The world-famous Bolshoi Ballet has opened its first school outside Russia - in a small city in the south of Brazil. Despite intense competition from Japan and the US, the little-known community of Joinville was chosen by the Russian dance company for its first satellite centre. The decision was made after a local dance festival impressed the Russian ballet chiefs.

As well as shocking the international dance community with its decision, the Bolshoi has been causing shock waves in Brazil itself. In a country dominated by a code of social apartheid that means the wealthy never mix with the poor, the ballet school has been bridging the class divide. It has have determined that 80 per cent of all places in the beginners' school (for children aged seven to 12 years old) will be given to poor Brazilians who display a talent for dance.

Eleven-year-old Ricardo de Souza is among those to receive such a scholarship. His mother, Rosa, says that the Bolshoi has given her son his first chance to meet wealthier children on an equal footing: "Without the scholarship we would never have been able to send Ricardo to the school.

"The Bolshoi has given him opportunities we only dreamed about. Mixing with children from different backgrounds is totally normal for him now." Brazilian dancer and former Bolshoi teacher Jo Braska was behind the bid to site the school in Joinville, an industrial city built by German immigrants to resemble a typical Alpine community: "Brazil has no history of ballet but we noticed that the young people here have a strong sense of rhythm which is very important," she explains.

Three Russian teachers from the Bolshoi are working alongside 10 Brazilians to instil the company's renowned rigorous methods in the dancers. The co-ordinators of the Joinville school are also in daily contact with the main Bolshoi, ensuring the new dance centre is an exact replica of the Russian original.

The young dancers were chosen after three weeks of tests that determined musical ability, strength and their attitude to discipline. The children selected to join the beginners' section attend three hours of daily ballet classes. When they reach age 12, the 45 most talented will progress to the advanced school - where they are given a chance to study ballet in Russia.

"The most important thing is discipline, like in the Russian Bolshoi, so the children know where they want to go and how to reach their goals," says the school's artistic and technical director, Maristela Teixeira. "The tradition of Brazilian education makes this very difficult, especially for the boys because they are usually very spoiled by their families and have no discipline."

The school has managed to overcome Brazil's macho and football-obsessed culture, which had threatened to reduce the number of boys applying to become dancers. Instead of wanting to be the next Pele, the local boys are now queuing up to don tights and ballet pumps. "We've held many meetings with parents to explain to them that dance does not diminish masculinity," says Braska.

Ricardo de Souza finds most taunts came from adult friends of his family: "They were the worst. Most children at school just congratulated me but the older people thought it was very strange," he says. "I used to play football but now I dance. If people can't accept this change then that is their problem. I love the Bolshoi. It has changed my life and I know that my future is in ballet."