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BALLET MASTER CLASS with SARKIS KALTAKHTCHIAN
Sunday, April 12th 1:00 pm—3:00 pm Cost—$40 AGES 12+
A Native of Armenia, Sarkis Kaltakhtchian studied at the Choreographic Institute of Yerevan,
where he graduated with honors. Thereafter, he joined the Armenian National Ballet. In 1989,
Kaltakhtchian was invited to join Ballets Classique de Montreal. He also performed with Banff
Festival of the Arts, Classical Ballet of Costa Rica, Ottowa Ballet, Hartford Ballet, Charlotte
Ballet and Tulsa Ballet Theatre. As a soloist and principal dancer his repertory included the
works of George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Choo-San Goh, Alonzo King, Val Caniparoli,
William Forsythe, Paul Taylor, Nacho Duato and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. In July 1998,
Kaltakhtchian performed for First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the White House Millennium
Council. Kaltakhtchian started teaching while still dancing, under the guidance of Maxim
Martirosian, former Artistic Director of Bolshoi Ballet School. After retiring from the stage in 2005, Kaltakhtchian became
the Head Instructor for the Centre for Dance Education at Tulsa Ballet, and Director of Tulsa Ballet II. He joined the faculty
of Charlotte Ballet Academy in 2010, and was named Artistic Vice Principal in 2014.
BALLET MASTER CLASS with CHRISTINE SPIZZO
Sunday, April 19th 1:00 pm—3:00 pm Cost—$40 AGES 12+
Christine Spizzo trained at the San Francisco Ballet School, the NC School of the Arts (now
UNCSA), and the School of American Ballet in New York. Upon graduation, she joined the
National Ballet of Washington (DC), and the Ballet Repertory Company (NY), ultimately joining
American Ballet Theatre in 1975. A soloist with ABT, Spizzo appeared in numerous Live
Lincoln Center and Dance in America telecasts, as well as the Herbert Ross films "The Turning
Point" and "Dancers," and in Baryshnikov's "Nutcracker" and "Don Quixote" video films. Spizzo
was a Principal dancer with Ballet Arizona from 1988-1990, and with the Nureyev & Friends
North American tour in 1990. She performed in the Broadway company of "Phantom of the
Opera" from 1990-2000. Also during that time, Spizzo was an adjunct professor at both NYU
and SUNY/Purchase. In 1996, she served as Artistic Coordinator of ABT's inaugural Summer
ntensive Program, and has remained a principal teacher in all subsequent ABT Summer Intensives (NYC, NC, Austin,TX). Christine has been a Guest Teacher and stager of classical repertoire at various schools throughout North
Carolina, and in New York, New Mexico, Arizona, Connecticut, California, and Puerto Rico.
In 2000, Spizzo joined the dance faculty at UNCSA, where she worked for 10 years, receiving the Excellence in Teaching
Award in 2006. She taught in the School of the Arts' Preparatory Dance Program for several years, and is now an adjunct
professor of dance at UNCSA. Christine is also on faculty at the Dancers' Edge dance studio in Kernersville. Spizzo is the
owner and co-founder, along with Mark McCullough, of Studio Elevé.
BALLET MASTER CLASS with MISHA TCHOUPAKOV
Sunday, April 26th 1:00 pm—3:00 pm Cost—$40 AGES 12+
Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, Tchoupakov graduated from the famous Bolshoi Ballet
Academy. For nine years, he danced with the Bolshoi Ballet, during which time he performed full
repertory of the theatre, including soloist parts in ballets such as Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty,
Spartacus, Swan Lake, Sketches, Raymonda, Don Quixote, Golden Age, and many others.
Among his teachers are Asaf Messerer and Boris Akimov. Tchoupakov is also a graduate of the
Moscow State Academy of Choreography. He received his MFA in Ballet Pedagogy and
Choreography under the tutelage of Professor Peter Pestov.
Tchoupakov has been residing in the US since 1990. He has performed with Sarasota Ballet of
Florida, Los Angeles Classicial Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet, San Francisco Opera Ballet,
and Colorado Ballet. He has taught for Houston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Academy of Colorado Ballet, David Taylor
Dance Theatre, State Street Ballet, Arlington Ballet, Guangzhou Ballet of China, Sibiu Ballet Theatre in Romania, Galili
Dance in the Netherlands, and Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has been a guest teacher in Brazil, Japan,
Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, and Great Britain.
Tchoupakov serves as a judge and master teacher for Youth America Grand Prix Ballet Competition in US, Japan, and
France; Sibiu International Ballet and Contemporary Dance Competition in Romania; Ryukyushimpo Ballet Competition in
Okinawa, Japan; and Festival de Danca Joinville in Paulinia Grand Prix Brazil, as well as other international dance
competitions.
800 West Smith Street, Greensboro, NC 27401
www.artisticmotiondance.com 336-617-5099