After careful deliberations, Olivia Dow chose a younger than advertised applicant for various important reasons.
Firstly, the applicant spoke very good English, which is important for a teaching career in Malta, where all the children speak English apart from their native Maltese.
Secondly, she had an enthusiasm and charm which attracted both Olivia Dow and her husband John Baldacchino who is co-producer of all of Olivia Dow’s ballet productions as well as the librettist of six original Maltese ballets.
Thirdly, her CV was excellent and such that her experience and knowledge of different disciplines were more than adequate to satisfy the criteria on which the difficult choice was made – difficult because so many talented teachers applied for the job which was advertised in Dance Europe magazine.
An employment permit from the Department of Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs has now been issued for Ivelina Dimitrova to begin her teaching career with the Olivia Dow School of Russian Ballet.
This school is one of the leading and most popular classical ballet schools in Malta and the only one teaching the Legat system of classical ballet.
It is run by the vivacious Olivia Dow, who was trained by Nadine Nicolaeva-Legat, wife of the Legendary premiere danseur of the Marinsky fame, Nicholas Legat, who coached Nijinsky and Pavlova among many other greats of the time. He left Russia along with his much younger wife, Nadine, who also was one of his pupils, and opened a studio in London in the early 1900s.
The rest is history – and is also well documented. When Nicholas died in 1937, his wife Nadine took over his mantle and continued in the traditions of the Russian school, teaching the Legat system to hundreds of students from all over the world. Among these was Olivia Dow, who gained her knowledge from Mme Legat and graduated with honours in 1968. She worked with various ballet companies in Germany before marrying her Maltese husband John and settling in Malta. Since her graduation day, Olivia Dow has never stopped helping fellow dancers and she takes great pride in teaching the art of ballet to
others.
More information on the Olivia Dow School of Russian Ballet and its successes can be found on its website www.oliviadow.com which is updated regularly.
Ivelina Dimitrova –
biography
Ivelina Dimitrova studied with the National Ballet School in Sofia, Bulgaria. She won a scholarship to study at the ballet school of Liliana Cosi and Marinel Stefanescu in Reggio Emilia, in Italy.
She danced with the Ballet of National Opera in Sofia and took part in other performances at the Varna Opera House apart from participating in all her school concerts.
Of the many parts she has danced in many different ballets, Ivelina Dimitrova mentions some of her favourites: Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Le Corsair, Le Bayadere, Giselle and Raymonda.
She has also participtd in various national and international ballet competitions in France, Luxemburg, Russia and obviously Bulgaria, her native country. Olivia Dow said: “Ms Ivelina is a very lively, friendly young lady whose love for ballet is evident from the passionate way she talks about her life as an artiste in the world of classical ballet.”
Barbie of Swan Lake
Ivelina will be helping Olivia Dow in her next ballet production of Barbie of Swan Lake which is being sponsored by Tradeways Ltd of Malta, the sole distributors of Barbie products on the island run by Pierre Pizzuto, whose daughter Martina, incidentally, also takes ballet lessons at the Olivia Dow School of Russian Ballet.
John Baldacchino explained what happens in this ballet which is being staged at Malta’s most prestigious venue – The Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.
“We are basing the ballet on the story told on Barbie’s DVD which varies somewhat from the original story. However, many of Petipa’s scenes of the original version of Swan Lake will be retained, obviously adapted to suit our students’ capabilities, but it will be tastefully staged.
“It is a great challenge for all of us but it is definitely going to be one of Olivia Dow’s biggest productions ever.”
And it seems that people out there are aware of this, as many are already telephoning to reserve tickets.
Ivelina will be in charge of coaching some of the performers, in particular those in the roles of Odette and Odile, about which she is very excited about. It really is a dream come true for Ivelina.