Boris Knyazev was born July 1, 1900, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire. He studied at the St. Petersburg Theater School from 1914 to 1917, class of Kasyan Goleizovsky and Mikhail Mordkin. He left Russia after The 1917 Revolution. At first he lived in Bulgaria, then in 1924 he moved to Paris. He was married to the ballerina Olga Spesivtseva. Together, they opened a ballet studio, but after some time they parted.
In 1937 he opened his own ballet school in Paris, and in 1953 one in Lausanne; he taught in Athens and Rome, and led the International Academy of Dance in Geneva.
Boris Knyazev was an excellent teacher. He taught Zizi, Roland Petit, Yvette Chauvire and even Brigitte Bardot.
Boris Knyazev’s school is based on two assumptions: en dedans (socks and knees facing each other) and en dehors (deployed outside). Knyazev was the first who paid equal attention to these exercises. He enforced in his school the main rule – a daily exercise has to include and en dedans, and en dehors. He was a founder of ballet exercises on the floor – barre au sol.
To the spread of the” bar to the ground” Kniaseff method, his students contributed later becoming teachers of the same technique in France,Italy, England and United States : Jacqueline Fynnaert, Alex d’Orsay, Noeile Winkalmann, Francesco Costanzo, Luis Bernardo Ribeiro.
Over the years the Kniaseff method has been the subject of various reworkings for modern dance and other types of coreutic method of the sbarra a terra – floor barre to earth of Francesco Costanzo Ballet Theatre is more evolved from the old method.
Improves the dynamic balance, both on the ground and at the sbarra a terra – floor barre exercises are studied in the years of experience and research of the choreographer.
High boast of the sbarra a terra-floor barre on the ground
Improve posture, increase brain concentration, improve maintenance and stretching, classical dancer becomes dynamic and fludium.
With the study of the ground floor barre you understand
better dance and knowledge of the art world.