BY LEANDRA ACOSTA
 Sasha Zitofsky in NJDTE's The Nutcrakcer as a young dancer | “It’s amazing to see the journey of dancer Sasha Zitofsky, as a dancer and performer. He came to NJDTE at a young age, already having commercial experience, and wanting serious training in ballet and modern.” – NJDTE Artistic Director Nancy Turano VoyageLA recently caught up with Sasha, former NJDTE student, to talk life, dance, and how he is making his way in the dance world. In the article, Sasha talks about how he started, his life struggles, and how he persevered to become the young man he is today. Sasha was born Alexander Zitofsky in and was adopted by his parents from a small town in Russia. From a young age Sasha faced adversity from his own physical health. He spent a time battling a slew of medical issues, such a Lymes disease and bilateral pneumonia, to name a few. Once he got on his feet, he was able to start taking dance classes at age six. After dancing for a few years, he began to get involved with theater and found a passion for it. |
Sasha went on to become a triple threat performer: singing, acting, and dancing for theater and commercial dance projects across the country. Even at this young age, Sasha was aware of how powerful his self confidence was. He was able to be true to himself and what he loved no matter what obstacles he faced or what people said about him.
NJDTE Artistic Director had this to say about Sasha.
“He truly excelled quickly and was chosen as a featured dancer in a NJDTE work by Cherice Barton, in addition to training and working with other renowned artists. He left NJDTE to continue pursuing commercial dance and I find it a wonderful circle of life, that he is in one of the most prestigious universities pursuing concert dance. His journey is truly inspirational and supports the concept to “always keep your options open”.”
Sasha is currently in his third year at the University of Southern California majoring in Dance at The Glorya Kaufman School of Dance with a minor in Cinematic Arts. His studies have been integral in developing his true voice as director, cinematographer, and screenwriter.
A huge congratulations to Sasha as he pushes forward in his professional dance career at USC. NJDTE wishes you the best always, and we will be there when the curtain goes up.
Want to support Sasha and his work:
Original article credits to VoyageLA: http://voyagela.com/interview/art-life-sasha-zitofsky
NJDTE Artistic Director had this to say about Sasha.
“He truly excelled quickly and was chosen as a featured dancer in a NJDTE work by Cherice Barton, in addition to training and working with other renowned artists. He left NJDTE to continue pursuing commercial dance and I find it a wonderful circle of life, that he is in one of the most prestigious universities pursuing concert dance. His journey is truly inspirational and supports the concept to “always keep your options open”.”
Sasha is currently in his third year at the University of Southern California majoring in Dance at The Glorya Kaufman School of Dance with a minor in Cinematic Arts. His studies have been integral in developing his true voice as director, cinematographer, and screenwriter.
A huge congratulations to Sasha as he pushes forward in his professional dance career at USC. NJDTE wishes you the best always, and we will be there when the curtain goes up.
Want to support Sasha and his work:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/a/usc.edu/sasha-haydn
- Instagram: @sashahaydn
- Twitter: @sashahaydn
Original article credits to VoyageLA: http://voyagela.com/interview/art-life-sasha-zitofsky
