Marat Daukayev:

Marat Daukayev Ballet School is continuing to teach 48 classes per week to all of their students via Zoom. (And some grandparents and parents!) Because of COVID-19 all partnering classes and performances are postponed.

Mikhael:

Mikhael had been spending his time in quarantine in Paris with his mom but is now back to dancing at Ballet du Rhins with social distancing classes, no performances and no partnering!

Adam:

Adam graduated from Columbia University in December ! He received his BA with a major in Dance. While at Columbia he performed in pieces by noted choreographers including Yin Yue and Merce Cunningham, Marjorie Folkman, and David Dorfman. His thesis was: Eco-Thought: Activated, Embodied Climate Futurism by NYC Dancemakers.

He is living in NYC, waiting for the pandemic to pass and free him from his apartment. In the meantime he is working as a freelance video editor for Move NYC, Gibney and Dancio.

Eli:

Since quarantine, I take a daily ballet class in the living room on zoom and try to incorporate a method of cross training (pilates, yoga, hiit, weighs training, gyrotonics) into the daily routine as well. When not staying in shape, I’m either riding my bike, protesting for Black Lives Matter, in the kitchen cooking, or teaching ballet to some kiddos on zoom! I try to take it one day at a time because the present moment is all that matters, especially when the future is so uncertain. It will be so sweet when I can step on a stage again.

Matisse:

After graduating the top in a Russian class at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, I was invited to join the Russian State Ballet Theater in Moscow, Russia. I am currently a soloist with the theater. I have toured with the theater to over 250 cities in Europe and South America. Whenever I visit Los Angeles, I work with Marat and keep in touch with him on a monthly basis. (We communicate in Russian, as I am now fluent.☺️) I currently live with my Russian boyfriend, (of 4 years) Vitaly Getmanov from Bolshoi Theater.

Edgar:

I am pursuing a career in Competitive Ballroom Dancesport. My dance partner and I began dancing together almost 2 years ago and ever since then we’ve been traveling the wold, learning from some of the best coaches and doing what we love most, dancing.

Luis:

Luis is working on himself which includes accepting the idea of no longer performing on stage. He is teaching online classes and would love to hear from you. He has channeled some of his creativity into pieces of art. You can see an example in the image below. This piece is made out of recycled wood and broken glass which is then scraped to shape with hammer-crushed-glass and spray painted. It is then sanded and scraped off . You can get in touch via Instagram @Delcid18.

Javier:

Javier will be 15 this month and is finishing up his fourth year in the Professional Ballet Program at Canada’s National Ballet School, academic grade 9. He has been re-accepted for the fall for his sophomore year – all current students were reaccepted because of the havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 shutdowns. Our dining room is now a studio for Javier, complete with a 6x5 piece of heavy Rosco marley and a studio bar. He has been keeping in shape with his favorite online classes from Luca Masala and Maria Khoreva. He even did an online class with Marat a few weeks back. It was a great experience but reminded him of how much he misses SoCal. We’ll have to get down there for a visit soon! His own school started a month or so back with live zoom classes, complete with their regular live pianist and the usual relentless corrections for everyone. The major international event, Assemblee Internationale (the same one he saw Eli at a few years back) was postponed until next year and all exchanges at the European schools he is interested in are off, but he seems more committed to ballet than ever and his work ethic has been unwavering.

The school discourages the public posting of videos and all of their social media accounts are locked down but there is one fantastic opportunity to see what the students of the school look like. A Fall in Love with Ballet page was recently put up by his school as part of their Sharing Dance initiative. On that page, there is a full recording of a piece is called Arise. The choreographer, Jera Wolfe, is a brilliant young indigenous talent, trained at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet school in my hometown. When I saw it live, I said to Carla that it is one of the best things I have ever seen, including professional productions. The piece is in every sense of the word EXTRAORDINARY, a must watch!! It featured every student from the school from grade 8 up (!!!). You can see Javier in the junior men’s ensemble at around the 21 minute mark. He was the only grade 8 boy in that group (the recording was from a May 2019 performance).

Marat Daukayev

Mikhael

Marat teaching via Zoom

Mikhael