Local ballerinas to perform with Moscow Ballet

LAS CRUCES – Mariia Skoruk, a Ukrainian ballerina and soloist with the world-famous Moscow Ballet, stood before a wall of mirrors as about 40 young girls from Southern New Mexico auditioned moves from “The Nutcracker.” Each of them hoped for an opportunity to perform with the famed ballet troupe when the tour comes through El Paso later this year.

The younger girls, aged seven to 10, performed in ballet flats. The more advanced dancers, ages 11 to 14, wore pointe shoes as they performed pirouettes for Skoruk.

“One, two, three, four …,” Skoruk counted, keeping time. The younger dancers looked to their older classmates for guidance, struggling to keep up with the complicated moves as they glided across the gray dance floor. Occasionally, the 26-year-old Ukrainian would stop to ask ages, and to scribble notes in her notebook.

Monique Foster, the director of the Las Cruces School of Dance and Music, at 1390 N. Main St., where the auditions were being held, looked on approvingly.

A background in ballet

Skoruk, born and raised in Kiev, said she has been dancing since age three.

“My mother is a teacher of rhythmic gymnastics,” she said. “So I started taking lessons in gymnastics and ballet, too. At 10 years old, I was invited to attend the famous ballet School of Dance in Kiev, which I attended for eight years. Then I was invited to the theater.”

Skoruk works for the theater in Kiev, but splits her time between the Ukraine and the United States, where she has toured with the Moscow Ballet for eight years. She has also performed in Canada, Holland, England, Switzerland, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador.

“Today we will be auditioning local children,” Skoruk told the Sun-News before the audition began. “We have room for about 60 kids. We’ll have three performances Dec. 23 and 24.”

Skoruk said performing onstage with professional dancers is a great opportunity for local children.

“I think it’s often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the kids to perform with professional dancers, on the same stage and at the same time. It’s a great opportunity for them,” she said.

“When local children get to perform with professionals, they get to see ballet as a viable career option,” added Foster. “Oftentimes in small towns, ballet’s just this recreational thing that you do because you’re signed up for it. You do your local productions, which is a great opportunity as well. But when they get to do it with the professionals, they’re able to see people making a living at it — the best of the best, at the top of their field. And they can aspire to do that.”

On Saturday, the Moscow Ballet was casting for several parts.

“We have a lot of parts for the kids — parakeets, mice, snowflakes for the little ones,” Skoruk said. “In the second act, we will have snow maidens and snow sprites, and the variations in Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French. Moscow Ballet has provided beautiful costumes for the kids.”

This is the second year the Moscow Ballet has partnered with the Las Cruces School of Dance and Music to cast the children roles.

“We really have a thriving dance community here in Southern New Mexico,” said Foster, who also owns and operates the Alamogordo Academy of Ballet. She teaches about 22 classes each week, between the two towns.

“We just started Borderlands Ballet Company, a nonprofit,” she said. “The kids get to perform in Alamogordo, they get to perform (in Las Cruces), and we’ve done shows at the Spencer Theatre near Ruidoso.”

Battling nerves

Miranda Romero, 13, attends Sierra Middle School. She has been performing ballet since the age of three. This was Miranda’s first time to audition for the Moscow Ballet performances.

“I think it’s a good opportunity because it exposes us more to the dance world,” she said. “It’s definitely something that all of us have been preparing for — to be in a big show. I’ve done dance competitions my whole life, so I’m not too new to this, but I’m very excited for the chance to perform with the Moscow Ballet.”

Miranda just started dancing at the Las Cruces School of Dance and Music, she said. She has trained at Michelle’s Dance Academy her whole life.

“I’m a little nervous because I don’t know very many girls,” Miranda said. “But I’ve done this my whole life — lots of tryouts, and so many numbers.”

Twelve-year-old Charlize Duran, of Alamogordo, performed with the Moscow Ballet at the 2015 shows in El Paso. On Saturday, she auditioned for this year’s performance.

“I did it on flat last year,” Charlize said. “It was a lot of fun, and I was very glad for the chance to do something with some of the most advanced dancers in the world. I’m a little nervous because I’m going to be doing some more advanced stuff this year. Doing stuff en pointe takes so much more thought and focus. It’s just more advanced.”

Miranda has only been dancing en pointe for a year, she said, which also contributed to her nervousness.

“I’m going to be trying out en pointe, and I’m a little nervous for that — because we just started up this year, and it’s still pretty early.”

As it turned out, neither girl had much to worry about. They both made the cut, and will be spending the two days before Christmas performing with the Moscow Ballet at El Paso’s Plaza Theatre.

Damien Willis may be reached at 575-541-5468,dawillis@lcsun-news.com or@damienwillis on Twitter.