My name is Tim Smith, I am a weightlifter with about as much natural grace as a tranquilized Rhinoceros, and I am now a competitive ballroom dancer, because of Polina Kirillova and Ballroom Dance Portland.
In the fall of 2012 my local trade association put on it's second annual benefit dance competition for Habitat for Humanity -- Dancing with Realtors. Being the young buck in the office, some of my coworkers enthusiastically approached me and asked me try out the program. Mom taught me to try to new things, so I figured, "Well, I'll probably bomb, but it might be fun."
I showed up in a black and yellow T-shirt, gym shorts and athletic sneakers to find everyone formally dressed at our first lesson (unfortunately, the video evidence of this still survives online) -- not exactly The Lord of the Dance. Any immediate feelings of discomfort I had were quickly alleviated as Polina walked us through the basics of Cha-Cha, now one of my favorite dances.
Polina's teaching methods are adaptive to the student. No matter how old, young, inexperienced or advanced, she engages you to learn and perform well in your own learning style. There are moments during the lesson that you will focus, laugh and feel accomplished after you pull off a gorgeous tango routine to music after 60 minutes of fun. The beauty of her method is that you can go in, have fun and learn with extreme ease.
After our benefit dance, I continued learning with Polina and still do after over a year and a half. She helped me discover a piece of my humanity and way of expression that was completely alien to me at the time. I've completed high level routines for Paso Doble, Tango, Mambo and Rumba under her tutelage, I am proficient in many more dances and I've had a great time doing it. Her fees for services are very reasonable, but the benefits from my time learning dance are truly priceless.
A dancer from the age of 5, Polina is an award winning master at the art of dance, having competitvely danced across Europe, Asia and The USA. Even the nay sayers on this site have conceded that her skill places her in the highest echelon of world class instructors. No matter how skilled you would like to be in Ballroom or Latin Dance, Polina can take you there.
On top of all of this, Polina has one of the most incredible life stories I have heard from anyone I've had the privilege of knowing. A native Ukrainian, Polina came to the US in the early 90's after the dissolution of the USSR without a dime to her name to pursue what she has called in her own words, "...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...". A single mother of a little boy, she set out to build her new life around something she was skilled and passionate about, helping people discover the beauty and benefits of the art of dance. Eighteen years later, her business has flourished into one of the most reputable studios in New England and little Kiril, her son, is now a man on his way to collegiate education. This heart warming story of a determined pursuit and achievement of the American dream has been featured in The Portland Press Herald and makes me proud and inspired to call her a fellow American. Polina is very humble and will probably blush when she reads this and tell me I went a over the top at my next Wednesday lesson.
Polina is a consummate professional. In my year and half as her student, she has always conducted herself as friendly instructor, nothing more, nothing less. When one dances with another, especially a highly skilled dancer, it can be easy to confuse the movements of dance with other emotions -- eg. love or attraction. After all, this is the art of physical expression we're talking about here. It's unfortunate that some reviewers here have confused certain aspects of proper form with 'flirting.' Prolonged physical dance holds, close eye contact, a happy look (in an upbeat dance such as Cha-Cha or Swing) and rolling hips (everything Latin) could easily be misconstrued to someone who only went to one lesson. The professionalism at Portland Ballroom Dance the highest caliber and there were some lecunae that need to be cleared up regarding the reviews here.
Ballroom Dance Portland is THE place to learn Ballroom or Latin dance in Maine. I will dance forever and never go anywhere else. If you are even considering dance, give them a call today! read more
