Whirling, twirling on the toes
Dr Asaduzzman, chairman of University Grants Commission, who was the chief guest, said that life is often quite accurately depicted through dance. He said that keeping in mind the present state of globalisation, it is important for us to know about foreign dance impacts such as the Russian ballet.
The leader of the Russian group was Natalia, who has been living in Dhaka for almost two years. She is one of the teachers of the Russian School in Dhaka, and teaches dancing and English. "I've been studying dancing since the age of four as it is the dream of hundreds of Russian girls to be ballerinas", said Natalia. "I went to a good dance school and studied the performing artform with passion. My students do special exercises at the bar. We did extracts from Russian ballet from Pas de quatre, Bolera from Coppelia, and another piece by Alexander Dolin, as well as a Russian folk dance Koro Bochka, performed at festivals." The other two dancers, Natalia (17) and Daria (14) were students of the Russian School. They had been practicing for one and half years.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. With hair tied back in silken knots, sporting gray and blue checks and ballet slippers, the dancers fascinated the audience with their quick steps and leaps. The folk dance too won much applause.
Quamrul Islam Nadim brought in his students from the Russian Cultural Centre and the Nordic Club, dressed mostly in black. He said, "Our work is based on our curriculum, which was salsa and merengue. The performers danced in couples and groups. There was also a cha- cha -cha. The group had practiced for a week for the performance.
There were also three local folk dance sequences to end the programme.