide angle of dancers rehearsing on stage

44. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Makhar Vaziev, Bolshoi Theater Ballet Director

"I am not conservative for conservatism's sake, that's just utopian. Should we preserve what's valuable? Yes we should preserve it, that's obvious. We should safeguard what's valuable, but we need to remember what it means to preserve, we are not a museum, we don't want to preserve things in a museum. This is a living art form, we need to revive it as we pass it on to new generations."

45. Wide of auditorium

46. Close of chandelier

47. Various of final rehearsal on stage of Maurice Bejart's ballet 'Gaiete Parisienne'

LEAD IN

Tough words and tough demands are what the Bolshoi Ballet dancers claim result in their stunning stage performances.

The man behind their success is Makhar Vaziev - the company's director - who believes in being strict, and monitors all his dancers throughout rehearsals via CCTV and a special app on his smartphone.

STORY-LINE :

Makhar Vaziev's day begins before he sets foot inside Moscow's famed Bolshoi Theater.

Vaziev, Ballet Director at the Bolshoi, only pauses to talk to a coach and chide a dancer running late for class.

A busy day lies ahead with the Bolshoi in production of Symphony in C.

It's a ballet by Russian George Balanchine who is hailed as the father of contemporary American ballet.

The show is in its final rehearsals ahead of the premiere and there's much to be done.

Vaziev has held the Bolshoi's top creative job since March 2016.

When he arrived he took over the reins of a company reeling from a reputation for scandal and infighting, which tarnished the legacy of his predecessor Sergei Filin.

Three years on Vaziev has restored a sense of calm and order, he is known and respected by everyone who works here.

This director runs runs a tight ship at the Bolshoi, keeping tabs on the ballet company and its repertoire.

From his elegantly furnished office, Vaziev can monitor every stage and studio in the Bolshoi with the flick of a remote.

The big television in the corner is linked to cameras watching over every space, a kind of ballet master's CCTV.

"For example here I have all the rooms, the sixth, in the seventh room the lesson is already ending," says Vaziev.  

He can even watch when he's out of the office, checking feeds from rehearsals and classes with a special app installed on his smartphone.

"Here is the same thing on the stage and sometimes I watch from here, or if I am walking along the corridors, I turn it on and watch," he explains.

It is a management style Vaziev believes is vital to maintaining the Bolshoi's stringent standards and ensuring the best results.

"Our work is such that in order to achieve something you need watch the whole process closely from start to finish," says Vaziev. "From here I phone and say do it again, repeat it or put your hands this way, your head that way and it's not because I want to control things."

"I am interested in the result, everything I do, why I give my time, my experience, my strength, it's for the result on the stage," he says.

Outside Vaziev's office, the halls of the Bolshoi buzz with activity, it's known as the corridor of power.

But the director doesn't sit long at his desk.

Most of the day is spent watching his company at work.

In a studio he watches corps de ballet dancers being put through their paces.

Then he moves on to the final rehearsal of the Balanchine production.

Backstage, the dancers are warming up, chalking their ballet shoes, some sit checking Instagram, the wings are buzzing with tension and expectation.

On stage Vaziev is animated, he is an exacting ballet master who scrutinizes technique closely and spares no-one's feelings if he sees a mistake.

The young dancers seem to take the criticism in their stride, they are striving towards perfection.

Twenty eight year old dancer Klim Efimov says: "If you love what you do and get pleasure from it and want to get better, then I think you just have to work at it. It's not a barrier it's a step towards greater excellence."

Efimov is the son of Bolshoi dancers and as a child remembers watching his mother on stage from the wings.  

Dancers here believe they are different from western dancers because they take the discipline for granted.

"It's the carrot and stick (whip and cake in Russian) of course, but I believe you can only get results by being tough. Perhaps it's the Russian way but improvement comes after tough words, tough demands and so we improve," says 24-year-old dancer Ksenia Zheganshina.

US ballet mistress Elyse Borne rehearses Balanchine's steps with the Bolshoi cast, but it's proving hard for dancers used to the Russian training.

"They make them very strong physically, very strong, it's very strict in style and musicality" says Borne. "It's different to Balanchine and they're struggling with that, it's hard to drill in something different to what they are used to doing."

Borne believes the Russian dancers have unique qualities, things like natural artistry, drama and acting which come from within and cannot be taught.

The dancers are proud to have made it to the Bolshoi and patriotism plays into their loyalty.

Many of the dancers are looking forward to tours this year.

The Bolshoi is set to appear on stages in Australia and the UK this summer.

The dancers here though claim they're not sure they would settle in the West, as other Russian-trained ballet dancers have done, most recently prima ballerina Natalia Osipova who is now a principal at the Royal Ballet in London.