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Pull up a seat and get to know the lovely Sophia Bovet who is starring as The Princess in this upcoming weekend’s Firebird the Ballet at Irvine Barclay Theatre presented by Festival Ballet Theatre (FBT).
Sophia is a FBT trainee which means she is required to take ballet technique and pointe classes 6 days a week, as well as rehearsals to attend. Ms. Salwa (Rizkalla) also likes for the ballerinas to volunteer their time and do outreach events in the community allowing others to learn the art of dance and share in the fun.
Compared to Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker ballets that Sophia has previously been involved in, Firebird is a much shorter (one-act) ballet. But the role of the Princess is dramatic and expressive with both slow and fast paced music. It is a role that challenges Sophia to improve her partnering skills and stamina.
Salwa Rizkalla
As the Artistic Director of FBT, Salwa Rizkalla has contributed to the Orange County community for more than 30 years by presenting excellence in dance performance through Festival Ballet Theatre and providing top-tier classical ballet training at Southland Ballet Academy. In Sophia’s own words,
“Working with Ms. Salwa has changed my life. Ms. Salwa is tough but loving. I love working with her. She requires her students to work hard but it pays off in so many ways.”
Choreographer Nikolai Kabaniaev
Kabaniaev choreographed Firebird in 2010 for FBT but still is hands on with this 2019 production 9 years later. He has personally helped Sophia learn how to portray the role of the Princess. It’s a demanding role for Sophia since she’s never played a role quite like it. Being trained personally by the choreographer is a real treat and benefit of being part of FBT where they meet and are taught by incredible people in the world of dance.
Trivia about Sophia:
- She loves to watch UFC events in her spare time!
- Sophia’s family has moved across the country to support her dance education.
- Took her first ballet class at age 5.
- Free time as a dancer consists of academics and recovering from long hours of ballet.
- Student at Southland Ballet Academy (“the best ballet school” in Sophia’s words)
- Sophia will be dancing the part of Clara in FBT’s upcoming Nutcracker this winter.
Firebird:
A spellbinding story of heroism and romance! Based on a Russian folk tale, The Firebird is a captivating tale of a magical glowing bird and a prince who enters an enchanted world. Follow Prince Ivan and the Firebird as they join forces to break the evil spell of Kashchei, the wicked magician. Originally choreographed by Michel Fokine in 1910, this beguiling one-act ballet is set to the music of Igor Stravinsky. This production of The Firebird was choreographed for Festival Ballet Theatre by esteemed choreographer Nikolai Kabaniaev in 2010.
The performance will include excerpts from the famous Ballet Russes repertoire.
Dates: 12-13 October 2019
Location: Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine, CA 92612
Cast:
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Be sure to catch Sophia on Instagram.
Wow Sophia is so interesting the UFC is super wacko cooky and she is a good dancer
Thank you so much for featuring our dear Sophia and our show The Firebird. For those who’ve commented – thank you – hopefully you can watch one of our productions. We have an amazing Nutcracker show and even a pre-show tea. http://festivalballet.org Our shows are at Irvine Barclay Theatre except for our Gala of the Stars (which is usually at Segerstrom) For those interested in our school, please visit southlandballet.com
That must have been such a wonderful opportunity! I would love a chance to sit down and have a talk with someone like that!
What a beautiful and inspiring post! I love dance and was a ballerina for years!
Sophia is a talented ballerina and to think she loves to watch UFC events in her spare time is quite interesting. It’s always nice to know more about the person and this was a great interview.
I haven’t been to the ballet for too long, must book to see one soon. Great interview!
you seemed to have a lot of fun with your interview. Sophia is very talented. I admire her the way you speak about her. 🙂
cha @ littlemisadvencha.com
Nnnniiiicccceeeeeeee! I so wish I could watch Sophia in person.
Sophia is an incredible Ballerina.I saw her dance.So artistic.You are really so lucky to meet her!
Wow! I haven’t heard about them but I got so interested. I hope to see them live!
I have never heard of this wonderful lady before, but her story is very inspirational. 🙂
This was a really interesting interview. Sophia is definitely a very talented ballerina.
I love ballet! one of my most memorable trips was to st. Petersberg to see the nutcracker.
Sophia is such a talented lady! I have always admired ballet dancers. My daughter wanted to learn to dance the ballet, but lessons were extremely expensive back then. I can’t believe Sophia watches UFC in her spare time. That’s interesting!
Now this is very interesting! I’ve never heard of this choreographer but this sounds interestiiiinggg
It’s so interesting to get a look at the people behind the art. I really loved this.