On Thursday, Oct. 8, dance history was made in Sea Cliff and celebrated in Glen Cove. The Russian Ballet School in Sea Cliff, under the direction of Konstantin and Irina Uralsky, became the first ballet school in the United States to receive the accreditation of the prestigious Russian Dance Association. The Uralskys, who received their training at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and toured with the Bolshoi Ballet company, were formally presented with the accreditation by the association's president, the legendary Russian ballerina, Olga Lepeshinskaya, in a ceremony at the Uralskys' school. Attending this proud moment in the lives of Konstantin and Irina Uralsky were Mme. Sergey Lavrov, the wife of the Russian Federation's Permanent Representative to the United Nations; a Russian delegation with dancers and representatives from the Moscow Ballet School; County Legislator John Canning; Sea Cliff Mayor Ted Blackburn; Father Leonid Kishkovsky, pastor of Our Lady of Kazan Russian Orthodox Church; students enrolled in the Uralskys' school; and invited guests. The evening included a breathtaking performance by the dancers during which the guests were treated to the premiere of a dance to the music of Titanic. Vladimir Kirillov and Natalya Ledovskaya performed this piece which was a rare treat for everyone considering they will be appearing at the Kennedy Center this December. Natalya will be dancing lead roles there in The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Alexander Kedrov danced a piece choreographed by Mr. Uralsky from his ballet, Petrouchka. Ms. Lepeshinskaya said she liked Mr. Uralsky's Petrouchka and it would be wonderful if it could be brought to Russia. Three children from the dance division of the New University of Humanities in Moscow were introduced by the university's dean of dance, Anatoly Barzov. Andrei Filatov, Yolia Petrova and Maria Sokdnikova are proof that Russian ballet has a bright future. Ekaterina Shelkanova also performed that evening dancing an adagio from Le Corsaire , with Mr. Kedrov.

The confetti for the evening was the exciting announcement by Mr. Uralsky that the process of forming a board of directors for a not-for-profit chamber ballet company based in Sea Cliff has begun. To end this grand evening, everyone was invited to a reception hosted by Mme. Lavrov at the Killenworth Estate in Glen Cove- the Russian ambassador's residence.

Accepting positions on the board of directors are: Donald McDonagh, contributing editor to Dance magazine; Alan Horn, the vice president of EAB Bank; Beverly Bell, a partner with attorneys Payne, Wood and Littlejohn; Angela Bruno, professor of design arts at Nassau Community College; Legislator John Canning; Mary Rose Pastor, Phd.; Jane Bradbury, Bradbury-Norris Public Relations; Elizabeth and Charles Weinstein of Design Audio Visual. Konstantin and Irina Uralsky will serve as the ballet company's artistic directors. In the true spirit of community and hospitality, many of our neighbors opened their homes to the visiting Russian dancers. They were: Wren and Jim McNeil; Jane and Kevin McGilloway; Rae and John Packard; Larry and Nancy Gordon; Elizabeth and Charles Weinstein. Aeroflot Russian airlines sponsored the tickets for the Russian dancers' journey to the United States and the Pall Corporation co-sponsored all the evening's activities.