Irina Roizin opened the Brighton Ballet Theater School of Russian Ballet in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn in 1987.

Irina immigrated to Brooklyn from Russia in 1977. Having trained from a young age as an acrobat and character dancer, she continued her dance training in the U.S. with two sisters, Rona and Galina Rybak, who had learned the art of ballet from the renowned Agrippina Vaganova.

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In this excerpt, Irina describes how dance teaches children about other cultures and how listening to live piano music gives them a chance to relax.

Music: Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1: III. Allegro con fuoco by David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Photographs by Etienne Frossard
Interview by Sady Sullivan
Copyright Brooklyn Historical Society and BAC Folk Feet, 2009
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