Dancer Yuilia Ilyina and dance company Liobovniki share the passion for dancing
“Only when I left Kyiv I understood how much I loved it,” recalled Yulia Ilyina, a choreographer and dancer of the Liubovniki (Lovers) ballet troupe, as we set on a terrace at Wolkonsky Kayzer. I knew that Yulia had lots of experience working in Spain, Germany and France but never heard the details of her dancing career until now.
As a four-year-old kid Yulia began figure skating but later switched to ballet. “Classic choreography fosters character and attitude to life and personal relations – at 12 we already danced with partners and showed relations, the essence of which we actually didn’t understand then,” Yulia says, analyzing the experience she got as a young ballet dancer. Though she abandoned her ballet career, it still remains her passion. “I like to be in the first row and in the center and it became impossible in ballet after I injured my ligaments,” she explained as to why she had to leave the ballet stage. However, it was only a shifting point from which she started her dancing studies at the Kyiv Academy of Performing Arts, won many competitions and went on European tours.
Yulia characterized herself as a jack of all trades and that’s absolutely true – in addition to dancing, she draws, designs clothes and dancing costumes, sings, does professional make-up, and when she finds time, travels. “I don’t have anything essential in my life, I’m interested in everything,” she says with a smile.
“Working abroad and coming back and spending money in Ukraine doesn’t fit me anymore, now I am more interested in living and developing in Ukraine where I’m at home,” said Yulia pointing out that Ukrainian show-business is now in its uprise. As she stressed, she has finally found her niche with the ballet troupe Liubovniki, which works with singer Kuzma (from the music band Skriabin).
I got to sit down with the dancers a week later to talk about their upcoming projects; Yulia, Maxim and Kostia and the ballet’s administrator and director Marina, dropped by Coffee House after their daily rehearsal. Savoring well-merited desserts with tea and coffee the cheerful company shared their latest creative achievements, present efforts and upcoming projects.
According to Yulia, the ballet consists of six dancers – two girls and four boys. Not all of them have graduated from specialized performing institutions, yet they have all danced from an early age.
“We all are very different and that’s cool, everyone adds something special from him/herself,” said Yulia.
“Besides, we have a very talented stage manager and choreographer Maxim Pasyuk (not the one sitting here), who has gained a great experience abroad and in Ukraine, we owe lots to him,” Maryna added.
“He already has a style and proposes it to the dancers without any pressing, we transform our ideas depending on our abilities and we can do a lot, really,” Yulia explained.
As I understood, by now the half-year-old ballet has an impressive portfolio: appearance in a TV show Shans (Chance), first place at the Tavriyski Ihry (Tavria Games) festival, projects with music band Skriabin, Tatiana Piskariova, and Ani Lorak. And, Lovers are finishing their solo program, which is likely to be presented on the big stage.
“During our work at Chance we worked with Kuzma and he liked us very much,” Maxim said proudly.
“One girl was singing a very touching song, we intensified the feelings even more with our dancing and he cried!” Kostia remarked.
And as a result, Kuzma asked the dance troupe to collaborate with him at Tavriyski Ihry. “For us all it was an exam in some sense. Kuzma relied on us so much that he even didn’t ask what we were preparing, he didn’t control style or costumes. The only thing he did was that he took us to Lviv to one of his concerts and asked to create a program for Tavriyski Ihry,” Maxim said.
Marina remarked that their performance with Kuzma was an experiment in itself, since a ballet didn’t seem to fit a rock singer like Kuzma. “When Kuzma took us with him for the first time everyone was shocked (What for? You are all right without any ballet!),” she recalled.
Yet, it all turned out well. “The show we made was very creative, we constantly changed costumes and dancing schemes, we were using fire, water and people liked it,” Yulia said. “No one has done such a thing in Ukraine before. The idea, not movements is the most important thing in our dances. If a character feels some emotions and needs a jump he makes the jump. Everything on the stage should have its reason because anyone can make jumps and stunts,” she concluded.
According to Maxim, being accurate with your moves is not the most important in dancing: “Max (the choreographer) says that you can make a mistake while making a movement but you should always be on one wave with the audience, you should be sincere and dance from your very heart – the audience doesn’t control the rightness of movements, it cares about emotions and sincerity.
In September, the ballet claims to be opening a dance school. “We have lots of things to show to those people who want to develop themselves and not only to get fit. Hip-hop and R&B are already boring, people strive for something new and I think we can teach them something,” Yulia said.
Olga Kovalenko can be reached at [email protected] or 496-4563.
