Book Launch : Dancing into My Bolshoi Dream
BalletButterfly.com Debuts Book ‘Dancing into My Bolshoi Dream’
The true story of a 15-year-old girl who goes to Moscow to study ballet at the Bolshoi: just after the Berlin Wall falls, the U.S.S.R. becomes Russia, and a coup has taken over the government.
Anna makes the impossible possible, when her dream becomes a reality and she becomes one of the first Americans ever to study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. She encounters adventures, trials and heartaches along the way – including culture shock, language barriers, a first love, and a gang of Gypsy kids.
Authored by creative and well-known ballet dancer and educator Anna Duvall, ‘Dancing into My Bolshoi Dream’ is Anna’s amazing true story of survival through the harsh conditions of Moscow at a time when the newly-formed Russian mafia has more control over Russia than the government. Misha Tchoupakov, formerly of the Bolshoi Ballet, describes the book as “Very real, with lots of emotions.” “A truly inspiring story of perseverance against all odds in a strange and foreign land,” says Patrick Cross, nutritionist, trainer and elite sports therapist.
"A dreamy depiction written from the perspective of her dreamy 15-year-old self," says a published fiction writer, her father.
Anna’s survival during her intensive dance studies depends on connecting with the humanity of her directors, teachers and fellow students. Thus begins the story of empathy with her very strict ballet teacher, and Anna’s perseverance through physical and psychological torment during her studies.
Since the Russian invasion of the American psyche still persists today, in 2017, making daily headlines, Anna proves to be an authentic source of knowledge and insight into the creative minds of Russia. She provides an in-depth firsthand understanding of people, conflicts and culture, the forces that awaken creativity at its best, producing the most celebrated ballet dancers in the world, even during difficult times in their homeland.
About the Book:
Book Launch:
Dancing into My Bolshoi Dream
A Vision that Turns into Reality
by Anna Duvall
Amazon.com, paperback; also available as an ebook
Copyright 2025 @ www.BalletButterfly.com
For Press Inquiries and Speaking Engagements
Contact: Anna Duvall at elinannaduvall@gmail.com
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna Duvall is now a ballet coach, choreographer and designer.
She has started her own business to help dancers called: BalletButterfly.com
Excelling in dance since an early age, Anna was a first place scholarship recipient of the Denver Ballet Guild and among the first Americans invited to study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, a story which garnered news coverage from both CNN and the Moscow Times. She received full scholarships from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy at Vail, San Francisco Ballet and Colorado Ballet School. Connected with a variety of international artists, Duvall found a guest artist opportunity in Japan to perform, teach, and further her training. Anna’s professional dance career began with Colorado Ballet, where she performed for over a decade in roles such as Clara in the Nutcracker, the Spring Fairy in Cinderella, Russian Girl in Serenade, and the White Cat in Sleeping Beauty. With the Colorado-based Ballet Nouveau – Anna earned critical praise from the Denver Post for her role as Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Upon later joining California Ballet, she performed in such productions as the company’s Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and various Repertory works. Anna has taught ballet both nationally and internationally for nearly two decades. In December of 2015, Anna completed her Master of Arts at NYU on scholarship, to further her teaching credentials and partake in American Ballet Theatre’s Pedagogy Master’s Program at the University. American Ballet Theatre, National Training Curriculum also places a special focus on the health of the student and proper developmental stages of teaching. Anna was recently the Artistic Director of The Sun Valley Ballet School in Idaho and is currently a ballet teacher and children’s Nutcracker rehearsal coach at the Colorado Ballet Academy and Colorado Ballet Company.
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About BalletButterfly.com
Ballet Butterfly is a Dancer Lifestyle and Life Coaching brand that helps aspiring professional dancers ‘fill in the gaps’ needed to succeed and sustain a lifelong career in dance - through body, mind and spirit. Ballet Butterfly's dream is to fill the gaps and build the dancers of the 21st century – through body, mind and spirit & to make becoming a professional dancer less of a mystery.