Slobodzeya, May, 28. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. "Being inspired - inspire others!" Creative Godoba family - founders of the famous dance group from Slobodzeya Rhythmic Dance, has been holding by this slogan for almost 30 years.
Its participants are 250 bright and talented dancers aged from 4 to 20 years, whose energy and purposefulness won a lot of hearts not only in Pridnestrovie, but also far beyond.
Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Russian, Moldavian dances - the geography of styles and trends is extensive. Here, along with the modern trends, the classics and jazz, hip-hop and R’n’B, tango and others successfully coexist.
Being on the same page with the mentors, guys inspire choreographers for large-scale shows, which have no analogues in the republic and even in some European countries.
Let's get acquainted with the main characters of the dance epic. Tatiana Godoba is the creator and creative leader of the exemplary dance group Rhythmic Dance. Her daughters Irina and Alexandra, who played a significant part in the development of the project, work together with her. There is a fourth mentor - a graduate of Rhythmic Dance Galina Sergienko.
Uneasy Start
It all started with a class of folk instruments, which the teacher of the House of Pioneers, Tatyana Godoba exercised during the Soviet period. Having a musical education, she trained children of different ages, equipping them with love for art. Irrepressible desire for creative development led her to choreography.
“Our first trainees were high school students. In the early 1990s, children were hard to captivate with folk dances. And then I decided to work in the direction of modern and pop dances, I paid special attention to hip-hop. At that time, literally all adolescents dreamed of moving to this music,” Tatiana Godoba shares her memories.
Later, witnessing their desire to dance professionally, she decided to establish a dance group. 1990 is considered to be the Rhythmic Dance`s year of birth.
The rehearsal base was an old hall of the House of Pioneers, which the nineties were not the best times for. The first performances of the young team were held in Slobodzeya House of Culture. Then the guys began to be invited to Tiraspol and Bendery. They became quite the regular there at city holidays. Little by little, the whole republic began to learn about Rhythmic Dance. .
Because of the disrepair of the House of Pioneers, the team moved to the local House of Culture, which also needed major repairs. The first President of the PMR, Igor Smirnov, learned about the needs of artists from Slobodzeya and ordered to reconstruct the building of the House of Culture. After the repair, the dancers had a suitable rehearsal room.
Dancing is a Family Business
Daughters of Tatyana Godoba were assistants in the development of the ensemble - very young Irina and Alexandra. Back then they were 13 and 9 years old. One day, at the request of her mother, Irina put on a hip-hop parody of the popular Carmen group. The performance was so successful that after that the local teenagers rushed in ensemble.
“I was hired to work at the Slobodzeya House of Culture when I was 16 years old. As mom says, its director saw the potential in me. Actually, back then I was still inexperienced, I studied at the Tiraspol College of Music and the Chisinau Academy of Arts. Everyone saw me burning with desire to dance, and I simply could not live without it. Apparently, this is why everything turned out well,” choreographer Irina Godoba said.
Now hip-hop, including break dance and locking, has become her favorite style.
The youngest daughter Alexandra also followed in the footsteps of her mother and became choreographer. The girl graduated from the Institute of Arts of the Pridnestrovian State University, for several years she was the soloist in the Viorica State ensemble. In the Rhythmic dance he works with the youngest dancers, teaches folk direction, she also stages the numbers, combining many styles.
According to her, every dance of Rhythmic Dance is a story colorfully underlined not only by its melody, but also by its images. Throughout the creative life of the team, Alexandra Mirgorodskaya invented and designed almost every outfit.
“I am a fashion designer by my second training. The knowledge gained is very helpful. There is a clear understanding of how this or that image will look on children. Will it be convenient for them to dance, which material is better to choose, whether to decorate it with sequins or will we do with just lace. Therefore, I always get the final say here,” she says.
The First International Experience
Success to the team did not come immediately. It was preceded by many painstaking rehearsals. Thus, in the mid-1990s, a dance project “5 + 20” was held in Bendery. At first it was a republican, but because of its popularity among dancers from neighboring countries, it gained international status. Along with the strongest teams from Poland, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia, Rhythmic Dance decided to assert itself.
There were no concert suits. Yet the choreographers did not lose their head and asked the guys to bring old jeans from their closets - they made of them torn shorts, as well as black T-shirts, which were also cut. All this nonsense mentors called "street style." Children enjoyed that image so much.
At that moment, they heard the following statements in the crowd: “Who is this? Slobodzeya? Where did they come from? What kind of look is this?!” But with one single number, guys wiped all ill-wishers` eyes and won the grand prize of the competition. Rhythmic Dance asserted itself as a team with a great future.
The Continuity of Generations
A graduate of Rhythmic Dance Galina Sergienko was another indispensable member of the team, who has been training the middle group for several years now. She is engaged in numbers and shows staging.
Galina came to the ensemble at the age of five. At first it was difficult for her, she could not get used to physical exertion and at some point even wanted to give up dancing. But she changed her mind quickly. She became so fond of choreography that she entered the Institute of Arts of PSU, became a certified specialist, a successful teacher and returned to her roots.
“I chose my direction, the profession which I was really happy in. You won`t believe it, but the ideas of new movements come to me in a dream, and if I do not wake up and do not dance it, I will forget it. And that happens almost every night: I wake up and dance in my bedroom,” the choreographer confesses.
International Recognition
Due to their talent, work and diligence, dancers became winners of many Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and European competitions. They were warmly applauded in Poland and Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
For two years, the guys had been getting vouchers to the international children's center Artek, where they demonstrated their skills under the Pridnestrovian flag.
Knowing about the professionalism of the team, every year it is invited to numerous festivals, expecting a grand show. This year the dancers have already managed to visit the XIX International Festival of Creativity Kaleidoscope of Talent in Poland, from where they brought the grand prix.
At one of the latest contests, a member of the jury approached Irina Gadoba and said: “Your children demonstrate the culture of their native land vividly and expressively. You need to start selling tickets to your concerts, because soon Rhythmic Dance will become the national treasure of the country.”
30 Years is Just the Beginning!
The team`s nearest plans are conquering the world. Do not worry; no one is going to capture anyone: the guys’ dream is winning the World of Dance - the world dance championship.
They have already received invitations from Germany, France, Greece and other countries. Probably very soon the dancers will supplement their collection of awards with new medals which will bring them closer to their desired goal.
The next year 2020 for Rhythmic Dance is festive and responsible at the same time. The team will turn 30 years old. The leaders say that the preparations for the grand show were in full swing. The audience will see the best performances, the winning numbers of international competitions, a completely new program and not only that ... The choreographers keep the most interesting in secret, promising an unforgettable show in Rhythmic Dance`s best traditions.
Correspondent Svetlana Gulinskaya and photographer Artem Kulekin worked on the project
