Lviv State Choreographic School

In the post war period ballet troop of Opera House felt the shortage of stuff. That is why in 1947 with the help of the Executive Board of Lviv theatre, ballet studio was created. Alexander Yaroslavtsev, choreographer and ballet dancer, was the director.

Clavdia Vasina was the first headmistress of the choreographic school from August 1957 to August 1960. She was known to be very energetic and demanding teacher. More over, she had been working as ballet mistress in Lviv ballet troop. Along with her L’ubov Kulyk, piano teacher, was conducting the intake of students. 70 students were accepted. The competition was really tough, because there has never been such a school in Lviv.

Such choreographers as Elena Brandt, Alexandra Pecheniuk, L’udmila Orlovskaya, accompaniers Maya Lazebnik (Strel’tsova), Nikolay Sil’vestrov, piano teacher L’ubov Kulyk started their pedagogical career there.

From 1960 to 1962 Yevgeniya Shinkarenko was directing the school, later she moved to Moscow and was working as a choreographer in Moscow Choreographic Academy.

From 1962 to 1969 Galyna Abakunchyk was directing the school. It was during her period when school got the present premises in Doroshenko str. 63. Step be step the quantity of students enlarged to 100 along with the pedagogical stuff

From 1969 to 1973 the school was being governed by Klavdia Vasina once again.

From 1973 to 1991 (18 years) the school was under control of Maria Zama-Belova. Under her guidance the quantity of students rose from 100 to 300 and pedagogical stuff expanded from 20 to 40 teachers.

From 1974 new job position was added-director of studies. Nadezhda Kotyk has been working from many years on this position. Along with the Executive Board she improves the studying process and the school in general (equipment and reconstruction of classes).

This was the period of violent creative growth. New famous choreographers came to school: Ol’ha Startinevs’kaya, ballet dancers and soloists Ol’ha Samoylenko, Lev Blahoi, Sergey Astrems’kiy, Lidiya Zotova, Alla Serdtseva, Oksana Orliuta, L’ubov Luhovskaya. All of them were the students of first intakes of Lviv Ballet School.

Moreover, Petros Malkhasiants (Honored Artist of Ukraine), Mikhail Zaslavs’kiy (Honored Artist of Buriatiya), German Isupov (Honored Artist of Ukraine), Nina Pospelova, Sergey Naenko, Galina Klescheva should be mentioned.

Within years the only producer of school annual concerts has been L’udmila Marina, the most prolific and famous professional of musical and theatrical dramatic composition.

It is very important to mention some more pedagogues: Iryna Krasnogorova (Honored Artist of Ukraine), El’za Starikova (Honored Artist of Ukraine), Nina Balukhina, Nikolay Panasiuk, L’udmila Orlovskaya, Nelli Tovstanova, Valentina Kovalenko, Valentina Shevchenko, Galina Sakhnovskaya and some young teachers Nataliya Smut and Tatiana Rozdobud’ko. Hand by hand they work with piano accompaniers: L’ubov Kulyk, L’udmila Yen’ko, Tatiyana Zhurikova, Adeliya Yatsena, Nina Guzikova, Alla Treplina, Ol’ha Yavorskaya, Lidiya Proniuk, Nona Tchekalenko, Svetlana Tikhonenko, Elena Nemira, Igor’ Tetel’baum, Adriana Masliak, Viktoriya Aliokhina, Oxana Kuidytch, Nina Mervins’ka, Oxana Syvokhyp, Galyna Stots’kaya, Valentina Tarchinets’, Svetlana Krupa, Iryna Kos, Nataliya Zykrytch, Alina Zhurikova. All their skills are put into the souls and bodies o students, into the world of music and dance, the name of which is ballet.

Since 1985 school has changed the mode of studies, which now last 7 years, not 5 as it was previously. Annually on the basis of school seminars for directors and headmasters of different choreographic groups are conducted. Curriculums and programmes for choreographic and musical disciplines were elaborated. Two departments were created of choreographic and theoretical disciplines.

The school was participating in different festivals-contests, where it took prize-winning places. So, in 1989 during the first contest-festival “The Festival of Children Dance” in Odessa the school became the laureate (choreographic composition “Carpathians”, music by Kos-Anatol’skiy, staging by Honored Artist of Ukraine P. Malkhasiants.

From 1991 to 2000 Ol’ha Kryvko was the director of school.

From 1993 the Ministry of Culture started to conduct the All-Ukrainian Children Contest of choreographic art “the Youth of Ballet”, which was held once in two years in Kyiv. Students of our school were taking part in this contest and became the diploma winners and laureates. Among them are-Yuliya Ushakova, Oleg Petryk, Khrystyna Tratch (Also the diploma winner of “Crystal Shoe”), Polina Kamkina, Elena Edel’shteyn, Anastasiya Gnatyshyn- N. Pospelova’s students, Elena Pavlova (teacher-Honored Artist of Ukraine O. Startinevskaya), Mariya Abashova- the diploma keeper of the contest “Fuete of Arteck-1998” (teacher-Honored Artist of Ukraine Krasnogorova- Malhasiants) and many others.

Since 2000 with 260 students and teachers staff of 49 people Volodymyr Sabolta directs the school. Thanks to him school is transformed into the cultural institution as legislative structure, converted to the independent balance. School gets the status of Lviv State Choreographic School, which is confirmed by the decision of executive board of Lviv City Council.

The headmaster started to improve the studying process, made a great work as to the age limit of students in the class, facilities and the aesthetic design in the classrooms. New tradition appeared-annual concerts dedicated to St. Nicolas Day.

In 2006 the first youth ballet contest of classical choreography “Galyts’ka Terpsykhora 2006” was held. Strong partnership is organized between the Executive Board of S. Krushel’nyts’ka Lviv National Academic Theatre, where 60% of ballet troop are former students of Lviv State Ballet School and our concerts (performance reports) dedicated to St. Nicolas Day are included into the repertoire of the theatre.

Students of senior classes take part in such performances of the theater as: Swan Lake, Creation of the World, Reappearance of Butterfly, Bayadere, Coppelia etc. Student of out school always take part in different contests and festivals, e.g. : “Pearls of Odessa”, “Dance Without Borders” (Kyiv), “Crystal Shoe” (Kharkov) and others, were they become diploma winners and laureates.

In 2004 on the basis school a new preparatory department was opened with the aim of improvement of students’ intake quality. Students actively take part in the festive affairs of Lviv and Lviv region.