“On behalf of the United States Government, I congratulate the Russian American Foundation and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy on 15 years of successful partnership. Your collaboration has deepened ties between the U.S. and Russian dance communities and encouraged cross cultural understanding through the arts, despite the challenges in the official bilateral relationship. Your success demonstrates that the Russian and American people can perform, learn, and thrive side-by-side. I wish you many more years of successful collaboration ahead.”
- Honorable John J. Sullivan, U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, 2022
“The Russian American Foundation’s contributions to cultural, educational, and sports programs in the United States and Russia help foster greater understanding between the people. Such programs highlight the things that the American and Russian people have in common.”
- Honorable Michael A. McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, 2012
In The News | 2010
Dec
3
2010
Nets start website in Russian
NEW YORK POST: In the seven months since Mikhail Prokhorov became principal owner of the Nets, one thing has become very clear: He is a man focused on the big picture. And, in most cases, big means global. Read More
Nov
22
2010
From Russia, With Rigor
DANCE STUDIO LIFE MAGAZINE: In Russian, “bolshoi” means large, or grand. Anyone who has heard anything about ballet equates the Bolshoi Ballet name with a real pedigree – an institution represented by stellar dancers, such as Maya Plisetskaya, Yekaterina Maximova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Galina Ulanova, Nina Ananiashvili, and more recently, Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev. Read More
June
24
2010
Laguna Hills dancer going to Bolshoi Ballet Academy
HE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: LAGUNA HILLS – Mable Yiu is in the passenger seat of her mother’s Lexus sedan. She pulls a dark blue latex band tightly around her foot, pointing and flexing her toes against it. Read More
June
13
2010
Alexis Collins Earns Scholarship to Dance with Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and NY
BEACON CAST: The Russian American Foundation (RAF) has announced that 10 American high school ballet dancers have been selected for the prestigious National Security Language Initiative for Youth Program (NSLI-Y) this summer. Read More
June
10
2010
Ballerina takes big step forward
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER: SAN FRANCISCO — While many of her friends prepare for the combined anxiety and excitement in anticipation of their first year at college, Alexandra Martin will travel to Russia to study ballet, culture and language. Read More
June
10
2010
ISHS Student Selected for Prestigious Bolshoi Academy
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA: Sarah Wiese, a student of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Independent Study High School, is among 10 American high school ballet dancers selected for the prestigious National Security Language Initiative for Youth Program. Read More
June
2
2010
Russian Heritage Festival
The eighth annual monthlong celebration of Russian culture, at locations around the city. Read More
May
31
2010
Young Americans Embrace Rigors of the Bolshoi
MOSCOW — The curtain rose on the Bolshoi Ballet’s revival of “Esmeralda,” and soon boys and girls dressed in Renaissance costumes took to the stage, pairing off in a spirited dance that they had learned in the Bolshoi’s own hothouse of an academy. Read More
May
19
2010
Russian Heritage Festival Kicks Off With Coney Event
BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE: CONEY ISLAND — The eighth annual Russian Heritage Festival will kick off its month-long celebration of Russian culture in New York on Sunday, June 6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a free outdoor festival featuring Russian foods, arts, crafts, music and dance performances at Seaside/Asser Levy Park (corner of Ocean Parkway and Seabreeze Avenue) in Coney Island. Read More
Apr
25
2010
Our Heritage Through Fashion
THE DAILY NEWS: On April 15th, 2010, Russian American Foundation and Land Rover Manhattan hosted “Our Heritage Through Fashion”, a fashion show and an exhibit, featuring designers from Russia, Ukraine, and Latvia. Read More
March
5
2010
Local dancer makes history with the Bolshoi Ballet
LIVINGSTON ENTERPRISE: Once upon a time there was a little boy who had two half-sisters who were ballerinas. As he grew up watching them dance, he realized he wanted to be a dancer, too. Now, at age 12, Julian MacKay has become the first young American student to perform with the Bolshoi Ballet Company of Russia in Moscow in its 263-year history, according to his proud parents, Greg and Teresa MacKay. Read More