(Posted 2 p.m., Sept. 7)
World-renowned
ballet instructor drops by Orléans dance school
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
Students
at Leeming Danceworks in Orléans were recently
treated to a special master class given by a special guest
with an lengthy resume.
Igor
Petrov is a former dancer with the world-renowned Kirov
Ballett in Russia and is now the personal coach to some
of the greatest dancers in the world including Alexander
Sergeyev, Ilya Kuznetsov, Konstantin Zverev, and Coryphey
Grigoriy Popov who currently performing with "Ballet
Jorgen Canada" as a special guest dancer.
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World-renowned
ballet instructor Igor Petrov leads a master
class at Leeming Danceworks during a recent
visit to the Orléans dance school.
Photo courtesy of Leeming Danceworks
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Mr.
Petrov was born in Leningrad and graduated from the Vaganova
Academy of Russian Ballet in 1981. He joined the Kirov
(now Mariinsky) Ballet Company the same year.
His
dancing repertoire included "Don Quixote" (Basilio),
"Giselle" (Pas de deux), "The Fountain
of Bakhchisarai" (Vaslav), "Scheherazade"
(Eunuch) as well as every major ballet performed by the
Kirov until 2005.
Mr.
Petrov started coaching in 1996 and has been coaching
full time since 2005. He now runs Master classes for the
students of Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet on a regular
basis.
He was awarded with the Medal of the Government of Russia
"For Great Contribution to Arts and Culture"
and is recognized as one of the top ballett instructors
in the world.
Having
someone with Mr. Petrov's stature drop by the dance school
was somewhat of a coup for Leeming Danceworks, which has
enjoyed a great deal of success on the competitive dancing
circuit in recent years.
During
his visit he taught two master classes and choreographed
a ballet group and two solos for the senior dancers on
the competitive team. His classes were challenging and
inspiring.
Afterwards
he told the students they were the strongest he had taught
in the city and commended their teachers Sharon Leeming
Mann and Tricia Bouvier Harps for their solid technical
training.
Leeming-Mann
said Mr. Petrov's visit was a tremendous honour.
"To
have someone with his background and incredible experitse
and knowledge grace our studio was an absolute privilege,"
says Leeming-Mann.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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