Almost 18 years ago, Nonna Saakova decided to create a dance studio in the north of Sydney where both children and adults could practice. They started with five students, and on December 2, 2023, there were about a hundred dancers on the stage, and more than two hundred guests greeted dancers with applause for beautiful ballet, character and modern dances.
Tarantella performed by the kids was followed by "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from the ballet "The Nutcracker" performed by Lana Ly. And then the energetic sounds of Mexican dance were heard, after that tap dancing, and the rhythms of contemporary dance. The audience was surprised by the beauty of the Korean dance performance. Everything was on point - beautiful costumes, well-coordinated movements of the dancers! And again ballet numbers, tap dancing, which is loved by both young and old groups, and modern dances. It's great to see how the experience and confidence of the kids, and the skill of the adult performers, grow. It was nice to see the priest of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, Mikhail Storozhev, in the hall, whose daughter performed on stage in the junior group. Traditionally, among the studio participants there are many young kids from the Russian-speaking community.
The true scale of this dance studio could be seen at the end of the concert, when all the participants danced on stage.
The founder and director of the studio, Nonna Saakova, danced in a famous dance group in Tashkent in her youth. And she toured with him in different countries. Having arrived in Australia, she really wanted to pass on experience to young dancers. During the day she had to work at her main job, and in the evenings and on weekends, Nonna decided to fulfill her dream.
- I set my main goal to introduce children and adults to the art of dance, - says the head of the studio, - to provide such an opportunity to everyone, regardless of age and training. Dancing is an incredibly complex discipline, a way of self-expression through which, in addition to training the body, one also develops artistry, hard work, musicality, memory, self-confidence, not to mention the fact that this is a great opportunity to switch from study and work to active recreation.
- What groups are working in your studio today?
- Currently, the studio has 12 groups - from the youngest to adults, with different levels of difficulty: 6 ballet groups, 3 tap dance classes, 2 modern dance groups and a jazz group.
- You can’t cope with such a large team alone, tell us who works with you, who helps?
- The teaching group increases with the growth of the studio. Our talented Eirlys Stubbs (tap and jazz), Tina West (modern dance), Lana Ly (classical ballet) are still working in the studio. This year we joined the teaching staff of Sofia Guastini. In 2009, she came to the studio as a baby, and now she teaches tap dancing to children, Alisa Krivozhnya, who also started as a child and now works with me in the youngest grades, and the very creative Dina Zuonis, a modern dance teacher. You saw all these girls on stage, they are not only teachers and choreographers, but also still remain soloists of the studio, I am very proud of their success.
And of course, I would like to mention the designer of our studio, Yana Miller, who runs our social pages on the Internet and handles all printed material - from advertising to concert programs.
- What keeps you energetic, allows you to do everything - work at the university during the day, lead a large dance group, sew costumes, prepare dance choreography and also drive an hour and a half every day from the Central Coast to Sydney?
- Well, I’ll probably answer with two proverbs: “Those who want to acheve - look for opportunities, and those who don’t want look for reasons.” Well, my favorite: “The eyes are afraid, but the hands are doing.” I don’t even know where the strength comes from, and sometimes it’s really hard. But it’s worth working with the kids, seeing the happiness in their eyes, and strength and inspiration return. But of course, the most important source of energy is the huge support of my family. I doubt that I could have lasted all these years, combining both the studio and a full-time job - which I also really like, and I have also been working in this place for more than 10 years.
This year's anniversary concert took place at the Roselea Community Center in Beecroft. Regular studio classes are held at Epping Community Hall. Now the studio is going on Christmas holidays, and will continue its work in the new year. If you love dancing and want to become part of the friendly team at Dance Studio Pirouette, read the information on the website pirouette.com.au or facebook dancepiroette, write or call info@pirouette.com.au 0430 026 676, and come to the classes.
Epping Community Hall, 9 Oxford St Epping NSW 2121
