Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet Welcomes Samantha Barczak as School Director
Following the retirement of longtime Artistic Director and School Director Monika Alch after more than three decades of dedicated leadership, the Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet (CRYB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Samantha Barczak as its new School Director.
A respected professional dancer and educator, Barczak brings a wealth of performance, teaching, and leadership experience to CRYB while providing a seamless transition for students and families. Having worked alongside Ms. Alch throughout the past year, she is already a familiar and trusted presence in the studio and is eager to build upon the organization’s long tradition of artistic excellence.
An Upstate New York native, Barczak received the majority of her early dance training at Myers Ballet School before continuing her studies on scholarship at The Rock School for Dance Education, American Ballet Theatre, and the New York State Summer School for the Arts. She began her professional career as a freelance dancer, performing as a guest artist with companies including Dayton Ballet, Northeast Ballet Company, Long Island Ballet Theatre, BalletFleming, and Contrast Dance Theatre. She also served as Ballet Mistress and Repetiteur for choreographer Christopher Fleming’s ballets throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
In 2009, Barczak became a Principal Dancer and Outreach Coordinator with The Rebecca Davis Dance Company before joining Pennsylvania Ballet as a company member in 2011. During her distinguished performing career, she danced featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Jiří Kylián, Matthew Neenan, Christopher Wheeldon, and many others, including principal roles in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Raymonda Variations, Petite Mort, and Swan Lake.
Equally passionate about teaching, Barczak has served on the faculty of numerous regional schools and is committed to sharing her professional experience while inspiring the next generation of dancers.
