TIGRAN SARGSYAN
Los Angeles Ballet
I : F O U N D A T I O N
Looking back, what was your journey into dance? What path did you take to get to your first lesson? Was there a person or event that made a key contribution to your decision to begin your dance training?
I was ten years old when I started dancing. This was in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, and it was just my mom working full time at a hospital, while also taking care of me and my brother, who was already enrolled at the Yerevan State Choreographic College—the one and only dance academy for Yerevan. Before that it was a lot of playing with friends and soccer in the street, so I do know my mom was eager for me to end up at a good school with good discipline and stuff.
One summer in June, I had my first audition for the school and they didn’t take me. It’s a Russian-based school and they have rigorous ability/flexibility checks that go along with your audition and I didn’t pass. I lightly knew what ballet was at that point but I had no interest at all and had done nothing to prepare. But after that first audition and not getting in, I was motivated to prove the judges wrong and get in. Proving someone wrong is probably a terrible way to get into ballet but I’m not mad if it got me here doing something I love. Two months later and after some training homework (push-ups, working on splits, and all of that) I auditioned again in August and got accepted into their ballet training program vs. their folk/traditional Armenian dance program.
It was a good school to be in, and I know it helped my mom out a ton. Culturally, dancing and ballet were also very normal, meaning there was no stigma or shame (especially for males) to participate in it. We’d start the day around 9a with regular classes like math and languages, etc. and then in the afternoon and evening we had the ballet training, heading home around 7-8pm.
Once you got accepted (proving them wrong), what motivated you to continue? Do you feel like dance chose you, or you chose dance?
I definitely chose dance, and it was a process. I got in and it was a little bit like feeling lost. You don’t know what’s happening, what these exercises are. And then it was just the constant training that got me hooked. From a young age, I really liked being physically active. I would go play soccer all the time; I always had to be doing something physical. So coming into this training that was very detailed and intense at the same time, especially with a body that you’re still trying to figure out, hooked me. I was hooked for the sake of the training. Then after maybe a year and a half, once I saw and felt what ballet was all about, that’s when I really decided that this is what I want to do.
Also as part of our training they would show video clips of other Armenian guys who were professionals dancing abroad in Switzerland, Germany, USA—and they were amazing. They became my heroes; people like Tigran Mkrtchyan (now friend, and principal at Boston Ballet), Tigran Mikaelyan, Arman Grigoryan, Arsen Mehrabyan, Vahe Martirosyan, and Artur Babajanyan
What from your childhood or adolescent home-life, family, or culture still impacts who you are as an artist today?
There is a big drive in my culture to either do something fully, or just don’t do it. Really pushing toward whatever you are working to achieve, to avoid the shame of not making it—which I don’t support of course, but that’s how it was (or is). Armenia has a lot of poverty, and I’m sure that drives that culture. The other half is the burden and feeling of really wanting to work hard to give back to my mom who herself was working incredibly hard to keep both of us boys alive and learning. I feel this responsibility to really make something happen so I can pay her back or give something to her, support her in some way, so she can maybe finally relax and have a better life. She is still in Armenia and I do at least feel I’ve been able to help her in some way, which is a gift.
When you were young, were there other things you wanted to do or be when you grew up?
Yes, definitely. Before I discovered dance I was really passionate about martial arts (karate, taekwondo, etc.), soccer (every young boy's dream), and still am today.
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II : P R I N C I P A L
Once you began your formal dance training, what was your path to Principal Dancer? And at what point or why did you decide to pursue it professionally? Did you ever want to give up and if so, what kept you going?
In Armenia there is a two year mandatory military service for all males 18-27. Everyone knows that if you want an actual career in ballet or dance, you will need to leave and go train elsewhere before you turn eighteen; at sixteen really. It is very, very hard, almost impossible to leave your training for two years and have the ability to come back to it at a professional level.
I joined the dance school when I was ten. At sixteen, I left for Switzerland on scholarship to Zurich Dance Academy (ZDA). I had sent videos from Armenia to different schools and I got a four year scholarship from ZDA, and all of my friends were already there including some of my ballet heroes. From there I also went to Prix de Lausanne (PDL) at eighteen. Side note: the San Francisco Ballet School (SFB) director Patrick Armand was teaching the PDL classes during the week, really liked me, and offered a summer intensive scholarship to SFB in addition to an offer to stay the year, but I declined–I didn't want to come to America at the time.
Arriving at Prix de Lausanne they helped guide me through all of the auditions, one of them being for the Dortmund Ballet in Germany, and got into the junior company. At Dortmund Ballet they used us junior dancers a ton in the performances. My first year they started using me a lot. Second year, I was getting second casts for soloist roles. That casting continued even though I was still a junior company member. Germany is so dark and cloudy, and feeling a little stuck, I came out one summer to visit Los Angeles to check out California. I really wanted to try to come to the US and audition.
When I got back to Germany, they were going to offer me a company position but I told them I already had a position and just left for America, unsure of where I would dance—I came to LA on a one-way ticket. Then I went all over for a month auditioning: NYC, Arizona, Tulsa, and of course LA Ballet (getting offers from almost all of them). I almost joined AZ ballet, and other companies offered corps, but LA offered a soloist in 2016 and I accepted. I was promoted to principal in 2018.
I absolutely did want to give up at times. I was constantly questioning ballet as a career. Am I going to be in my late thirties, retired and not know what to do? In 2018 and 2019, I started trying a bunch of other non-dance stuff to see what I also liked: improv acting, comedy, stand-up, martial arts. These experiences really grounded me and have helped my performance.
What struggles or sacrifices did you have to make or overcome to get to where you are today in your dance career?
Leaving my hometown was very tough at the time, but I’m glad I did. Being separate from family is a sacrifice. Constantly pushing my body through pain and how long it can continue is a sacrifice. There’s also the very real struggle of working in an environment rife with toxic culture or personalities, egos. I would speak up, which would get me into trouble in the school, there would be fights and arguments. With maturity I am handling it better. There’s always the struggle of wanting to speak up but keeping quiet “for the good of your career”.
Hindsight is 20/20 —what advice or words of wisdom would you give to your beginning-career self?
I would say don’t get too attached to everything; dance, people… this career is mobile.
Any mishaps or stage stories from a live performance?
One time during the last show of Nutcracker with Dortmund Ballet (set by Benjamin Millipied) I was doing Grandfather’s role and put in fake teeth as a joke. During the party scene, after greeting guests, we stand at the head of the table and pretend to drink and toast while Drosselmeyer gives gifts to the children downstage. I act like I’m going to give a toast and then full-on spit my teeth out on to the table surprising everyone. The audience was laughing and my friends barely held it together while I searched for my teeth. All the while Drosselmeyer is downstage with no clue as to why the audience and everyone is laughing. Good times.
How do you keep yourself physically well and ready for the demands of class, rehearsals, performances?
I do lots of cross training. Outside of ballet I do regular bodybuilding, cardio, taekwondo, punching bags for stamina, and jiu-jitsu. I love it almost equally to dance—sometimes more, sometimes less.
What’s your go-to thing or routine to relax or recuperate?
Not one thing, but a lot of different things… Breathing exercises—especially in a cold shower or ice bath; walking—I’m very outdoorsy and I love to walk, especially around the beach; I love trying different restaurants—driving to some place for something new and some variety; also improv comedy—I go to Improv for the People at The Pico Theater Monday evenings. I just love it. I’m also in group improv classes with the occasional performance. It puts me in the most positive mindset to “yes, and” the whole week.
What about any personal rituals around your classes, rehearsals, or performances?
I used to have crazy routine, perfectly warming-up my knees and ankles, stretching and reviewing. Now, it’s more about focus and trust in the rehearsal—it keeps it fresh.
What are you working on to challenge yourself physically and/or artistically?
Currently working on Apollo at the moment, and rehearsing Sleeping Beauty (which isn’t my favorite ballet), but mostly focusing on mindset and work/performances as they come. I’m also aiming to be in peak form with overall physical strength and endurance, especially outside of ballet, so it comes back to support ballet and my performances.
Is there a role or piece you’d love to dance someday?
I’ve always wanted to perform Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. It tells a more realistic story between two people falling in love. It's a brutal, raw, tragic reality. There’s no fantasy to it.
What still inspires you about dance today?
The live performance aspect of it. It’s still inspiring to go as an audience member. As a dancer, performing it (especially partnering in a pas), you are part of this incredible dynamic—you and another person working through all of this balance, contact, and technique, all while telling a story or embodying characters live, on stage.
“Proving someone wrong is probably a terrible way to get into ballet, but I’m not mad if it got me here doing something I love.”
III : B E Y O N D
Where are you happiest outside of the world of dance?
With my friends or girlfriend. On the mat during jiu-jitsu—it's such a supportive environment (in contrast to ballet), it's playful (but sounds violent), it's a learning environment, you have to let your ego go outside the door. If you carry it in with you, it will be crushed within minutes. It's a battle between you and your ego with the help of others.
What are some of your recommended top things to do for someone visiting LA?
Definitely go walk in Santa Monica, 3rd Street Promenade, Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, so many here in LA. Go watch theater at playhouses, but be ready to be disappointed if you go to the Hollywood walk of fame. Visit the Getty Museum, Griffith Observatory. Santa Monica is my hood. Walk Abbott Kinney Boulevard in Venice.
Had you not pursued a career in dance, where do you think you would be today?
I have no idea. Probably be in Armenia. I probably would have done something artistic anyway; something with expression. Maybe an actor, or Armenian comedian and then, eventually end up in LA anyway because there’s a huge Armenian community here Haha! Maybe even married?
Where do you see the future of dance headed and/or where do you wish the world of professional dance was headed in the next 5-10 years?
I don't think there are any large changes that will come to dance. Maybe more influence and improvement with modern dance or hip hop. But I really don’t think classical ballet is going anywhere. I think I would want to see community work. For example, go to a children’s hospital, do more outreach. Keeping ballet short, and neat, and digestible for all audiences, and up to date with music, could better serve the community and better connect dance to the public. Very few people at this point would want to sit down and watch a three-hour ballet. Which as a dancer it's challenging. Nutcracker works because it's Christmas, children, acting and not just dancing.
What do you hope audiences will get from your dancing? What type of artist do you want to be remembered as?
I really hope it brings a smile to people’s faces. It can give them joy. I hope people remember that I was able to bring a little bit joy to their life, or even just help them through their experiences. The one thing that keeps me going is giving the audience this community feeling—that they are all here, together, enjoying it. When we perform in hospitals to kids who have no idea what ballet is—that is the best.
✦
GREENROOM
Hometown
Yerevan, Armenia
Promoted to principal
2018
Height
5’ 11” (180cm)
Sign
Cancer
Shoe/Maker
Sansha Pros
Language(s)
Armenian, Russian, German, English
Recommends
“Breathe: A Life in Flow” by Rickson Gracie and Peter Maguire (Book)
@tigran.sargsyan.official
TPD x TIGRAN SARGSYAN
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