BALLERINA CHOSEN FOR RUSSIAN VISIT

The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Kirov in Leningrad are not only solid bastions of classical dance, they also epitomize the art of ballet. Between them they have produced most of the giants of 20th-Century ballet, including Baryshnikov, Nijinsky, Nureyev, Makarova and Godunov. Even Balanchine, a name synonymous with American neoclassicism, is among their illustrious alumni.

But the doors to both of these prestigious institutions have long been closed to the Western world. As a result, American dancers have had to learn the classic Russian technique and its rich balletic repertory secondhand, at best.

Now, San Diego ballerina Denise Dabrowski and her dedicated mentor, Maxine Mahon, are about to enter those hallowed halls of dance--after years of effort.

“For the last 15 years, I’ve been involved with international dance through competitions and by serving with the State Department as dance representative in the exchange program,” said Mahon, of the California Ballet Company. “I met a lot of people, and used these contacts to try to get Denise a chance to study the classics at the Kirov or the Bolshoi.”

Although dancers from the Eastern Bloc are welcome at these Soviet schools, as Mahon said, “they don’t take Westerners. Our dancers can’t even pay to get in.”

Mahon’s first attempt to break the barriers for her prize pupil was in 1978.

“When I took Denise to (a competition in Varna, Bulgaria) the director of the Bolshoi was one of the judges,” Mahon said. “He said she was too young then (Dabrowski was 17 at the time), and he brushed me off. ‘After she’s danced the classics, we’ll talk again,’ he insisted.”

Mahon has since found an “influential friend,” Olga Smoak, who “deals with the Russians all the time.” With Smoak paving the way, Mahon and her protegee were invited to spend two weeks in Russia as part of a tour for dance professionals.

“I asked Olga to put in a good word for me,” Mahon said, “and all of a sudden she said, ‘Pack your bags. You’re going.’ ”

The women leave Wednesday and it was such a hurried departure, “I had to get a congressman to push through our passports,” Mahon said.

For Dabrowski, the opportunity to study in the cradle of classical ballet is “a chance of a lifetime.” However, still reeling from the excitement, she confessed to feelings of ambivalence.

“I have mixed feelings about going, because I won’t know till I get there what to expect. Hopefully, someone with either the Kirov or the Bolshoi will ask me to stay on. I want to be coached in one of the classics. (The Russians) are the best in the world, and the chance to work with someone who learned ‘Swan Lake’ or ‘Giselle’ by having it passed through the direct line would be wonderful.”

Right now, neither Mahon nor Dabrowski knows whether further study in Russia is possible.

“All I know is that they’re going to let me take classes,” said Dabrowski. “They’ve chosen the classes and the specific teachers. I’m going to pack in hopes of staying maybe a month. That’s the scary part--that I’ll be on my own if they let me stay.”

Dabrowski said she “couldn’t pass it up if they asked me to join the company,” but, as she was quick to add, “that seems really far-fetched. I can’t believe they’d want me.”

With visits to both the Kirov and the Bolshoi, Dabrowski will experience two styles of Russian ballet, and she’s still not sure which one has greater fascination for her.

“I know Bolshoi is bigger and bolder--and flashier,” she said. “Kirov is more classical, and I think it may suit me better, because I’m not that flashy a dancer. But I’ve never seen (either troupe) perform live.”

Ironically, the Kirov will be touring in the West during her visit, so Dabrowski will miss a chance to see the internationally acclaimed ballet company perform on its own stage. The Bolshoi will be dancing in Moscow, and the city will be presenting an opera and dance festival at the same time.

While Dabrowski is taking classes and learning classic roles, Mahon will be “soaking up everything I can.”

“They have a pedagogical program--where you go to learn how to teach. They teach teachers there, something we don’t do here,” she said.

“I was originally raised on the Russian methods, but I learned them third-removed. And you never really know it all. Some of the musicality might have been dropped through the passage of time. Probably only about 20% of the details (we know) are authentic. This will give me a chance to learn all the nuances.”

Studying at these world-famous cultural institutions is a ballerina’s dream come true, and amid the frenzy of preparation, Dabrowski took time to marvel at her good fortune.

“It’s an unbelievable opportunity,” she said. “I just hope I can live up to it.”