FINAL BOW PBT dancer
Alexandra Kochis to retire after ‘Swan Lake’
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s production of “Swan Lake” at Benedum Center isn’t just the closer to its 2021-22 mainstage season. It’s also the swan song for one of its veteran principal dancers. Alexandra Kochis will retire following her reprisal of the ballet’s lead role of Odette/Odile after dancing with PBT since 2006. Before coming to Pittsburgh, she danced professionally with Boston Ballet.
During her 16-season tenure here, Kochis has captivated audiences with her versatility and ability to tackle classical and contemporary works with a blend of grace and strength. She’s danced leading roles in multiple adaptations of “Romeo & Juliette,” “Coppèlia,” “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Don Quixote” and “Giselle.” For many years, she was routinely paired on stage with her husband and fellow principal, Christopher Budzynski, who retired from performing in 2016.
“She’s such an intelligent dancer, and I think a lot of the younger women really look up to her. I think they’re going to be missing that,” said artistic director Susan Jaffe. “We will miss her, but it’s bittersweet. This is also a celebration of her career.”
While it’s fitting for a dancer’s swan song to be “Swan Lake,” it’s a coincidence this time.
“Not that I don’t love dancing in it,” Kochis said, laughing.
She’d been contemplating her final bow for a while, she explained, and the COVID-19 shutdown gave her a glimpse into what life beyond ballet might be like.
“That was a really hard time for artists and ballet dancers in particular, but it also gave me some extra time that I didn’t have before to explore other interests,” Kochis said. “In a way, it kind of cracked the door to what’s out there.”
Dancing with professional companies for a total of 27 years also has brought
with it physical wear and tear.
“In Mark Morris’ autobiography, he said something like ‘When I was younger, I used to warm up for three minutes to dance for two hours and now it’s the opposite,’” Kochis said. “It starts to just be a lot of work to keep [your body] going.”
Her husband’s transition from performing to coaching and teaching in the PBT School also has highlighted the bright spots of retirement.
“It is truly wonderful to wake up in the morning and say, ‘I’m a little sore today. Who cares?’” he said. “There is a definite overall sense of freedom when you don’t have to be this responsible [for your body] at all times.”
“Chris has become an avid snowboarder in his retirement, so I look forward to joining him on the slopes,” Kochis added.
She looks back on her career with gratitude and admits she didn’t approach her early training with the intent of becoming a prima ballerina.
“But I trained as if I was going to,” recalled Kochis, a Connecticut native who grew up in Massachusetts. “I did all the summer programs and trained six days a week. I loved the focus and the discipline and how I didn’t think about anythingelse when I was in that room.”
She credits her mom for getting her started in dance classes when she was 5 years old.
“She had always wanted to take ballet, but there were six kids in her family and no money for anyone to take ballet,” Kochis said.
After her high school graduation, she didn’t expect to get a contract to join a professional company. So she applied to colleges and selected Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She was considering combining her interest in science and biology with her love for movement and becoming a dance physical therapist. To her surprise,
she was offered an apprenticeship with Boston Ballet II.
“I took the contract thinking I would be there for a year and then I would go to Georgetown,” she said, “but I took the apprentice contract, and the rest was history.”
After three years with Boston Ballet II, she was invited to join the company in 1998. There she met
Budzynski and got to know him during an extended run of “The Nutcracker.”
“Some weeks you’re doing 11 or 12 shows, and you really just lived in the theater,” he said. “One day we were going out to lunch, and she was asking for a place to get spaghetti, and I said, ‘I know a place.’”
The couple moved to Pittsburgh because then-artistic director Terrence Orr had a spot for both of them on Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s roster.
“We were both looking for a company that had a varied repertoire — a mix of classics and great contemporary repertoire,” Budzynski said. “We also both got along with Terry really well.”
The city and company turned out to be a good fit.
“We didn’t know anything about Pittsburgh, and people elsewhere sometimes have a skewed view of what Pittsburgh is,” Kochis said. “The city has really become a huge part of our lives.”
Upon her retirement, they plan to continue to reside in the North Hills and spend their weekends in the Laurel Highlands biking, hiking and kayaking. Their new routines will also mean more time together. The PBT School and company dancers have schedules that are often the opposite of each other.
Kochis plans to teach in the PBT School with her husband as well in other dance programs in the area. For now, though, she’s simply savoring her swan song.
“I do think that every dance career has an element of luck in it. There are so many dancers out there that to land a contract is one in a million,” she said.
“Really my work ethic is one of the strongest reasons why I was able to dance for so long, just coming into the studio every day and looking to improve. It’s been a long, beautiful journey.”