Russian Institute of Theatre Arts- GITIS, Russia

 

The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts- GITIS is the oldest and largest theatre school in Russia. It was founded in 1878.

Some 1500 students, graduate students, and qualification-advancement students from Russia and other countries study here annually.

GITIS is a unique theatre institute which trains students for all professions in the theatrical arts and at the same time provides a traditional university education. Concentrations include:

•     Acting (Drama)

•     Directing (Drama)

•     Directing (Musical Theatre)

•     Directing (Ballet)

•     Choreography

•     Directing (Variety Shows and Mass Spectacles)

•     Theatre History, Criticism, and Journalism

•     Producing and Management (Theatre, Television, Stage Shows)

•     Acting (Musical Theatre)

•     Acting (Variety Shows)

•     Directing (Circus)

•     Set Design

The Institute offers graduate and qualification-advancement study in all fields.

Terms of study:

Master's post-graduate programme - 2 years

Post-graduate programme (Ph.D) – 3 years

The curriculum of each concentration includes the following sets of courses:

•     Disciplines within the concentration — courses aimed directly at acquiring mastery of the chosen concentration: directing and acting in the various specialties (drama, music theatre, circus, ballet, variety show), body movement and musical training, stage diction, makeup, theatre criticism and so forth.

•     Disciplines within the curriculum of a general university education in the humanities — history of the Russian and foreign theatre, world literature, the fine arts, music, culture, aesthetics, philosophy, economics, and so on.

Most of the faculty are graduates of the Institute who combine their activities as instructors with their know-how as professionals. They include prominent actors, directors of various Moscow theatres, and also stage designers, theatre critics, and others who hold Candidate's and Doctor's degrees in their fields. The tradition "from student to teacher to new generation of students" is one of the most important principles of faculty policy at the Academy.

GITIS has its own Student Theatre with a seating capacity of 250. Student productions have runs of one or two years, giving students the essential experience they need in perfecting their professional stage skills. The Student Theatre as well as the other campus facilities of the Academy are located in the centre of Moscow in immediate proximity to theatres, museums, and concert halls.

The Institute Library, which houses 350,000 volumes, has one of the largest collections in Moscow of books on the theatrical arts. In the video library there are recordings of productions from various years, as well as instructional videos made by leading Russian performers and directors.

The dormitory, which houses foreign students and students who live outside Moscow, is located next door to a station on the Moscow Metro.

The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts is affiliated with an international consortium of institutes of higher learning offering instruction in the theatrical arts. Its partners include Essex University (London), The Central Academy of Drama (Beijing), National Conservatoire of Drama (Paris), Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (Czech Republic), Superior School of Music and Drama (Madrid)

The Institute offers special summer (July-August) and winter (January-February) courses in acting and directing, biomechanics, and classical Russian ballet. Participants in these summer/winter schools take a shortened course in the field of their choice, and have an opportunity to attend performances at Moscow theatres, to visit classes of other faculty, and to take excursions around Moscow and its environs.