When I was 11, I saw the Sleeping Beauty and fell in love with Russian ballet. 

Several years after, I got a chance to study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Naturally, I decided to go to Moscow to study. 

My brightest memory is the graduation exam at the Academy. It was a ballet lesson rather than a stage dance and performing in it before an audience felt most unusual. But it was the exam that made me realize that mastering the “basics” a performer has to rely on throughout their entire career is most important. 

I have tried to memorize as much guidance from my teachers as I could. Andrey V. Smirnov always emphasized the importance of being honest toward the work preserving the good old Russian dance style (posture, hands and arms position, etc.). “You have to use your head when you dance”, said Yuri Vasyuchenko. That means thinking about what you do and how you do it. 

After graduation from the Academy, my life started to change drastically. At first, I worked in Odessa, at the State Theater of Opera and Ballet. It was quite challenging in terms of acting techniques. I performed the parts of Prince in the Nutcracker, Desire in the Sleeping Beauty, Basil in Don Quijote – different parts with different styles and different moods. In the course of preparation and rehearsals, I tried to recall and use all the guidance and advice from the Academy faculty. 

These days, I work at the Novosibirsk Theater of Opera and Ballet. It is very challenging physically – we have a lot of performances, and I need to remember a lot of different parts and switch from one part and character to another quickly. Despite the fatigue and pressure, the job is extremely thrilling. Currently works in Japan.

My dream is to open a ballet studio and pass the knowledge I acquired at the Academy and the experience I gained on stage to children.