If you?re going to study ballet, it helps to go back to the sources.
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And one of those sources is Russia.
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About 30 upper level students at the Peoria Ballet Academy, located at 809 W. Detweiller Drive, learned the value of the Russian ballet tradition late Friday afternoon.
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Assembled in tights, posed ready at the bar, the girls and young women ? with a few young men, too ? received instruction from Olga Nikolayevna Vasyuchenko, ballet master/coach with the Moscow-based Grigorovich Ballet.
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The Grigorovich Ballet, one of the top ballet companies in the former Soviet Union, arrived Tuesday in Peoria on its U.S. tour. In addition to working with Peoria Ballet students, the company will put on two ballet productions at the Civic Center Theater.?
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Vasyuchenko, speaking through an interpreter, took her charge through an hour and half or so of basic moves: graceful jumps, powerful kicks, elegant arabesques.
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Accompanied by a pianist ? dance instruction often is done to recorded music at the ballet?s studios ? the late afternoon session took on a vaguely 19th century feel. ?Perspiration belied the lighter-than-air moves of the dancers. Everyone was receiving a hard workout.
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One of those was Katie Hollandsworth, 20, a member of the Peoria Ballet?s ensemble and a teacher at the school.
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?All the plies and tendus are the same ? but learning from somebody who has a different accent and whatnot, hearing everything differently, it?s a whole different experience from the normal class we have everyday,? Hollandsworth said.
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?We?re always looking at YouTube videos and learning from different ballerinas. For me, personally, I?m always looking up to the Russians because of their feet and legs and their jumps and their beautiful bodies. It was just surreal having them here.??
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?This is a good thing because this is a well-known company,? said Servey Gallardo, the Peoria Ballet?s artistic director. ?We?re proud to be recognized by them, to come and allow our kids to participate in a master class with them today. It?s going to be an experience for our kids to work with a well-known, professional company.?
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The basic exercises the students went through Friday are ?just as important as brushing your teeth each morning,? said Vasyuchenko through an interpreter after the session was over.
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?Every teacher gives their own type of class,? she continued. ?For them, I think this class was much newer. The movements are the same, but the way you do them are different. The most important thing is to make your brain work differently. A ballerina must be smart. She must be a quick learner and follow all the orders of the teacher.?
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Gary Panetta can be reached at 686-3132 or gpanetta@pjstar.com.
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