tiny Bermuda the dream recently came true for a select group of dance students.

Although the dream was short, the time spent with Victor Barykin is something the local dancers will always remember.

Arranged by the Jackson School of the Performing Arts, and including a mixture of its most promising students as well as some from the Somerset School of Dance and the School of Russian Ballet, the approximately 90-minute free workshop at its Burnaby Street studios proved an eye-opener for the participants -- not least because it included technical exercises exquisitely executed by Svetlana Lunkina, one of the Bolshoi's principal dancers.

With studied concentration, the local dancers first completed a series of barre exercises before moving on centre work, where they carried out various series of steps devised by Mr. Barykin, the directions for which he gave in rapid French, and to music played by Bolshoi rehearsal pianist, Monika Khaba.

Whatever the dancers were doing, and wherever they moved, the razor-sharp eyes of Mr. Barykin followed. No-one and nothing escaped his expert vision. Words of encouragement and correction flowed in equal measure, and always with a smile.

"I am nice because these are young ladies, with boys it is different. If they do something stupid, well they know about it,'' the ballet master later confided.

From "Up! Up! Up! -- yes, good!'' to "Well, I think that was sleepy. We're not doing Sleeping Beauty. Let me see some snap,'' were just some of Mr.

Barykin's observations.

"No, no. If you do it this way you get this,'' he warned, demonstrating an exaggerated, off-balance wobble.

"Straighten the leg and twist the body ... yes, gooood!'' "Hmm, it is not quite good. You should start like this.'' "Very nice position. It is, like, soft'' "Girls, you should open the leg and jump -- but not to the side, please.'' If at times some of the students seemed lost, Mr. Barykin simply said: "I know it is difficult, just try again.'' Bodies glowing with perspiration, faces taut with concentration, the dancers strove to meet Mr. Barykin's instructions. As they did so, he moved among them, correcting extensions, and the positions of arms, feet and torsos.

Then, all too soon it seemed, the business-like ballet master said: "I think you have had enough. Thank you very much,'' and the dream was ended.

Asked what advice he would give Bermuda's young, aspiring ballet dancers, he said in his best English: "They should learn good position, and move like it is necessary for classical ballet. Not just lift, but lift for nice straight look. Very important too is arms position.'' But what had the experience been like for the participants, and what did they gain from it? For 13-year-old Kelsey Bacon, who has been studying ballet for ten years, the workshop left her with mixed emotions.

"I felt very honoured to be there, and at first I thought, `Oh my gosh, what am I doing here?'. Suddenly Svetlana was at the barre with us and I thought, `I'm touching it with her','' she related. "Also, it was pretty amazing to think I had a class with the man who teaches the Bolshoi, because they are pretty much every dancer's idols.'' While she loved the class, like all good things which end too quickly, Kelsey wished the class could have been longer, and held at a bigger location, such as the Ruth Seaton James Centre.

A dance student of Coral Waddell at the School of Russian Ballet, Kelsey has tried modern and jazz dancing, but prefers ballet. While she doesn't have favourite ballerina, she said, "Svetlana was the most advanced I have ever met, so if that was my goal it would be to be as good she is''.

Ashley Usher, also 13, is an avid ballet student who has been taking lessons at the Somerset School of Dance with Ms Jane Hawkins "about four years, ten times a week, and just about all day Saturdays''.

She has also studied abroad in her holidays, and like Kelsey has appeared in several local productions. Her ambition is to be "a ballet dancer all my life''.

While she enjoyed the workshop, Ashley concurred with her friend's remarks about its length and size, but remained optimistic.

"It would be great if the ballet master could come back next year for longer, and we could have more space,'' she said.

For 17-year-old Julia Richens, who has been dancing since she was four and attends the Jackson School of the Performing Arts, she confessed the presence of onlookers made her (among others) "extremely nervous'', and her desire to do well under so prestigious a ballet master was somewhat "nerve-wracking''.

"But I loved taking that class, and wish it could have been longer,'' she said. "We never got to dance on point.'' At present focussing more on her academic studies in the Saltus Graduate Year programme, Julia explained: "Ballet has always been something I love. I don't necessarily want to be a professional ballerina, but I do want to continue having fun and performing.'' As the lone male, 14-year-old Jelani Veney-Smith, who has been dancing since he was three, and currently studies jazz, hip-hop, modern and tap at the Jackson School of the Performing Arts, found the class gave him deeper insight into another dance form which he hopes to take up next year.

"I didn't find the class that tough because I have taken a couple of ballet classes before,'' he said, "but later in the evening my back was hurting.'' Although his days begin with stretching exercises to keep limber for hip-hop, and he lifts weights at the gym, Jelani wants to take up ballet next year.

"I like a full body workout,'' he explained. "Ballet builds muscles for strength and balance. A lot of athletes, including footballers, take ballet for stamina and balance.'' For Bermudian dancer cum businesswoman Sophia Cannonier, the workshop was an experience that also left her with mixed emotions.

"I think we were all very excited and very nervous,'' she said. "We felt like we couldn't move, and by the time we finally relaxed it was time to finish, unfortunately. We were not happy about that.'' In common with other dancers, she also felt the class was too short, and wished it could have been longer.

"By the time we were warmed up, it was time to go,'' she lamented.

Miss Cannonier has been dancing for 28 years, nine of them with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. A former student of the Russian School of Ballet, she said learning classical ballet techniques was invaluable.

"I think the next time the Bolshoi comes back to perform, they should have open classes for ballet schools to come and watch. To make more of their visit, for the Bermudian dancers who want to excel allow them to take classes and interact with the Russian dancers instead of rushing them around to cocktail parties. We are all at different stages of our careers, and we do take our ballet seriously.'' In this regard, Ms Cannonier felt strongly that "local dancers need to speak up because it is about dancers''.

"If you want us to achieve greater heights we should be given more exposure,'' she said.

If dreams come true, so too do wishes. According to Louise Jackson, founder of the Jackson School, arrangements are already under way for Mr. Barykin to return to the school to give more classes at its Burnaby Street studios "in the very near future''.

Addressing the concerns over overcrowding and onlookers, the founder noted that, while the original intent was to have the workshop for Jackson School students only, she felt students and teachers from other dance schools should also enjoy "the opportunity of a lifetime'' to work with Mr. Barykin. Hence the pressure on space.

"I didn't want to limit it to just students,'' she explained. "It was almost more important that dance teachers from around the Island be present to see this. It was a learning experience for them as well.''