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BELEN — Plié, relevé, coupé.

Ludmila Malakhov, 13, tries so hard to polish these ballet movements that you can see the effort in her face. She frowns if she is worried; she cries if she is frustrated.

But never mind that. Malakhov loves ballet because of its gracefulness and musicality.

Her parents are from Russia and taught her the language, so she understands and takes to heart the words of ballet instructor Olga Balbocean, who, knowing only a smattering of English, speaks mostly Russian.

Balbocean, a professional ballerina from the former Soviet republic of Moldova, was in Belen last month to conduct an intensive summer dance program at Renee Antoinette's School of Dance.

The program, introduced by the Moscow Ballet to eight American dance studios in 2004, has expanded to more than 25 participating studios this year.

During her two-week stay in Belen, Balbocean taught girls from the Albuquerque area technique and choreography.

Students were divided according to age and ability. The first level, children 6 and older, learned the "Cinderella" choreography. Children 8 and older learned "Swan Lake" choreography. And the most advanced dancers learned the choreography from "Sleeping Beauty."

Malakhov, a student in the Belen program, not only danced but also translated Balbocean's words for other dancers.

"I like how she is strict and has no mercy," Malakhov said of Balbocean.

The young ballerina is on the right track because ballet is as arduous as it is artistic, and demands discipline. Each day of the weeklong program, girls spent three hours practicing and it had only three 10-minute breaks. They were nervous but focused on their movements.

"If they want to dance onstage, they need to work hard," Balbocean said.

Balbocean, 25, is the perfect role model for that. At age 9, she was already dancing professionally. She graduated with a degree in ballet dance from the Choreographical College of the Republic of Moldova in 2001.

After that, she danced with the National Opera and Ballet Theater of Moldova and with Ballet Russe in the United Kingdom.

She has performed in Germany, Romania, Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Greece.

Now, she works with the Moscow Ballet, the company that hosts the summer program and performs the annual Great Russian Nutcracker in more than 82 cities across the United States. This year it will be performed in Albuquerque on Dec. 28 at the Kiva Auditorium.

"They were a little bit scared because I'm very strict with them," Balbocean said. "But now, it's much easier; they understand everything."

The girls obeyed Balbocean in everything she said. They were attentive and, when it was not their turn to dance, they practiced on their own.

After the routines, they sat down in perfect ballerina posture, bending one leg and extending the other, and keeping their backs straight and their chins up while waiting for their next turn.

Balbocean made sure to tell her students to eat a lot of chocolate during the intensive week.

"When you teach ballet class, you have to explain professionally that what you eat is very important," she said. "They need chocolate before their class for energy and for the mind."

The young ballerinas must have fueled up on plenty of chocolate because the progress they showed in one week surprised Renee Baca Day, owner and artistic director of Renee Antoinette's School of Dance.

"In one week, it's amazing how many dances they are able to learn," she said.

At the end of the program, the ballerinas showed their parents what they learned during an informal recital in the school's studio.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for ballet dancers." Baca Day said. "Several times they have said to her (Balbocean), `Thank you so much for all your training.' "

The annual Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker started 15 years ago. Local children are invited to audition for roles as part of the ballet company's educational outreach program.

Albuquerque children and youths, ages 8 to young teens, may audition for this year's Albuquerque performance at Renee Antoinette's School of Dance on Oct. 6.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dance alongside the Russian dancers," said Beth Murdock, a Moscow Ballet publicist.

But American dance school teachers were interested not only in having professional Russian dancers at the auditions but also in having them conduct workshops with local children.

Now, besides Belen, the summer workshop program takes place in Eugene, Ore.; Minneapolis; Birmingham, Ala.; and Elmira, N.Y., among other cities.

Murdock said the Moscow Ballet doesn't just come, perform and leave.

"We are really in the community six months prior to the show," she said.

Besides the Great Russian Nutcracker, which has become a family favorite during the holiday season, the Moscow Ballet offers various educational programs that promote the ballet tradition in America.

For example, there is the Russian Cultural-Ballet Project in which ballet dancers, besides teaching dance lessons to kids, also give lectures about Russian heritage and customs.

Programs such as this find an eager audience in children like Scarlett Griego, 12, who has been dancing since she was 4. She has performed three years in the Great Russian Nutcracker and taken part in the summer program in Belen.

She said she wants to become, "most likely," a professional dancer.

Balbocean worked hard so dancers such as Scarlett would learn as much as they could during a short period.

"I want to give everything that's possible," she said.