In a small town in which male ballet dancers are few and far between, Poolesville High School senior Sava Brizhik stands out. 

Brizhik has earned a name for himself as a dedicated performer, recently securing a competitive $3,000 scholarship from the National Society of Arts and Letters for his first place finish in the D.C. Regional Competition. 

“It was insane and definitely kind of surreal,” said Brizhik when asked about the National Society of Arts and Letters. “After submitting, I didn’t really think anything of it for a while, and it was during my volleyball game that I got the news. I was so happy. It was something I didn’t think I would accomplish.” 

Unlike many professional dancers who start in their early childhood, Brizhik began his formal training around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the age of 12. This put him at a disadvantage compared to his peers. 

Despite the late start, Brizhik enrolled in Essence Studios, the only dance and performing arts studio in Poolesville because he was drawn to the art form of dance. 

“Starting at a young age can be beneficial, but what is really important is the age at which you get serious about doing the work,” said Justin Rustle, Brizhik’s ballet and partnering techniques teacher. “Brizhik began to really focus on his dancing around the same time I started working with him. He’s dedicated and hard working, and as a result, he’s working at a competitive level for his age.” 

“There was something about not having to speak,” said Brizhik. “It was an art form where I didn’t really have to use any words or anything. It was just about movement.”

He also credits Essence Studios for fostering an environment where he could express himself freely, despite being the only male student. 

“There was also no competition. It was very collaborative, and that helped me overcome the feeling that I was behind at the beginning,” said Brizhik. “Thanks to [Essence Studios], it was pretty easy to get the feel of things. And since it was such a small studio, I could figure out who was who very quickly, and I got to know everyone.”

During his time in high school, Brizhik has continued pursuing his passion as an Advanced Dancer at Essence Studios. He’s spent time performing at showcases and community events, as well as in one regional and one national competition.

In 2023, Brizhik performed with Kansas City Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center. He has also performed at a number of town events. These include Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Center’s Cinderella, the Poolesville Tree Lighting, Poolesville Day and, most recently, a community Diwali festival. 

Despite the achievements, however, Brizhik acknowledges the challenges that come with being a dancer. It can often become very mentally and physically demanding. As the only male dancer at Essence, he feels this weight on some days more than others, like the ones where he’s the one person to partner with all of the girls.

Rustle spoke to Brizhik’s tenacity, however. 

“There are plenty of moments where Sava could just have said ‘this is too hard, I give up,’ but he never does,” Rustle said.

While taxing at times, the challenges are all worth it to Brizhik. He shared that the reason why dance is so important to him is that it grants him a safe space to express his emotions in a way that’s unique from anything he’s experienced elsewhere. 

“Whenever I was stressed, I would go dance,” Brizhik said. “It was just about movement and for some reason, that was a lot easier than writing essays or doing soccer and things like that.”

Looking to one of his future performances, Brizhik and his company will perform “A Winter’s Eve” in December 2025. 

Brizhik admits that this performance will be one of the hardest they have done because of an addition made to the original performance.

“So now it’s not only a duet in our solos, but there’s a duet…at the end of it all, which makes it longer and more exciting,” Brizhik stated.

Brizhik and his dance peers are incorporating a new Bolivian dance, which will last around 5 minutes. He believes that this new performance will create an energetic atmosphere, something that he is excited for his audience to see.

Rustle explained the importance of his one-on-one time teaching Brizhik, claiming this journey has allowed for a more targeted learning experience for both him and Brizhik.

“This spring we will be doing excerpts from a ballet which includes one of the most demanding male roles in the classical cannon,” said Rustle.

While Rustle admitted that there are technical skills he will continue to teach Brizhik, he also claimed that Brizhik is at a point where his focus should be learning and performing repertoire. 

This performance will be one of his last performances due to the fact that Brizhik is graduating in 2026. When looking towards the future, Brizhik admits the importance of school paired with dance. He plans to double major in dance and engineering to provide himself with a career to fall back on in the event he is unable to dance in the future. 

Additionally, Brizhik does not have any specific goals for dance, but is open to any opportunity he is provided.

“For dancing, I kind of just want to go, like, ‘where the wind takes me’ kind of thing,” said Brizhik.

Whether it be as a backup dancer, or demonstrating his dance knowledge on a stage, Brizhik will continue his dance career.