Very Special Fairy Ballet Classes

When you arrive at Como sign up for a limited number of places in the Fairy Ballet classes to be held in the Ballroom. The classes will be taught by Australian Ballet School teacher Irina Konstantinova, with a School pianist providing the music.

Classes will be held three times during the day at 11:00am, 12:30pm, and 2:00pm. There is a limit of 20 children per class and they must be at least 4 years old. The classes will be for half an hour and will cost $10.00 worth of 'Fairy Fun Activity tickets'.

You can purchase your Fairy Fun Activity tickets from the Ticketing table and use them to secure your ballet class spot when you make an early booking at the Ballroom. All funds raised from the Fairy Ballet classes will benefit The Australian Ballet School.

About Irina Konstantinova

Irina Konstantinova was selected to join the prestigious Vaganova Academy in St Petersburg at the age of ten. Upon graduating, she joined the USSR State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. After winning the Grand Prix International Competition in Baku (USSR) Ms Konstantinova accepted a position with the Kirov Ballet (later Mariinsky Theatre).

During her career as Principal artist she performed lead roles in many ballets from the classical repertoire including Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, and Romeo and Juliet.

Ms Konstantinova had always felt a calling to nurture and train aspiring dancers. Joining a relatively new classical company, the Tachkin Company, as a Principal artist, enabled her to accommodate its five year intensive study of ballet training for teachers as required by the Vaganova Academy. She emerged as a fully qualified teacher in the Vaganova method.

Ms Konstantinova accepted an invitation to guest teach at The Australian Ballet School in 2001. Such was her rapport with Australia and the School, she was lured from job opportunities at the famed Vaganova Academy to Melbourne.

Photograph by John Tsiavis courtesy of The Australian Ballet School.