Studio Company Dancer
Michaele Skye Glouchkova (Misha) began dancing at age 3 and began her classical ballet training in 2005. She studied under Melanie Kregel, Artistic Director of Metamorphosis Dance Company, and her mother, Melissa Glouchkova in Round Rock, Texas. As a Senior Company member of Metamorphosis Dance Company (then known as AMDE), Misha enjoyed dancing in featured roles such as Clara, Snow Queen, and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Queen of Hearts in Wonderland, Stepsister in Cinderella, Pas de Trois, Petite Cygnes and Swan Corps in Swan Lake, and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. She also guested with Corpus Christi Concert Ballet as the lead in their performance of The Red Shoes. In her senior year, she moved to Pittsburgh, PA to dance in Pittsburgh Ballet’s High School Full-Time Program, and in the following year was accepted as a Trainee for The Washington Ballet. Here, she performed roles such as Spanish, Cardinal, Snow Corps and Flower Corps in Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker, as Nymph, Garland Dancer, and Mazurka in Julie Kent’s, The Sleeping Beauty, as Swan Corps and Mazurka, in Swan Lake, and as Villager and Willis, in Giselle. Within The Washington School of Ballet, under the wonderful teaching of Xiomara Reyes and Rinat Imaev, she has performed many prominent roles, some favorites including Diana from Diana and Acteon, as well as Principal Soloist in Gioconda, Satanella, and Ruslan and Lyudmilla. In 2021, she was also given a chance to be a part of MAGNIFICA, an original Mimmo Miccolis work produced for the Italian Embassy and performed in the Italian Ambassadress’s residence. In this past year as a Studio company member, she enjoyed dancing in Balanchine’s Serenade, All the Little Boxes by Dana Genshaft, and B1 by Andile Ndlovu, as well as being in Julie Kent’s, The Sleeping Beauty, as Lilac Fairy Attendant and Nymph. Misha is looking forward to to her second season with The Washington Ballet.
Get to know Misha!
Who inspired you to dance?
My parents, they met while dancing!
What activities or hobbies do you do outside of dancing?
I love to create art, I crochet and knit, make jewelry, recently learned how to embroider, and sometimes play chess against my friends.
What makes you laugh?
When other people laugh uncontrollably, it makes me laugh for some reason. My roommate laughs at the easiest things, and I find it hilarious.
What has been your proudest moment as a dancer, and why?
My lovely friend, Nicholas Cowden, wrote me a letter after our performance in All the Little Boxes, telling me that dancing together had made him feel so emotional and that he wished we could dance it again. I was very surprised, but also touched, because I was really just allowing every emotion I had been feeling while performing to be present, and to know that someone who I really care about saw and felt that energy was just so heartwarming and validating. I still keep his letter on my wall.
What is your favorite performance you have been a part of?
I absolutely loved performing at Wolff Trap in 2022. Dancing in Balanchine’s Serenade and B1 by Andile Ndlovu was an incredible experience on that stage. Starting off the performance with the strings from Serenade and ending it with the applause from the audience for B1 was an unforgettable moment and is something I think back to when I need a little extra motivation.
Describe your ideal day.
Wake up naturally, eat a large breakfast while watching TV, listen to music while strolling outside, make dinner or bake something (or both) with a friend and watch a movie! Overall, just relax my mind and body 🙂
What is your favorite ballet step? What is your least favorite ballet step?
I love grande jete, it makes me feel like I can fly. I REALLY dislike arabesque turns, I just can’t quite get the coordination right :/
Photo by XMB photography.
