The art of dance brings people together! The language of dance has no boundaries, is understood by everyone, and is loved by many people in different countries.
In the last century, excellent ballet schools were created in Russia, Britain, France, and America. The ballerina Anna Pavlova was well known throughout the world, and Diaghilev's Russian Ballet won over Paris. Australian ballet was largely formed by former soloists of Ballet Russes.
That is why I was not surprised that the dance studio in the north of Sydney was created by Nonna Saakova, who in her youth danced in a famous group in Tashkent and absorbed the wonderful examples of the Russian school of dance. A good school and the talent of the teacher helped Nonna gather numerous dance lovers from different ethnic communities of Sydney. The studio in Epping, created more than 15 years ago, gradually grew. Nonna's former students became her assistants, learnt choreography, and staged new dances. Among them are Eirlys Mendes, Lana Ly, Tina West, Sol Yoo, Sofia Guastini, and Emma Chidgey.
Choreographers from other Australian dance schools are also invited. This time, "Aragonese Jota" to the music of M.I. Glinka was staged by Yulia Furnas.
The popularity of the studio in the north of Sydney grew; among the dancers there were many children from the Russian community. Today, participants of Australian, Chinese, Indian, and Latin American backgrounds perform alongside them. People of all ages have come to the studio; some were interested in ballet, others in modern dance, others in jazz or tap.
Our editorial team became the studio's information partner about 10 years ago. Attending annual concerts, we saw how the repertoire expanded year by year and the skills of the dancers grew. More than 50 dancers try very hard because more than two hundred people come to the concert and actively support them—parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbours.
More than 20 dances were in the program of this year's concert. Such a concert is a joint effort of many people; not only dancers, teachers, and choreographers helped; someone prepared the music. Evgeniy Kless has been helping organise sound and light for several years. And what wonderful costumes were prepared for various dances! How much administrative work, preparing the hall—Nonna's husband Boris and their daughter Yana helped a lot.
It was very difficult to single out the best numbers; each had its own charm: a quadrille dance and a mazurka, ballet, tap dance, and modern dances. Indeed, for every taste.
We asked choreographer and dance teacher Yulia Furnas, who prepared the dance for the studio for the first year, to tell us her opinion about this dance group.
"If you think that a dance studio is a purely children's business, you are deeply mistaken! And if you had visited the concert of Dance Studio Pirouette on November 30 at Roselea Community Centre, you would have seen it in person. On stage, there were enthusiastic dancers of various age groups, as they say, from 4 years old and much higher. Of course, the kids in the quadrille and polka were absolutely charming, but the adult artists were also exceptionally good!
And, yes, in completely different genres—ballet, character dances, and modern choreography—where, by the way, the studio participants also show themselves as talented choreographers! It was very nice to see mature artists tap dancing with amazing energy, twirling in romantic tutus to Chopin's waltz and clearly enjoying it! I would like to note that dance classes in adulthood (including ballet) have become very popular all over the world in recent years. Adult ballet classes are springing up everywhere, and the demand for them is significant. It is wonderful that, along with new mature participants, the Pirouette studio, which has been giving children the opportunity to dance for many years, has raised a generation of “its own” adults from them who have been studying at the studio for 10 years or more!
I was fortunate to work with the members of the Pirouette studio for a while this year and was amazed by the level of dedication and passion with which the members of the group were involved in the process of working on the number and preparing for the concert. But most of all, I was amazed by Nonna's dedication! A huge thank you to her for the fact that this group exists in Sydney and brings joy to people of all generations in the truest sense of the word."
After the final concert the studio takes a break for the Christmas holidays, and then studio members will come together again to prepare new dances. New students will also come; the studio invites dancers every year. If you or your children love dancing and you live in the northern areas of the city, read more about the studio and its various dance groups on pirouette.com.au, and maybe we will see you on the list of performers at the final concert in 2025!
Vladimir KOUZMIN
