There are dozens of dance schools in Moscow, but very few are aimed directly at expatriates. Dance teachers Richard Hume and Alyona Trepalina are filling that gap with two separate schools that teach using the English language.
Hume gives free dance classes in rock’n’roll as well as jive styles such as the lindy hop and the jitterbug at three venues every month — the Esse Jazz Café, club Krymskiye Kanikuly and the Rock’n’Roll Pub — while Trepalina runs a dance class close to Belorusskaya metro station.
“It’s a great way to meet new people. It doesn’t take lots of classes or lots of time before you have the ability to dance socially,” Hume said in an e-mail interview. “You can look great on the dance floor with just a few steps under your belt.”
Instructions are given in Russian and in English. So, classes are a mix of nationalities.
“We get all ages attending,” Hume said.
“I like the informal style,” said Lyubov, 31, one of Hume’s students, “Richard always says that the main thing is to feel happiness when you are dancing, and I really do!”
One-hour classes at the Esse Jazz Café are followed by rock’n’roll music for dancing sans instructions. Classes are followed by a rock band at the Rock’n’Roll Pub and Krymskiye Kanikuly.
“The classes are geared towards beginners. As a result, we have a healthy turnover. After many dancers have been to the classes, they decide they have accomplished their task to learn to dance and move on,” Hume said. “But it’s great that I still see many of them socially at rock’n’roll events.”
Trepalina, who teaches hustle, rock’n’roll, swing and discofox, recently created a class for expats after working with foreigners for a number of years.
One-hour classes take place twice a week and cost 3,500 rubles ($117) per month. She also has her own specially designed stretching program that she teaches students.
Trepalina said it was a good way to improve family relations. “Dancing is a good hobby, which broadens a person’s inner world and strengthens moral health,” she said.
For more information about free classes, contact Richard at [email protected] or 454-0757.
Esse Jazz Café, 13 Nikitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Izmailovskaya. Tel. 166-4373, www.essejazz.ru.
Krymskiye Kanikuly, 1 Yushunskaya Ulitsa. Metro Sevastopolskaya. Tel. 319-8398, www.krimka.ru.
Rock’n’Roll Pub, 7 Ulitsa Melnikova. Metro Proletarskaya. Tel. (965) 434-1335, www.relaxclub.ru.
AT-Dance school, 29 Ulitsa Presnensky Val. Metro Belorusskaya. Tel. (916) 172-6099, (903) 277-3220 (English speakers). www.at-dance.ru.
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