faculty
Liudmila Polonskaya ~ School Principal
Liudmila Polonskaya was born in Russia in the region of Crimeia. In 1967, at the age of ten, she joined the Vaganova Ballet Academy School in St. Petersburg. She graduated there under the orientation of the maitre Natalia Dydinskaya in 1974. Ms. Polonskaya then became first ballerina of the Maly Opera Theater in St. Petersburg, where she interpreted the leading roles of the classic repertoire such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Le Corsaire, Paquita, Raymonda, La Bayadere, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. During this period she had the opportunity to travel with the company to France, England, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Italy and Holland. In 1995, Ms. Polonskaya graduated in Ballet Pedagogy at the Vaganova Academy Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia with a diploma of Choreographer and Teacher of Classical Ballet, Character and Historical Dance.
Ms. Polonskaya was then hired by the Vaganova Academy of Ballet where she taught classical ballet from 1995-2000. During this time she was invited to teach at ballet schools in Australia, Japan, Korea and Brazil. In 2000, Ms. Polonskaya was invited to give classical ballet lessons and choreograph for the Maria Olenewa Dance School of Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She also organized a workshop promoted by Maria Olenewa School of Dance. In 2004 and 2005 Ms. Polonskaya was invited to teach pointe technique for the 1st and 2nd Season of the Russia Ballet in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She was also invited as maitre by the Black Swan Company.
Over the years, her students have been awarded important prizes in national and international competitions such as the Grand Prix de Lausanne and Youth America Grand Prix, and scholarships to Canada’s National Ballet School and The Harid Conservatory. They can also be found dancing professionally for Royal Ballet, Munique Ballet Theater, and Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Daniil Gaifullin ~ CDE Faculty
Daniil Gaifullin was born in Okha, on the island of Sakhalin, Russia. He is a graduate of the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow, Russia. At the age of 18, he joined the Donetsk Ballet in the Ukraine as a principal dancer. His repertoire included Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, Nutcracker, Chopiniana, Ocean & Pearls, Walpurgis Night from the opera Faust, and contemporary pieces, including works by Boris Eifman.
Mr. Gaifullin toured England, South America, and Washington, DC, where he performed at the Kennedy Center. In 1990 he joined Ballet Mississippi as a principal dancer, and performed in a special gala with James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul”. In 1992, he joined Charleston Ballet Theatre, as a principal dancer. From 1993-2004 he was a principal dancer with the Sarasota Ballet. He performed all the title roles in Romeo & Juliet, Rock Opus for M, The Lesson, Nutcracker, Nous Sommes, Rubies, Troy Game, Raymonda, Pavel Fomin’s Hommage a Chopin, Giselle, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Madame Butterfly, Carmina Burana, Nutcracker, Coppelia, Bolero, Balanchine’s Apollo, Paquita, and Dvorak-American.
In 1997, Mr. Gaifullin and his wife, Stephanie Murrish, joined the Ballet de Santiago in Chile, which was directed by Ivan Nagy. His repertoire there includedRomeo and Paris in Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet, the principal male in Lander’s Etudes, and Theo in Piaf Nebrada’s Our Waltzes. He also had the privilege to work with Natalia Makarova in her full-length production of La Bayadere, performing the role of Solor. His most recent guest performance was with the Russian Ballet of America, directed by Vadim Fedotov, where he performed the Romeo & Juliet, and the pas de deux Forever Mine. Accompanying his wife to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the New York International Ballet Competition in New York City, he choreographed for her the piece Forgotten Moment, which she performed at the Awards Gala in Alice Tully Hall. It was reviewed as” exquisite”.
He and his wife Stephanie reside in Tulsa and have a wonderful son, Nikolas.
Stephanie Murrish ~ CDE Faculty
Stephanie Murrish was born in Jackson, Mississippi. She grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she studied privately for one year with Maestro Vincenzo Celli, the last student of legendary Maestro Cechetti. Her training also included studying at the Nutmeg Ballet, and she was the first American to train on full scholarship at the Stedelijk Instituut voor Ballet in Antwerpen, Belgium.
Ms. Murrish has been a soloist with the Cincinnati Ballet, and principal ballerina with the Charleston Ballet Theatre, Ballet de Santiago in Chile, and the Sarasota Ballet of Florida where she was coached for eleven years by Pavel Fomin. She has performed as a guest ballerina with ballet companies in the United States, Europe, Russia and South America as well as guest taught for ballet schools around the nation. Her classical repertoire includes the principal roles in Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Giselle, La Bayadere, Chopinana, Coppelia, Paquita, Raymonda, Romeo and Juliet, Etudes and many other pas de deux. She also performed ballets created specifically for her and her husband, Daniil Gaifullin.
Ms. Murrish was a finalist in the 1987 New International Ballet Competition, during which a documentary was made following her throughout the competition. It aired on the CBS show, “Dancing with a Dream” with Charles Karault. She competed in the Prix de Lausanne, and the Jackson International Ballet Competition.
From 2005-2009 she lived and taught in Amarillo, Texas where her students have competed and received recognition in the Youth America Grand Prix. Her son, Nikolas, has received top awards in this competition and by invitation performed in the international Spoleto Festival in Italy. Ms. Murrish is also a recipient of the Outstanding Choreography Award, from the 2007 semi-finals of the Youth America Grand Prix.
