Why would a Russian ballet school in Midwood Brooklyn be named
Brighton Ballet Theater? What was the motivation to start a ballet school for
children when the competition was so great and the monetary reward often
small? How did the concept of the fusional approach of Brighton Ballet Theater
come to be? There are so many layers to the origins of this dance studio and its
unique founder that it takes more than a paragraph to unpack it all. Sometimes
one name can be an umbrella over many things and the popular trope, “It’s
complicated”, seems to describe Brighton Ballet Theater and the convoluted
twists and turns of Irina Roizin’s life.
Brighton Ballet Theater began as a dream. When she was a child Irina
studied Russian character dance and gymnastics in Ukraine, including training at
the Lviv Circus School, she was also a soloist with the Ukrainian National Folk
Dance Companies “Yunost” and “Mria”. Irina’s training in Lviv, Ukraine, also
included folk and character dance with Mikhail Krichevets, People's Artist of the
USSR. She also danced with Mr. M. Vantukh, the current artistic director at the
National Ukrainian Dance company "Virsky." Irina Roizin as a young girl found
joy, confidence, and a channel for emotional expression in her performing. One
day, she knew to the core of her being that she wanted to share her experiences
with children to give them the emotional refuge, through the arts, that had been
given to her in her Ukrainian childhood.After immigrating to the United States as
a teenager Irina studied with Mesdemoiselles Galina and Rona Ryback, both
esteemed former teachers and choreographers at the Bolshoi Theater in
Moscow. Irina’s training in all these different modalities of movement and dance
led to the fusional approach of BBT.
The common thread that has run through Irina’s life of studying, performing,
and sharing her multitude of skills and talent through teaching has been the
consistent desire to have a platform on which to build a welcoming home-like
school where children and adults can belong to a warm, emotionally supportive
and growth fostering community while training in dance.
BECOMES REALITY
In 1987, that dream became a reality when Irina founded the International
School of Dance in Midwood, Brooklyn. When the school moved to the Brighton
beach neighborhood in 1988 and changed their name to Brighton Ballet Theater,
“Brighton '' originally did not refer to Brighton Beach. “Bright On '', was a play on
words and was meant to refer to a dancer putting on a bright attitude of
happiness, a bright future, and bright ideas while dancing with bright wings
carrying a child to the heights of their imagination and representing the
multicultural and immigrant community of the neighborhood.
In 2005, Brighton Ballet Theater relocated close to Brighton Beach on the
beautiful campus of Kingsborough Community College and popular assumption
was the location determined the name. The growing school welcomed the
chance to serve a surge of Eastern European immigrants and other cultures who
recognized the value of Vaganova ballet instruction. Some students even sought
BBT from locations hours away due to the growing reputation Brighton Ballet
Theater had for combining top notch teachers with psychological sensitivity which
was rare then and now.
Edouard Kouchnarev who is the artistic director and principal
choreographer since 1995 has created and adapted new pieces from classical
ballet specifically for younger performers. Edouard’s approach is to mix different
genres and often deepen a meaning to encourage and expand the artistic
expression of the students.
The Land of Freedom replaced the land of sweets in Mr. Kouchnarev’s
version of, “The Nutcracker'', and the children’s picture book of an old folktale,
“The Turnip '', has become a ballet with whimsical costumes and circus-like
gymnastics and a lot of silent comedy. It was an original creation by Edouard that
may be destined to become a classic.
Brighton Ballet Theater also has welcomed special needs students into
their fold and one year a boy with Down syndrome performed during the holiday
performance of “The Nutcracker”. Often other disabled students perform in their
annual festival, “The World of Dance”. BBT keeps evolving and growing better
with time as they create new and exciting programs in addition to the traditional,
classical dance. They are always warm and welcoming while lifting the spirit of all
involved in keeping with the original mission of a young girl from Ukraine who
wanted other people to feel empowered, expressive, and joyful because
encouraging sharing of those feelings with others was a big enough reward for
her.
Author: Wallace Mohlenbrok