DANCING
My Dance Family
Irina Alimskaya
English teacher,
Trappes (France)
Every year December 25 is a very special
day for me. No, it's not because of Catholic
Christmas. But it is a birthday of the place
where I spent all my childhood and which
became for me a family, my dance family “We”.
The story began in 1989, when Lilia
Vladimirovna Rakhvadze founded a dance
group and it was a kind of a small revolution
because before there had been only one
dance school in Blagoveshchensk. The first
concert of the dance group took place on
December 25, so it became a date of birth of
the group. Chosen by chance, the name “We”
became the concept of this collective and for
every member of the school it means being
together, helping and supporting each other,
being a family. Unfortunately, Lilia Vladimirovna
passed away about fifteen years ago, but her
work continues to live. And it celebrates the
30th anniversary next year.
My first memories, connected with the
dance school, date back to the period when I
was 2 years old. My mother worked as an
accompanist there and sometimes I was a
spectator at dance classes while she was
playing. I remember I was sitting in a big green
chair and looking at the graceful girls next to
the ballet barre. I even tried to repeat some
movements to the girls, but when I noticed
that it made my mother and a dance teacher
laugh because a two-year-old repeating
some difficult pas is definitely amusing, I
stopped doing it. But since that time I dreamt
to become a real dancer like those girls.
My dream came true when I was six.
After a small entrance examination, I became
a member of the dance school. From that time
dance became an important part of my life.
My first concert, first exams, first trip, and so
m a n y n ew i m p re s s i o n s . I s p e nt t h e re
practically all the time after school.
40
SUNRISE
The dance school “We” is oriented to
the folk dance, but it doesn't mean that it is
the only thing I’ve studied there. The youngest
dancers begin with rhythmic gymnastics to
learn how to move to music and orient
themselves in the class. In two years, rhythmic
gymnastics is replaced by a classical dance
which is the basis of every style. The folk
dance is also added to the educational
program where we learn not only Russian
dances but dances of peoples from all over
the world. When the students become older
and more experienced, they start studying
contemporary dance. In addition, for several
first years, dance classes are complemented
by music, ethics and acting skills.
But classes are not enough to come on
the stage. They just train to learn to dance
and to be physically prepared, because
whatever you think, being a dancer demands a
lot of physical efforts. To learn and rehearse a
dance composition we usually had additional
rehearsals after classes in the evenings or on
weekends.
Of course, our life there consisted not
only of classes but also rehearsals. First of all,
we had lots of concerts. It doesn't matter how
important it was and how many of them you
had already had, but every time going on the
stage, I was nervous and excited at the same
time. It is such an unforgettable feeling which,
I'm sure, everybody, who has ever been on the
stage, misses.
The most important and grand concert
for every member of the dance school was the
birthday performance on December 25. While
everybody in the city was preparing for the
New Year celebrations, students and teachers
of the dance group “We” devoted all their
spare time to the rehearsals. But it was worth
it. The day x was a real celebration for
everybody. We wished each other a happy
birthday, exchanged small presents, and at
the end of the concert, a big birthday cake
appeared on the stage. After the concert, we
traditionally ate the cake together and had a
disco (as if before we hadn't been dancing for
two hours). There was the atmosphere of
unity and happiness everywhere that's why it
was one of the most memorable and exciting
events for everybody.
February 2019 №2