Alexandra Kochis

Alexandra Kochis began her training with Ms. Mimi Ferrell at her Studio of the Ballet Arts in Boxford, MA, continued her studies with Mr. Iacob Lascu at Lascu School of Ballet in Bloomfield Hills, MI, and attended Boston Ballet’s Center for Dance Education for her final two years of high school. Ms. Kochis furthered her studies at The School of American Ballet and The Kirov Academy in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, she was offered a position in Boston Ballet II and promoted to Corps de Ballet in 1998. In 2006, along with her husband, fellow Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School faculty member Christopher Budzynski, she joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and was promoted to the rank of Soloist in 2008 and Principal in 2009.

Over the course of her 27-year professional career, she had the honor to perform numerous principal and soloist roles of the classical repertoire. Her retirement performance as Odette/Odile in Susan Jaffe’s Swan Lake was named one of Pointe Magazine’s ‘Standout Performances of 2022’. In addition, she was selected to dance and create leading roles in the works of numerous legendary contemporary and neo-classical choreographers in both Boston Ballet as well as Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

Ms. Kochis joined the faculty of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School in 2022. Known for her nuanced musicality and emotional story-telling, she has enjoyed passing on her love of the art form to a new generation of artists. In addition to her work with PBT, Ms. Kochis is also on the faculty of Intensity Dance Academy in Mars, PA.