DE222 Honoree: Kristina Kambalov

Title: Executive Director

Workplace: First State Ballet Theatre

Kristina Kambalov

Q&A: Favorite thing about Delaware? “The beautiful parks and beaches.”

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As a lifelong performing ballerina, Kristina Kambalov brought her passion for the art to Delaware in the 1990s through the Russian Ballet Theatre of Delaware. That expanded in 1999, when she opened the Russian Ballet Centre in Newport with her husband, Pasha, and later incorporated a nonprofit school, First State Ballet Theatre. In 2003, they moved to Wilmington’s historic Grand Opera House and fi ve years later started Delaware’s only professional ballet company, which today includes more than 20 dancers and performs around the state. After leading FSBT’s dance school as director for its first 17 years, Kambalov became executive director of the entire operation in 2016. Since then, FSBT has premiered numerous performances by new and established choreographers and founded the annual National Ballet Competition, which draws dancers ages 9 to 19 to perform before an esteemed judging panel for a shot at scholarships to summer ballet programs nationwide.

 

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