BWW Interviews: Valentina Kozlova

Valentina Kozlova was born in Moscow and trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School. She performed with the Bolshoi Ballet company from 1973-1979 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1975. She danced all of the major classical roles. In 1979, while on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet in the US, she defected and immediately was in great demand internationally as a guest artist. She marked her Broadway debut in 1982 as Vera Baronova in the revival of On Your Toes, featuring Balanchine's Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ballet. Ms. Kozlova joined the New York City Ballet in 1983 as Principal Dancer and remained with the company until 1995, dancing lead roles choreographed by such dance icons as George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Richard Tanner and Eliot Feld.

Ms. Kozlova has appeared as a guest artist with all the major international dance companies:.. Spoleto, La Scala, Florence Opera House, English National Ballet, Paris Opera, Basel Ballet, Australia, Ballet de Santiago (Chile), Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires) and Hong Kong. She also appeared in ballet galas in Africa, Greece, England, India, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Don des Etoiles in Canada, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

In 1995, Ms. Kozlova and Margo Sappington established Ballet: The Daring Project, a ballet company dedicated to performing new works. Ms. Kozlova also appeared in A Christmas Carol with movie legend Tony Randall and Broadway star Ben Vereen.

In 2003, Ms. Kozlova opened her own dance school, Valentina Kozlova's Dance Conservatory of New York, providing students with the highest level of dance instruction based on traditional Russian Technique and George Balanchine's fast footwork. The school's prime location offers a wide variety of culture and diverse activities located nearby. For her students, Ms. Kozlova has staged, directed and produced a variety of works.

In 2009, Ms. Kozlova presented One Magical Performance: The Legacy Gala at The Joyce Theater in New York in celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of her defection. Principal dancers from New York City Ballet and ABT appeared as guest artists at this spectacular, sold out event, along with students from the school.

Her most recent project has been to launch and grow the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition, formerly known as Boston International Ballet Competition, into a platform for ballet students and professionals to be seen by giants of the ballet world and to further their careers. Describing the first edition, which took place in 2011 at John Hancock Hall in Boston, MA, dance writer Alan Helms decreed it "one of the most exciting events of the year!" Learn more about VKIBC at its website, www.vkibc.org.

Broadwayworld Dance recently sat down to interview Ms. Kozlova.

Q. You were born in Moscow and trained at the Bolshoi. What would you say were your most important influences when you were there?

A. Without a doubt, Mme. Golovkina, director of the Bolshoi School, was a great influence, as was Raissa Struchkova, my ballet coach. Besides my teachers, the history of the Bolshoi Ballet was a big influence on me. As a student of dance history, you gained firsthand knowledge of an internationally renowned company.

Q. When you entered the company, you quickly progressed through the ranks. What were some of your most important roles, and what special qualities do you think you brought to them?

A. I loved every role that I danced, but my dream was to dance Odette/Odile, which became my first full-length leading role.My last role at the Bolshoi was Juliet. I believe I was the youngest dancer at that time to be cast in the part. I loved these roles; they invoked emotions in my dancing and gave it varied colors. Again, I have to give great credit to Raissa Struchkova, who coached me in these roles. Without her, I would have floundered. She was my rock, as they say.

Q. While on tour you defected. What prompted this?

A. I had thought about coming to the West for a few years, so I took the opportunity to do so while the company was in Los Angeles.

Q. I'm sure those first years here in the United States were difficult. What were your biggest challenges?

A. The biggest challenge was adjusting to the way things are done here. Russia and the United States were, at that time in history, at different ends of the dance spectrum. In the United States dancers take class at different schools, audition for different companies, etc.At the Bolshoi you are connected with the school, then the company.You work with the same people, have your teachers and coaches, even your own make-up artists and costumers.

Q. You joined New York City Ballet just as Balanchine was suffering from the illness that would ultimately end his life. Were there any particular things that he passed on to you in terms of dancing?

A. When I was invited to join NYCB, I wasn't sure that I would fit in, and I expressed my concerns to Mr. Balanchine.He simply said to me, "be yourself, and I will be around."

Q. Dancing with the New York City Ballet was definitely a change, especially after your training with the Bolshoi. Could you tell us the difference between a NYC Ballet dancer and one trained at the Bolshoi? Or is there any difference?

A. There were huge differences here.I felt that classes were mainly for warm-ups, to save energy for rehearsals.At the Bolshoi, the classes were more complete; also there were coaches at the rehearsals.Focus at the rehearsals was on the artistic rather than the technical.Also the musicality is different.You dance on the counts here; at the Bolshoi you dance more on the phrase. So accentuation is very different. A Bolshoi dancer, especially at that time, was very different from a NYCB dancer.

Q. You also had the chance to guest with companies such as La Scala, Florence Opera House, English National Ballet, Paris Opera, Basel Ballet, Ballet de Santiago (Chile), Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires) and Hong Kong. Did you find your training at the Bolshoi was a help or a hindrance when dancing new repertory with these companies?

A. My Bolshoi training was always a help, in whatever I did.

Q. I recently saw your performance in La Fille Mal Grade. Your dancing was technically flawless, but you had a very authoritative (in the best way) presence. You did not come across as a soubrette. Do you feel that there is only so much a dancer can accomplish, given his temperament and training?

A. Lise was a challenging role because I didn't see myself as a soubrette. At the Bolshoi, the role of Lise would not be danced by a principal, but rather by a soloist. I worked very hard on the role of Lise, and wasn't always artistically satisfied. I did request that a long scene be totally reshot. In the end, I found it a challenging and fun experience.

Q. After you left NYCB, you established, in conjunction with Margo Sappington, Ballet: The Daring Project, a company dedicated to performing new works. What was it like running your own company? Did you feel that the directorship of a company was for you?

A. I loved the experience, seeing new dances created, giving interesting and different roles to a company of fine dancers. The business aspect of running a company was difficult - the paperwork and the fundraising!

Q. In 2003, you opened your own dance school, Valentina Kozlova's Dance Conservatory of New York. There are so many dance schools in New York. What do you think sets yours apart from the others?

A. I regard my school as a small specialized conservatory for classical training. All students get attention here, as well as guidance, even after they have left for jobs in other places. We also stress coaching here, bringing out the artistry in each dancer, not changing steps, but coaching and tailoring each role to the individual dancer.

Q. Do you stress any particular technique in your school?

A. We teach Vaganova technique here, stressing not only technique but artistry, epaulement, style.

Q. Besides dance, do you try to expose your students to art, literature, music? Sometimes dancers work in a vacuum, so as they mature it can sometimes be hard to adapt to other things that shape our cultural environment.

A. Yes, we try to expose the students to other arts besides ballet. A dancer needs this exposure, because you just can't be a technician. You have to know other things, things can shape you. .

Q. One of your most important projects was the international Ballet Competition, formerly known as Boston International Ballet Competition, which took place in 2011 at the John Hancock Hall in Boston. What was your idea in doing this? This was a huge undertaking, so you must have seen this as a way of presenting unknown dancers to ballet companies in the United States. Could you explain the process from the start of the project to its presentation in Boston?

A. My idea was to recognize the good schools around the world, and to unite them and the dancers from all over. It's a very challenging experience for the dancers, and helps to prepare them for the future. At this time in 2013 the project is known as the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition. We're happy to now be operating from our home base of New York, so keeping the word Boston didn't seem appropriate anymore.

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