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Cynthia began her study of dance at the age of twelve with Madame Tatiana Ourousoff of the Imperial Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg. She traveled to New York City to study with Nathalie Branitzka, Igor Youskevitch, and Natasha Kelepovska. Cynthia then attended the Harkness Ballet School, in New York City where she worked with Patricia Wilde and Ramon Segarra.
At the age of fourteen, Cynthia was accepted at the Royal Ballet School in London. She studied there with accomplished dancers of the Royal Ballet and attended classes with professionals such as John Lanchberry and Tamara Karsavina. Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn were resident principals at this time. Cynthia also completed the Royal Academy of Dance exams while in London.
Upon her return to the United States, Cynthia performed as a soloist with the Massachusetts Ballet Company. Cynthia danced in leading roles in the company’s repertoire including clasical works such as “Le Corsaire”, “Pas de Quatre”, and Respighi’s “Airs and Dances”.
Cynthia was deeply moved and inspired when she was introduced to the repertoire of Isadora Duncan through Gemze de Lappe in 1981. She studied Duncan’s technique and choreography with de Lappe at Smith College in Northampton and with Sylvia Gold in Boston, both authentically trained Duncan dancers who had studied with Isadora’s adopted daughter, Irma Duncan.
Cynthia has performed the Duncan repertoire extensively throughout the New England area, including a 1985 performance in “The Enduring Essence”, a film about Isadora Duncan’s legacy as seen through the experience of Gemze de Lappe.
In 1993, Cynthia danced in Moscow with the Rubato Dance Company at the Isadora Duncan Retrospective for the opening of the International School of Music and Dance in Moscow. Events focused on “100 Years of Duncan Tradition in Dance - It’s Place in Arts and Education on the Eve of the 21st Century”, commemorating the opening of Isadora’s original school in Russia.
Cynthia has performed in numerous concerts and annual events, including performances at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Smith College, the Orchard at Martha’s Vinyard, Northampton Center for the Arts, Taylor Performing Arts Center in Hamden, Connecticut, and the Academy of Music in Northampton. Cynthia has danced in liturgy at several churches in the Northampton area.
Cynthia has conducted classes at Massachusetts Ballet School, Northeast American School of Dance, Northampton Center for the Art, Williston-Northampton School, and College of Dance in Dublin. She is currently teaching classes in Northampton and at Ballet Renversé in Shelburne Falls, MA.
Cynthia danced in the roles of St Bridget and Queen Maeve in the musical “Wilde Irish Women” at the Dundalk Music Festival in Ireland in the spring of 2004. The adjudicator for the festival singled out Cynthia for critical acclaim for her performance, as well as her choreography.Cynthia is available for performance, re-staging and teaching of Isadora Duncan's choreography and technique.