Spend the cold winter months engaged in some fun activities
Facing piles of urgent tasks and important projects day after day, everyone needs a break now and then. When the sky is blue and the sun is shining, a walk in a park or even just down the street may be all you need, yet when the weather is gloomy and cold, it is time to indulge in something more engaging and entertaining. A change of activity provides a kind of rest. Some prefer taking bike rides, others find painting or taking care of flowers quite relaxing – there is a long list of activities that can help distract you from your daily routine. Besides, a hobby is usually more than just fun – it helps you stay healthy, both physically and psychologically, and even discover some hidden talents within yourself. So, instead of hiding under your blanket with a book for the whole winter, get out there and get busy!
Keep fit!
The most productive and popular way of getting rid of stress along with odd calories is taking up sports or other physical activities, like dancing, pilates or yoga, which are offered at practically every fitness centre. In addition, at such fitness studios you can also attend classes on aerobics and Eastern martial arts, get a massage, enjoy the sauna, pool, gym, and health cafe, where you can raise your spirits with herbal beverages and fruit or vegetable dishes. Some fitness centers, like 5th Element, provide coaches for tennis or bowling, as well as offer courts for rent. If you are a fan of swimming or want to master scuba diving before setting off for the Red Sea, you can attend separate swimming pools that are considerably larger and better equipped, like Palats Pidvodnoho Sportu (Palace of Water Sports) or Triton diving club.
If you wish to become the perfect dancer, or at least improve your dancing skills considerably, the classes at fitness centers won’t be enough for you – all of them are quite big and don’t provide the best conditions for your growth. The best offer you can get is at professional dance studios, such as A6, Quest, and Todes. Classes there are supervised by professional ballet dancers, who enable those making progress to enter a professional dance group, the members of which take part in ballet performances.
While the abovementioned dance schools specialize mostly in pop dance, r’n’b, African and Eastern styles of dancing, at Latin World, Salsa Club and Cubano Boom you will learn the basics of Latin dances, like bachata, meringue, cha-cha-cha, and salsa. Moreover, the clubs constantly organize “Latin parties,” where the students can practise the movements learned in class and have fun to music that is rarely heard at the regular night clubs. Another dance studio that teaches exotic oriental dancing is called Sholkoviy Put (Silk Route) and accents on Arabic and Indian traditional dances. More exquisite lessons are offered at the classic and modern choreography studio Grand Pas – here your dreams to dance like a pro may come true but be ready for tough training!
Fitness:
Cybergym (50V Khmelnytskoho, 465-3171)
5th Element (29A Elektrykiv, 351-7733, www.5el.com.ua)
Planeta Fitness (10 Kropyvnytskoho, 254-6200, www.fitness.ru)
Kyiv Yoga Studio (66 Chervonoarmiyska, 289-5898)
Yoga Vasudeva School (Kiev Sport Club, 5 Druzhby Narodiv, 522-8866)
Palats Pidvodnoho Sportu (2/3 Serhiyenko, 552-4077)
Triton Diving Club(62 Voloska, 428-8915)
Dance schools:
A6 (27 Shevchenka, 239-5630)
Quest (9 Barbyusa, second floor, 8 (067) 408-1577)
Todes (9 Barbyusa, 8 (067) 466-6162)
Latin World (64 Saksahanskoho, 8 (067) 315-9214, www.latin-world.com.ua)
Salsa Club (29 Nyzhniy Val, El Asador, second floor, 8 (050) 352-1414, www.salsa.com.ua)
Cubano Boom (8 Kopernika, school 101, 8 (067) 798-3692)
Sholkoviy Put (49B Volodymyrska, 8 (050) 184-0526)
Grand Pas (7 Zhmachenko, 247-1520)
Shops:
Vse dlya Tantsev (11 Pushkinska, 278-6422)
Grishko (22B Saksahanskoho, 248-7157)
Sportmaster (Globus, 590-1859)
A dose of adrenaline
For those who enjoy extreme kinds of sport, I would recommend a visit to roller-skating, mountain climbing, and paintball clubs. At Skelya (Cliff) the coaches, who are used to conquering mountain peaks, will teach you the basics of climbing, after which you will be able to take part in regular competitions and specially organized mountain tours of various complexity levels. However, if you are not ready for serious training, you can try some wall climbing at one of the shopping centers, like Aladdin.
If you or your kid still cannot keep balance on roller-skates, you can attend the classes provided by the SAM Roller Club. Its members practise roller-skating in Ukraine and take part in international competitions. The classes are usually held in small groups and last for a month, after which you will freely roll and even be able to do some basic tricks. Those who feel ready to learn the specifics of roller-skating can continue developing in one of its separate directions: slalom, free skating (jumps), and speed skating.
The biggest benefit of a game like paintball is that it combines both high physical activity and intrigue – after all it’s a real battle. The players (usually divided in two teams) are given rifles shooting capsules filled with paint and are permitted to participate in the game only in full camouflage and head protection. Using all knowledge of strategy and tactics the team should win as many points as possible by “shooting” the rivals and dodging “bullets.” During warm seasons paintball is played outdoors, on natural fields, but during winter you can do it at separate pavilions equipped with “hiding places,” “shrubs” and “trees.” As paintball has become very popular among the locals, it is possible to organize a game according to a chosen scenario. Before starting preparations for a game, make a request by telephone, because all grounds are rented in advance. A big advantage is that clubs provide equipment both for sale and rent, so you shouldn’t bother about finding the needed gear.
Clubs:
Skelya (1 Mahnitohorska, 587-6044)
SAM Roller Club (Respublikanskiy Stadium, 8-067-272-33-77)
Play Paintball (9 Hlushkova, 223-3877)
Skif (9 Horodska, Pushcha-Vodytsya, 227-4270, www.paintball.com.ua)
Bomba (Kruglik village,8-067-949-4519, paintbomb.kiev.ua)
Gepard (139 Peremohy, 592-2280, www.gepard-paintball.kiev.ua)
Rollerdrom Pantera (3/5 Yana, 287-2957)
Shops:
Drive Sport (1 Shamrylo, 456-6800)
Elita Sport (7A Vozyednannya, 558-0908)
Creative hobbies
Keeping an active way of life, sometimes I feel too exhausted to move at all, not to mention intense physical training. During such periods I usually take a brush, a few sheets of paper and start painting. For some people it is more pleasant to express themselves the way they see it, yet some prefer to have a tutor. In this case you can choose among small painting studios. One of them is Veshchichka boutique, which is comprised of a school and a shop. Here the graduates of the Art Academy conduct courses for both children and grown-ups. Moreover, the classes are dedicated not only to drawing or painting but also to beading, embroidery, enamels, stained glass and jewellery making. In the shop you can find everything needed for any artistic works including modelling and calligraphy. Another way you can by the necessary gear for painting is by visiting the internet shop AD REM, which caters to a number of Ukrainian cities and can also send products abroad.
Those, who enjoy sewing, weaving and embroidery may visit sewing courses at Dim Ofitseriv (The House of Officers) by Arsenalna metro station, which are considered to be the best in Kyiv. If you are interested in Eastern arts, you can attend special courses of calligraphy at the Tea Club that accents traditional Chinese culture.
Not long ago on the territory of Vydubitskiy monastery, a School of Pottery has opened, where each month groups of around 12 students are formed according to their age. One of the school’s peculiarities is that lessons are conducted absolutely for free and take place twice a week for grown-ups and once a week (on Sunday) for children. Here, in addition to the very basics of pottery making you will also learn its historical background and old Ukrainian traditions.
A perfect addition to painting or modelling can be the art of photography. The material for your creativity can be found on every corner of the city, yet to shoot a perfect photo you’ll need either to study by yourself or attend a school of photography. Kyiv School of Photography claims to be one of the best. Here the learning process is divided into three courses: for beginners, for experienced photographers, and for professionals, who need to elaborate their personal methods. Notre Dame Studio and Fotomaster studio school are less pretentious and in addition to the basic class for beginners offer various master-classes.
Veshchichka (23 Nyzhniy Val, 2nd floor, entrance through arch, 417-2672)
Dim Ofitseriv (30/1 Hrushevskoho, 253-8072)
Kyiv School of Pottery (30 Vydubytska, 8 (050) 675-6906)
AD REM internet shop (www.adrem.com.ua)
Tea Club (7 Druzhby Narodiv, office No.60, 451-4283)
Kyiv School of Photography (35 Umanska, 243-3258, www.photoschool.kiev.ua)
Notre Dame Studio (2 Pyrohovo, 491-9561). www.ndstudio.kiev.ua
Fotomaster Shkola Studiya (28B Honchara, 235-2744). www.fotomaster.info
Play and sing
There is a belief that you can only learn to play a musical instrument or sing well as a child or teenager. It is true if you want to become a professional musician, yet to learn the basics and be able to play some small pieces of classical music you can be of any age. Moreover, if you are a fan of jazz, rock’n’roll or deejaying you can easily study at one of the new music schools that conduct lessons both for grown-ups and for children. The most reputed are School of Jazz and Pop Art and Yamaha School, where you can attend individual classes on piano, violin, synthesizer, acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar and drums. For those dreaming of singing classes of pop and jazz vocals are offered. If you are more interested in the business of music than its sheer performance, you can become acquainted with the peculiarities of the sound producer’s art.
With the popularity of deejaying now every other boy or girl dreams of mixing music in front of a dancing audience. If you didn’t manage to satisfy your passion earlier and still have a craving for a deejay stand, you can become a student at one of the city’s deejay schools. Fly Music is considered to be the most popular one. You can choose among a professional and a basic level and work with musical equipment created by leading companies like Pioneer, Stanton and Technics. Another deejay school, Allegro, is based at the Allegro music store, where you can also buy all the needed musical instruments and equipment.
A nice addition to an energetic evening can be a visit to a karaoke bar – there you can feel like a star and have fun in the company of friends or colleagues. Though there are not too many karaoke bars in Kyiv, there are some worth visiting, like the recently opened LyaLyaFa and Solo. Japanese restaurant Murakami also holds a separate karaoke bar, while the karaoke bar at Pleasure Cafe is one of the oldest in the city.
Music schools:
School of Jazz and Pop Art (7A Chelyabinska, 517-6188).
Yamaha School (4A Kameneva Komandarma, office 24, 285-4146).
Roland School (3A Tarasivska, 592-1454)
Fly Music deejay school (6 Strutynskoho, 536-2405)
Allegro deejay school (45 Bulvar Lepse, 537-1529)
Karaoke bars:
Murakami (Naberezhne Shose, berth No. 2, 428-7224)
LyaLyaFa (Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska, berth No. 6, 428-7387)
Solo (10 Sofiyivska, 501-9515)
Pleasure Cafe (3 Sportyvna Ploshcha, 496-4135)
Music Shops:
MuzTorg (2 Baseyna, 492-1616)
Jazz Club (1 Bulvar Druzhby Narodiv, 528-5200; 86 Chervonoarmiyska, 501-9438; 132 Chervonoarmiyska, 268-3305).
Jam (Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Globus, 590-1843; 23 Moskovskiy Prospect, 230-8075).
