Igor Dobrovolskiy’s works weave dramatic narrative with inventive choreography to create powerful, emotional and lyrical structures which explore the human condition. Drawing on an extensive musical and literary background, as well as his experience as a dancer, teacher and choreographer, Mr Dobrovolskiy uses the solid foundation of classical ballet technique as a springboard for an expressive dance lexicon limited only by his boundless imagination.
After graduating from the Kiev State Ballet Academy and earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in pedagogy of ballet dance and choreography from the Kiev National University of the Arts, he began his professional dance career with the State Theatre of Opera and Ballet for Children and Youth in Kiev, Ukraine. His vocation has taken him across Europe, to Ecuador and finally to Atlantic Canada where he co-founded Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada with Susan Chalmers-Gauvin in 2001.
Building a company of gifted dancers from around the world and collaborating with like-minded artists attracted by his vision and his artistic philosophy, Mr. Dobrovolskiy has created a cultural environment which has become a focus for exploration and discovery. In just five years, he has built a company of high artistic standard and broad appeal which has resulted in a loyal and growing audience nationally and internationally. He is a choreographer who pushes limits to explore contemporary themes and philosophical questions. Set, costume, lighting, music and choreography are all intrinsic to the work which crosses boundaries and transforms the development of dance as metaphor.
Inspired and nurtured by his chosen home on Canada’s east coast, Igor Dobrovolskiy crafts complex narratives using the language of movement and the impact of theatre to create intense, riveting and unforgettable moments of dance.
We have to return to the development of this art — This idea of Ballet Theatre is not new. Through the development of this art, we will make it new. Because art is never done, it is always in progress. There is no static condition — this art will either grow or die.
—Igor Dobrovolskiy
Photo: Marty Melanson
