Jacob Roter, age 12, knows he wants to be a dancer and takes several classes every week

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Artur Sultanov's Russian Ballet Academy
by Virginia Bruce

Cedar Mill is very fortunate to have the Portland area's first Russian professionally-oriented Ballet Academy, now that Artur Sultanov and his wife and co-founder Cynthia Hom have opened the Russian Ballet Academy (RBA) in the building just southwest of Thriftway. Offering classes for children from four years and up, and also a recreational ballet program for teens and adults, the school is attracting students from around the region for its classical training opportunities.

Founder Artur Sultanov grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia. His mother was a ballet enthusiast, and when Artur showed athletic ability and coordination, she guided him into the world-famous Vaganova Ballet Academy where he was accepted after his second audition at nine years old. The rigorous program of academics and ballet instruction kept him busy for eight hours a day, six days a week, but at least he could go home, unlike many students who boarded at the school.

Artur Sultanov in Oregon Ballet Theatre's production of Bolero. Photo by Blaine Covert

"I wasn't really all that enthusiastic about dancing at that age," he says. "My parents had high expectations for me, though, and I had a very strong desire to do well, so I worked hard. I did enjoy the physical aspects, and eventually I came to love ballet."

He completed his education at Vaganova when he was 17. Upon graduation, he got offers from two prestigious Russian companies, the Kirov and the more contemporary Eifman Ballet. He was leaning toward Eifman, but friends and family convinced him to join the corps de ballet of Kirov, where he stayed for two years, getting the chance to tour Europe and other countries. "There's not enough opportunity to dance in such a large company, especially for men," he says. He then joined Eifman, a company known for contemporary and imaginative theatrical productions.

Artistic Director/Instructor Artur Sultanov with young student Maris Bensons

After a back injury put him on the sidelines, he came to California to visit his mother, who had moved there with his brother and sister. Once he recuperated, he began to audition for Bay Area companies, and joined Alonzo King's Lines, a company known for its artistic excellence and expressions of global human experience. Eventually though, he felt he had learned as much as he could from that troupe, and began to look for a larger repertory company that could give him more opportunities.

While he was living in San Francisco, he met and married Cynthia Hom, a dancer who studied at the City Ballet School. They moved to Portland in 2003, and Artur joined the Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) where he is a Principal Dancer and has performed many major roles. His tall, muscular physique and acting ability make him an audience favorite as well as a critical success.

He also taught at the OBT school for several years, as well as at academies and workshops throughout the northwest and across the US.

Artur, Cynthia and Shane Sultanov

Cynthia has a degree in social work, and before they started RBA, she worked at Portland Adventist Medical Center. She now supervises all the administrative aspects of the school and will teach Pre-Ballet. She loves to dance and takes some classes from Artur to keep in shape.

Artur and Cynthia's son Shane was born in 2009, and they decided that traveling around to teach was not so much fun. With some help from friends and family, they opened the RBA this summer with a Summer Intensive program in July.

“Artur and I strive to run a school with the most professional and quality ballet training. We believe taking ballet lessons is more than an extracurricular activity. We hope that our students appreciate this fine art form and develop self-confidence, self-motivation and self-assessment skills that will serve them well in other aspects of their life,” says Cynthia. Not every student will want to dance professionally, but the school will offer the challenging and rigorous training necessary for those who do, while still introducing a love of dance and movement and an appreciation for ballet to all its students.

Artur says it's especially important for girls to start ballet training at a young age to develop the strength needed for pointe work. Boys can start around nine, but girls should be training from around four-to-seven. "If they don't start young, it's hard for them to catch up," he says. "By twelve or thirteen, kids know if they really want to work hard enough to become professional dancers."

Alissa Lavrinenko, Ellie Thomas, Esther Nor-Ashkarian, and Aubrey Bensons in rehearsal for SRBA's 2010 Holiday showing.

In addition to classical ballet, Artur offers Russian Character instruction to more advanced students. Character dance is based on folk dance, and most ballet productions include Character segments. He also works with students on pantomime. Because there is no speaking in ballet, the stories are told with facial expression in addition to body movement.

Regular classes began in September, and include Pre-Ballet for children aged 4-7; Beginning Level I for children 8+; Intermediate Level II for 9+ which introduces big jumps and turns, and pointe for those with enough strength; Level III for 11+; and Pre-Professional Advanced Levels IV and V for the serious student interested in a dance career. Artur is also available for one-on-one instruction.

Pre-Ballet teacher Lauren Duchene has been dancing since she was three. She has a passion for fostering the creativity of young children in a nurturing environment.

New students are welcome to join the appropriate ongoing class anytime. Students are placed in classes according to their age and experience. "Students don't like to be in classes with children much older or younger than themselves, so we make sure that each student is challenged without feeling out of place," says Artur.

For teens and adults who love ballet but are not pursuing a career, there's the Adult Ballet/Open Division, with classes on Tuesday and Saturday, open to anyone regardless of previous experience. That class can be taken on a drop-in basis and students can purchase cards for from 1-8 sessions.

The Academy has two classroom studios, the smaller Studio 2 in the lower level, and the spacious Studio 1 on the main level. Both are well-equipped with mirrors and barres. The waiting areas in front of both classrooms offer a comfortable place to observe classes through large windows.

Christopher Carroll, 13, stretches during the warmup for his class

A student show for parents and friends will be held around the holidays, and students are already at work on excerpts from Nutcracker and other programs. They'll also be visiting local schools during the winter to present the show. "It's good for our students to get used to performing, and it's also a good chance to let people know about our academy," says Artur. The studio is too small to hold a full show, but they intend to have a public performance in another location next year.

In addition to ballet lessons, Artur is training young ballroom dancers and a special group of teenage synchronized swimmers who have hopes to make the Olympic team.

Artur continues to dance with OBT, and can schedule classes around his performances, bringing in guest instructors when he is on the road with the company. He'll be appearing in the Winter Program and one of the Spring shows, and will be joining the company on a tour in October.

He keeps in shape by teaching, where he demonstrates constantly and dances along with the students. He also does Gyrotonics, which is similar to Pilates in that it uses equipment to stretch and strengthen.

Artur's reputation and prominence in the ballet community is bringing in students at the more advanced levels. They're not doing a lot of promotion beyond advertising in The News. "We want to be sure that local families know about our Pre-Ballet and Open classes," explains Cynthia.

For more information about the Russian Ballet Academy, visit their website: russianballetacademy.com, or call 503-575-5659. They are located at 12849 NW Cornell—the entrance is along the driveway that leads past the building. Check out the class schedule—prospective students and parents are welcome to visit during class times.

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