Koltun Ballet Boston in Watertown views dance as competitive sport
WATERTOWN – You probably don't think ballet when you think about team sports, but a ballet school in Watertown is looking to change that.
At national competitions, Koltun Ballet Boston often places among the best in New England.
The school's co-founder, Alexandra Koltun, tells us, teamwork is key to that success, saying "There's corps de ballet, there's soloists, there's principals, there are individual people, but we work as a team. And us as coaches, we kind of direct the show. "
Sisters Virginia and Magnolia Newman, from Lexington, have been dancing since they were two.
They say the teamwork, community, and support built through their dancing has made them love the artform even more.
Their father, Michael explained, "there's a competitive aspect to it. There's a physicality aspect to it. There's a teamwork. I don't know how you could consider it to be anything but a sport."
The Newman sisters, along with 17-year-old Angelina Podolsky from Jamaica Plain, dance up to 30 hours a week.
"The discipline has helped me throughout all aspects of life, in school, in social situations," Podolsky said.
And her mother Irina said that discipline has helped her daughter get the best grades in her life.
That makes Alexandra feel like she's done her job well, saying at the end of the day, her dancers "don't want to leave the studio. And that's the most precious gift. It means they liked the class, they liked the coach, and they leave happy."
