WASHINGTON, August 27 (RIA Novosti) – A Kazakh-born ballet star is set to open his own dance studio near Chicago, passing on the knowledge he has acquired in a career spent dancing with prestigious companies in Russia and the United States, local media has reported.
Askar Alimbetov, 34, was born in Kazakhstan where at age 10 he won a scholarship to the State Choreographic Academy. Starting in 2000, he danced leading roles in “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker” for the Moscow City Ballet, the Herald News in Illinois reported on Monday.
Between 2002 and 2009 Alimbetov was a principal dancer for the San Diego Ballet, where he met his Swiss-born wife Corinne Alimbetova, who is also a dancer.
The couple plans to open the Plainfield Dance Academy, in Plainfield, Illinois on Sept. 3.
Alimbetova told the paper she and her husband were drawn to the area as a place to live and do business after dancing for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Besides ballet, the academy’s five instructors will teach jazz, tap and hip-hop dance styles.
“There’s a lot of opportunity in the US,” Alimbetov, who became an American citizen in July, told the Herald News. “If you work hard and really want to do something, it’s all in your hands.”
