VENTURA BALLET TROUPE PREPARES FOR ‘NUTCRACKER’
By Kim Lamb Gregory (Contact)
Ventura County Star, CA
Nov 13 2007
As if wearing toe shoes instead of Uggs boots, Olga Tcheckachova
sat in a chair with one foot perfectly en pointe, the other crossed
and resting on her knee. Dressed in leggings and a T-shirt, the new
codirector of Ventura’s All American Ballet was preparing to teach
a class.
"We would like to bring this (ballet) tradition from Russia," said
Tcheckachova, who was born and raised in St. Petersburg, where the
"Nutcracker" ballet was first performed.
Tcheckachova, 31, and her husband of two years, Sayat Asatryan, 37,
became the ballet company’s artistic directors in September, right
after it became the first nonprofit ballet school in the county.
The ballet’s staging of "The Nutcracker" in December will be the
creative team’s first production. It will be very traditional,
Tcheckachova said; in fact, she and Asatryan have arranged to have
"Nutcracker" stage scenery flown in from Russia for the All American
Ballet production.
"I like modern dance, too, but I think it’s good for children to
learn the tradition," Tcheckachova said, "to learn the history."
"The Nutcracker" has plenty of both. With music written by Peter
Tchaikovsky, the Christmas-themed ballet has been produced around
the world ever since it was first staged in St. Petersburg in 1892.
The All American Ballet will give two "Nutcracker" matinees and one
evening performance, with each featuring a different ballerina dancing
the lead role of Clara.
"I feel kind of like a princess (on stage) and like everybody is
watching me and it’s my chance to impress people," said Emily Van
Dolah, 14, of Ojai, one of the Claras.
It’s that sense of presence that Tcheckachova hopes to give her
students through the discipline of ballet.
Moving with confidence
During one afternoon class of girls ages 12 to 14, Tcheckachova
walked behind students at the ballet barres, turning a hand here,
lifting an extended foot there.
"You lift your leg high; it has to be pointed," she encouraged the 18
students in class that day. "Present yourself as the principal dancer!"
Tcheckachova knows what it is to be the star. She graduated from the
Perm Ballet Academy in Russia and was the principal dancer with the
Moscow Kremlin Ballet. She went on to perform starring roles in the
St. Petersburg Classical Ballet and the Kirov Ballet.
"The Kirov is the gold standard for ballet in Russia," said Camille
Wallace, AAB Board of Directors president.
Both of Tcheckachova’s parents were ballet dancers. Ballet, which
is supported by the government in Russia, is at the heart of
Tcheckachova’s childhood memories.
"I guess with me, it was always (a) passion," Tcheckachova said.
Tcheckachova remembers being backstage almost nightly when her parents
were performing in St. Petersburg.
"I go upstairs with the costume ladies. They dress me up with wigs
and costumes," she said. "I memorize all the ballets."
Although they were pirouetting in the same ballet circles, Tcheckachova
didn’t meet her husband until she came to Santa Barbara to teach
in 2000.
Born in Armenia, Asatryan trained at the Voronezh Ballet School and
St. Petersburg Ballet Academy. He was a principal dancer with the
Moscow Kremlin Ballet and toured internationally.
Jiae Azad, 14, of Ventura is among those who isn’t sure if, like her
teachers, she will pursue ballet as a career. But she says she enjoys
the benefits ballet gives her.
"When school starts getting harder, it relieves my stress," she said.
Jiae, who will be dancing the role of Clara in one of the performances,
was introduced to ballet as a preschooler when her parents thought
that she wasn’t getting enough exercise. She grew to love it.
"If it was soccer, I would just be running around, but with ballet,
I get to do something physical and I get to express myself," she said.
Reaching out
Part of the mission of the new, nonprofit All American Ballet is to
expose more Ventura County residents to classical ballet.
"It feels like it’s always an uphill battle," Wallace said, adding
that, when it comes to appreciation of the fine arts, "California as
a whole is a little slow. There’s a cultural sense that athletics are
more important. There is competition with Hollywood and the athletic
world. The arts just don’t have the pizzazz and sparkle."
This is also true in some area schools, Wallace said, which is why
she hopes that the ballet company’s new nonprofit status will better
enable the school to offer scholarships and outreach programs to
underserved or low-income elementary school students.
"We’d like to send out dance instruction into a Title I school,"
Wallace said, "to offer a month or two-month-long series of classes.
It could be an after-school program."
The board purchased the ballet school and performance company from
its private owner, Ventura resident Clarissa Boeriu. The board then
united the two entities into one nonprofit corporation, which is a
model used by leading ballet companies around the nation.
"It brings us to a size that is more attractive to outside funding,"
Wallace said.
Its nonprofit status, Wallace said, will enable the organization to
apply for grants, which will in turn enhance the production value of
the shows and continue to support the instruction the school offers
to about 80 students ranging in age from 2 to adult.
As they take the helm of the All American Ballet, both Tcheckachova
and Asatryan realize that very few of their students will go on to
dance professionally, but they believe that ballet has benefits beyond
training with a career in mind.
"No matter which profession they choose, it brings them confidence,"
Tcheckachova said.