Benicia Native Heading to Russia to Study Dance

A lifelong resident of Benicia is interrupting a sparkling academic career this week to travel thousands of miles and study ballet in Russia.

Catherine Smith, 20, leaves Benicia on Thursday for the city of Perm, home of the Perm State Choreographic College.

“Russian culture caught my interest in high school.  Going there is a crucial step toward really understanding it,” said Smith, who attended Mills Elementary School and Benicia Middle School.

After becoming valedictorian of the San Francisco School of the Arts in high school, Smith has continued earning a 4.0 grade point average as a junior at UC Berkeley with a major in Russian Language and Culture.

Her first love, however, has always been dance. She has studied at Benicia Ballet School and other dance schools since the age of 3, and has been teaching ballet locally for the past two years.

“For me, dancing bridges the gap between the athletic and the intellectual,” said the Benicia native, featured in several of Benicia Ballet Theatre’s annual productions of “The Nutcracker.” “I only hope I can keep up with the Russians at Perm.”

With a population of 990,000, Perm is the 13th largest city in Russia. It is located on the European side of the Ural Mountains on the banks of the Kama River. The Perm Opera and Ballet House is recognized as one of the best in Russia.

Smith, whose friends call her Catie, will be studying at Perm State Choreographic College the rest of 2012 and into 2013, depending on how her studies proceed.

 “We’re a little scared to send her so far away, but proud that she is pursuing her art,” said her mother, Diana Smith. “I guess we’ll be depending on email and Skype to keep in touch.”

“I’ll miss my family and friends, but this is a ‘chance’ that took 17 years of work to get – and I’m taking it,” said Smith. 

Editor's Note: Catie Smith is a past contributor to Benicia Patch.

Do you subscribe to the Benicia Patch newsletter? It brings our latest stories, blogs, announcements and the day's calendar events to your in-box early each morning.

Do you have opinions, experiences and views to share? Consider becoming a Benicia Patch blogger!

If there’s something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor JB Davis at 707-628-0051 or email him at benicia@patch.com.