Layout, Atmosphere, Photos

When I first learned that I would be going to the Bolshoi in Moscow for four weeks, I did what anyone else would do and I tried to figure out the layout and atmosphere of the place.  Unfortunately, I didn't fall upon any holy grail of decoding the area, though I did find a few posts on Vaganova.

But I am not at Vaganova.

Without further ado: photo batch 1 of Bolshoi pics.

This is the room you first see when you take the elevator up from the entry hall.

A dark hallway full of empty academic classrooms.  If you keep going, there are dorms.  You though college was convenient, just having to walk across campus to class.  The dorms and classrooms are on the same floor, in the same "wing" in some cases.

The view of the courtyard and school from a window.

What I assume is the typical room layout.  Two single beds, one bunk bed, one desk and chair, another chair, bedside table, and varying kinds of cabinets.  We re-purposed the top bunk as suitcase storage.

A lounge.  Ping pong seems to be pretty popular.

Empty hallway with that famous carpet.

The empty cafeteria.

Another entry hall, complete with many houseplants, a large mirror, and three pianos just out of sight.

The girls' shower room.  Not as bad as I first thought.

The very Soviet gym as viewed from the hallway level.  We do ab work on the ladders.

The main entrance from the steps.

I think all studios are like this.  It is raked and that's quite an adjustment.  There are 20 studios, but the ones in the corners are larger.  

The same studio, full of dancers.