Dance professor and ballet director Inessa Plekhanova left her homeland of Russia, bringing to America a wealth of wisdom and experience in performing arts. She had been a soloist and principal dancer with Estonian National Ballet for three years. A graduate of the State Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, she was truly destined to teach and perform. She says it’s a job she couldn’t do without hard work and devotion to the profession.
Plekhanova says, “Only if you really love what you do you are able to work extremely hard in order to succeed. I think it’s like that in anything.” She said that when she sees the results of students that are successful, “it is the greatest feeling I can have. It’s a really good moment for me.”
Whereas classes are routine, her students know their creativity can reach no limits in rehearsals. That is where she can share her knowledge and they can utilize her experience to move forward. “When I am in the studio,” she says, “I’m in the process. I am totally involved with it. I love technology and I use it but there has to be something more than that.”
Plekhanova traveled to Japan three times this year to work on the new project – recording an instructional DVD. “I was invited to this project along with my colleague from the Vaganova Ballet Academy Almaz Shamyraliev. We are specializing in Vaganova method of teaching ballet. I’m very excited about this international project,” she says.
Plekhanova says the dance program at RU is well-balanced and allows students – and teachers – the freedom of expression. She enjoys all aspects of teaching including producing, staging and rehearsing. Since her first year in Radford she produced two Evenings of Ballet highlighting excerpts from classical masterpieces – “La Bayadere,” “Chopiniana,” “Swan Lake” and others. In 2006, Plekhanova produced her own version of a full-length “Nutcracker.“ More than 90 dancers were involved in her production. She says, “I was really pleased with all of my students. We worked very hard to make it a real success."
In 2006, Plekhanova established Radford University Ballet Youth program (RUBY) and International Summer Intensive Program for children. Every summer, a group of Japanese students come to Radford to participate in the summer program. “This year we are expecting about eight Japanese girls to join us,” Plekhanova says. Afterwards, Plekhanova is going to Tokyo as a special guest and a master teacher for the Japan Grand Prix ballet competition.
Plekhanova has also performed principal and solo roles in “Don Quixote, “Swan Lake,” “La Sylphide,” “Raymonda,” “Giselle,” “La Bayadere,” “Theme and Variations,” “Serenade,” “Apollo,” “Concerto Barocco,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Rubies,” “Configurations,” and many others.
Plekhanova is a three-time winner of the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Youth America Grand Prix International ballet Competition. Her biography is included in Marquis Who is Who in America.
