8 years with BBT

Education:

Kiev State Theater of Opera and Ballet, Ukraine Choreography Academy Degree: Master of Ballet Arts

Credentials:

4 full scale original ballets (Mavka, The Winter Fairytale (based on the Nutcracker), Reddish (a Russian Folktale), Nanny’s Story (based on Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album) 5 Shows for the BBT professional dance company Over a 100 dance numbers (ballet, character dance, modern, e.t.c.)

Eduard Kouchnarev began his dance career at 10 years old, upon acceptance to the Kiev Institute of Choreography. His dancing career on the stage began soon after that under the watchful eye of Irina Yakimova, who singled out the young Mr. Kouchnarev for the solo role in the ballet Malchish Kebalchish, where he played the lead role of a young boy. After studying under ballet giants such as Vladimer Denesenko, Vladimir Stefan, Valery Kovtoon, Irina Bolatova and others, Mr. Kouchnarev joined the Vroncku Collective at the age of 18. Gaining his first taste of the stage, Mr. Kouchnarev discovered his passion for acting, particularly dancing roles which required a challenging delivery of emotion. After serving in the army, Mr. Kouchnarev continued his dance career as a soloist with the Ukrainian State Theatre of Classical Ballet, where he danced as a soloist in Firebird, Swan Lake, Giselle, Carmen, Petrushka, The Flame of Paris, Nights by the Little Village of Dekanka and Coppelia. Seeking further exposure to other dance forms, Mr. Kouchnarev left Ukraine to study folk, modern and jazz in Spain, where he also danced as a soloist at Ballet Suidad of Barcelona. After some time, Mr. Kouchnarev decided to return to Ukraine and join the Kiev Jewish Theater. It was during a company tour to the United States that Mr. Kouchnarev made the choice to stay in New York City to pursue his dance career on another soil. He joined Brighton Ballet Theater in 1995 as a soloist and teacher, and has since grown to be the principal school and company choreographer.

Classes:

• advanced division ballet classes ages 5 and up;
• character dance, theatrical dance;
• private lessons for preparing children for auditions to specialized schools and professional dance companies;