2017 SUMMER INTENSIVE PROGRAM
CLASSICAL BALLET SEMINAR OF RUSSIAN TECHNIQUE

Elena Zabalkanskaya

Elena Zabalkanskaya was born in Leningrad. She studied at the Vaganova Ballet Academy from 1966 until 1974 when she graduated having as her teacher Elena Vasillevna Shiripinoy. Upon graduation she was accepted to join the Kirov Ballet, now called the Mariinsky Ballet where she worked until 1996 dancing the most famous ballets of the company such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Raymonda, Les Sylphides and many others. She has been part of the faculty of the Vaganova Ballet Academy since 1996 and also works at the Mariinsky Theatre, the Mihalovsky Theater and the Stanilavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Ballet Theater in Moscow. Ms. Zabalkanskaya has been featured in every documentary and film dedicated to the Vaganova Ballet Academy of Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Mr. Andrei Bossov
Mr. Bossov who have graduated from the prestigious academy and danced for 20 years at Mariinsky Theatre of St. Petersburg, Russia. The next year after graduation he began to teach at the Academy. Later he received his Master Degree as a ballet master at the GITIS Institute in Moscow. In 1996 he established the school Bossov Ballet Theatre in Pittsfield, Maine where he remained until 2013. His students dance all over the world in professional ballet companies, and he is a prize winner and a choreographer for many ballets.

Mr. Vladimir Issaev

(bio)

RUZANA IREMASHVILI

Ruzana was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. In 1991 she started her ballet studies at the V. Chabukiani’s Tbilisi State Choreographic College. She graduated in 1998 as a ballet artist. Immediately she joined the State Ballet of Georgia where she danced soloist roles in Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Laurencia, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet touring with the company to Israel, China and Armenia. Additionally Ruzana attended the Tbilisi State University of Culture where she obtained her Major as a Ballet and Character Dance teacher and choreographer. This is her second year at Vladimir Issaev School of Classical Ballet. From 2002 and until 2010, she was a member of the famous Georgia Ballet conducted by Nina Ananiashvili. She is teaching Character Dance as part of the Vaganova Program of Vladimir Issaev School of Classical Ballet which is part of the curriculum of the school.

VALENTINA BYCZYNA

Valentina Byczyna - Ballet Teacher and choreographer in classical ballet, character dance, history of dance and court dance. She was born in Georgia in Tbilisi. Ms. Valentina , received her ballet education at the Tbilisi State Choreographic School. In 1977, she graduated from College and received the title of Ballet dance artist. That same year she joined the Tbilisi Zacharias Paliashvili State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre where she worked with outstanding choreographers such asVakhtang Chabukiani, Georgy Aleksidze, Michael Lavrovskii, Alexander Plisetsky, Nikita Dolgushin and many others.
Since 1996, she has worked at the Dnepropetrovsk State Academic Theater. In 2009, she graduated from the Kherson State University and received her master's degree as a Ballet Teacher in all dance disciplines.
For three consecutive years she has collaborated with Ochi International Ballet in Japan. She was a member of the jury of the Nagoya Ballet Competition and she also worked as a guest Ballet Mistress of the Belgrade National Theater of Opera and Ballet.
She is currently a faculty member of the Dnepropetrovsk Choreographic School where she teaches the Vaganova Method.

Mary Carmen Catoya (Ballet )from Venezuela, began her professional career at the age of 13. She danced with the Youth Ballet of Venezuela, the Contemporary Ballet of Caracas, Cleveland Ballet and as a principal with the National Ballet of Caracas, where she was coached and trained by Ballet Master Vladimir Issaev. She danced as a principal at the Miami City Ballet from 1999 to 2015. Her repertoire includes works of George Balanchine, Vicente Nebrada, Dennis Nahat and Vladimir Issaev. She received the award "Premio Casa del Artista" as Best Classical Dancer of the Year in 1999  and “Premio Municipal de Danza 2002″ as best dancer.
In 2004, she was invited to perform for the opening of “Queen Mary 2″ Ship Gala and then in August 2005 she was invited to dance “Unanoche con Tamara Rojo” in Madrid, Spain. In October 2006 she danced the full-length ballet Don Quixote, to open the Carnival Center Performance art Center now Arsht Center in the city of Miami.
In 2008 she was invited by Dennis Matvienko to perform in his own Gala Night at the Mikhailovsky Theater in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In July 2011 Mary Carmen open and close Les etes de la Danse at the theatre du Chatelet in Paris with Miami City Ballet dancing the principal role in Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial.
Mary Carmen has danced internationally as a guest artist in Spain, Brazil, China, United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, Canada, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Mexico, Bosnia, Curacao, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba and Argentina.

RENEE ROBERTS

RENEE ROBERTS (Modern/Contemporary ) She started her ballet training with Vladimir Issaev when she was four years old. During her years with the school she performed roles such as Snow Queen and Dew Drop in "The Nutcracker," Winter and Fall in "The Seasons," as well as other original classical works by Mr. Issaev that were performed in both Poland and Germany. She continued her training with the dance department at Butler University, performing in classical pieces such as Gerald Arpino's "Viva Vivaldi” and Finger Fairy in “Sleeping Beauty,” as well as modern works like Paul Taylor's "Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal),” and an original contemporary work, "Displacements" choreographed by Marek Cholewa (faculty) which was performed at the International Concert of Schools of Dance in Bratislava. She graduated cum laude majoring in dance performance with a minor in gender studies, and received the Lynnette Jordan Schisla scholarship.

JORGE ROBLEDO

Jorge Robledo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina where he trained in dance and theater. Later he relocates to Spain where he trains with different teachers and choreographers. He has performed on the most outstanding stages world wide and with the most prestigious artists such as Rocio Jurado, Isabel Pantoja among others. He continues to perform with the most prestigious Flamenco companies in South Florida. Jorge teaches only at selected locations in Miami, among them Vladimir Issaev School of Classical Ballet and is also part of the faculty of the Summer Intensive Program of Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida.