The Alexandra School of Ballet and The Alexandra Ballet Company Interview With Alexandra Zaharias

I recently had the privilege to interview Alexandra Zaharias, the founder and Artistic Director of The Alexandra School of Ballet and The Alexandra Ballet Company in Chesterfield, Missouri. The school was established in 1949 and the Company in 1984.   Prior to founding the Alexandra Ballet Company, she was the director of the Missouri Concert Ballet.  During her career, she has received many accolades in the world of dance.

Unlike most dance schools, The Alexandra School of Ballet specializes only in Classical Ballet along with two related dance forms, Character dance and Modern dance.  Their goal is to prepare their students to be professional dancers.  The school does not participate in dance competitions and recitals like other dance schools.  However, the school is associated with Regional Dance America which gives their students an opportunity to perform on a national level.   RDA provides the opportunity to perform and train and gives the students access to scholarships.  Additionally, they are affiliated with The Alexandra Ballet Company.  The Company requires the students, along with others in the community, to audition to become members.  They perform a full-length ballet every season, as well as performing The Nutcracker during the Christmas holidays.

Alexandra does her best to encourage and motivate her students.  She reminds them that it takes time to become a good dancer and that it takes patience, determination and strength to never give up.  She also advises her students to use higher level dancers to inspire them to become the best they can be.

When asked what she would consider to be her proudest moment in her coaching career, Alexandra found it difficult to answer.  She said it was hard to answer because she has had so many students go on to become professional dancers.  She also said that as soon as one of these dancers leaves, another seems to come into her life.  The most recent dancers to go on to be professional dancers are Makensie Howe and Dillon Malinski.  Makensie is now with the Saint Louis Ballet, and Dillon is with Kansas City Ballet.

Alexandra feels that the biggest mistake dancers make when competing is that they have a tendency to psych themselves out and will not be at their best.  She advises them to just be themselves and to not compare themselves with others.

In her opinion, the best dance clothing complements your figure.  The School has class uniforms so she always picks a fabric and color that will hold up to lots of washings, will be classy looking and age-appropriate.

Alexandra was inspired to be a teacher when she was about 12 years old when her first teacher would ask her to help students that had missed classes or were having trouble with a step.  When she graduated from high school, she went to New York City to continue her studies at the School of American Ballet.  Later, she took classes from the School of Ballet Repertory where Thalia Mara started the National Academy of Ballet and had a special program for dancers aspiring to become teachers.  In 1949, she returned home and opened The Alexandra School of Ballet.  She will soon be celebrating the 65th year of the opening of the Alexandra School of Ballet and as a ballet teacher.  She said it has been a lifetime of hard work, but so rewarding to have taught so many students that have become professional dancers as well as teachers.

Since it’s her 65th year of teaching, she plans to invite as many alumni as she can locate to attend the Company’s performance of Giselle, the first ballet the School Company ever performed, and also celebrate by recognizing the many works that they’ve performed over the years.

If you have experience with Alexandra School of Ballet, Alexandra Ballet Company or Alexandra Zaharias please leave a comment below about your experience!