Soloist of the Kyrgyz Ballet Reina Chokoeva

Reina Chokoeva

In the south of Kyrgyzstan, in the Jalal-Abad region, there is a small village called Uch-Terek, which translates to "three trees."

Indeed, once there were only three trees in the village. And around—stones, sand, sun-scorched earth.

The soloist of the Kyrgyz ballet, Reina Chokoeva, was born in Uch-Terek. But when the girl turned four, her parents moved to Frunze. However, the region of blessed sunny warmth left its mark: the girl was dark-skinned, and her eyes sparkled like two coals.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Chokoevs settled in a large house where many evacuated families lived. In this same house lived Marina Borisovna Strakhova, who had come from Leningrad. A former ballerina, she now taught classical dance at the theater. She lived with her daughter Natasha, who dreamed of becoming a ballerina and was studying at the choreographic school. Natasha was a lively, sociable girl. In the evenings, under her guidance, the children in the yard would start dancing and improvisational performances. Reina Chokoeva was an indispensable participant in all these activities.

Her older sister, Damira, began attending the school as well. Reina went with her to classes. She also learned to dance, even though she was not officially a student.

To dance, to dance, to dance... Even then, there was no greater pleasure for Reina. Her mother, Shaimbubyu, even noticed that her daughter had developed a new, dancing gait. But she hesitated to enroll her in a dance school.

Soon after the war, Reina said goodbye to Natasha; together with her mother, Natasha was returning to her native Leningrad. But in the summer of 1947, Marina Borisovna Strakhova came back to Frunze again. This time, to recruit students for the Leningrad Choreographic School. She intended to take Damira Chokoeva into the school. But it so happened that two of her younger sisters—Zamira and Reina—went to Leningrad.

Even when Reina was already sitting on the train, she could not believe that she was going to study. The girl timidly pressed against Marina Borisovna, but at the thought that she would now always be dancing, she smiled happily.

In Leningrad, Reina quickly adapted to the new environment and surroundings. Moreover, there were fellow countrymen studying here—Uran Sarbagishev, Berik Alimbaev, Jumabek Amankulov, Tukun Raimkulova, Shamil Iskanderov, Ofelia Erkinbaeva.

There was an unwritten rule at the school: the older students took care of the younger ones. In the first years of study, the Ossetian group mentored the Kyrgyz group. Later, in turn, the Kyrgyz group mentored the Kazakh group. This mentorship grew into friendship. They not only studied together but also spent their leisure time together—walking around Leningrad, visiting museums and theaters, and organizing improvised performances, most often from their national plays—"Ai-Churek," "Altyn-Kyz."

The curriculum at the school was structured so that students not only studied general education subjects but also became acquainted with the stage. When Reina was still only in the first grade, she participated in the dance of the mice in "The Nutcracker." A year later, she performed in the dance of the centipedes. Reina, being the smallest, had to be at the very end—like the tail of the centipede.

But Reina especially remembered her performance in the ballet "Red Poppy" at the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater. The role of Tao-Hoa was played by the wonderful Russian ballerina T. M. Vecheslova. Joy overwhelmed Reina. Why not! It is not every day that one gets to dance with such remarkable ballerinas. When the performance ended, Tatyana Mikhailovna sought out her young partner, hugged her, and handed her a large bag of sweets as a farewell gift. After her performance in the ballet "Shurale," Reina read her name for the first time in the newspaper "Leningradskaya Pravda." Nothing special was written there. The reviewer merely noted that "the student of the Kyrgyz group of the choreographic school, Reina Chokoeva, performed well in the children's dance." But for a child, it was a great celebration: mercy, her name was mentioned alongside the names of famous artists. Reina wanted to study even harder so that everyone would know how much she valued this attention.

Classes in classical and character dance alternated at the school with piano lessons, general education subjects, and the study of the history of ballet, music, and theater. But the main focus for Reina remained the classical dance classes taught by Olga Heinrichovna Iordan.

In the summer of 1956, Reina Chokoeva danced for the last time at the school in the graduation performance, and in the fall, she was already enrolled in the troupe of the Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater.

Ballet