SASCHA RADETSKY: EXCELLENCE IN AMERICAN BALLET by Dane Youssef

SASCHA RADETSKY: EXCELLENCE IN AMERICAN BALLET

by Dane Youssef

Tall, built, handsome and striking, but as graceful as a man his size can possibly be, Sascha Radetsky has had a traditional dance history up until the new millenium. Radetsky is not only a skilled and gifted dancer, but also a heart-throb and sex symbol in his own right.

Born in Santa Cruz, California, Radetsky began his ballet studies in the San Francisco Bay Area with Damara Bennett and Ayako Takahashi. Like a lot of other male dancers, Sascha got started in ballet when his older sister took classes and Sascha would have to sit and watch. He was blown away by the men in the class taking those big long leaps and jumps and decided to join the class.

By 15, he was invited to Moscow's Bolshoi Academy underneath the renowned male teacher Pytor Pestov.

After a year in Russia, he studied on scholarship at the Kirov Academy in Washington, D. C. under Rudolph Kharatian and Andrei Garbouz. He toured with the Kirov Ballet throughout the United States and internationally.

He also studied on scholarship at the summer programs of the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre's School of Classical Ballet with Mikhail Baryshnikov, the San Francisco Ballet School and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Vail, Colorado.

Radetsky joined the ABT as an apprentice in 1995 and moved up to the corps in 1996.

But his real break came in 2000 when he starred as Charlie, a dance student and loved intrest in the movie "Center Stage." He reprised his role in pop singer Mandy Moore's music video "I Wanna Be With You" from the Center Stage soundtrack. During the video, she makes it clear she's got him in her sights.

And as for his dancing career, Radetsky became soloist with ABT in 2003. In 2008, he left the American Ballet Theatre... and America itself for a plum spot as Principal with Dutch Ballet. He is currently married to ABT plum Stella Abrera.

There was a time when a man up there defying gravity and other physical possibilities was considered wrong, evil. A destruction of one's manhood.

As a male in ballet meself, it's always a challenge. I kept it as secret as government documents. What males today are now doing for our ilk is nothing short of incredible.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Edward Villella, Alexander Godunov, Patrick Bissell... they weren't just participants in the craft. They didn't just dance for a living. They were pioneers. They paved the way.

They made it alright for boys to dance.

My brothers, thank you for paving the way.

--Your Brother In Arms and Tights, Dane Youssef

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