For Antonia, Indian classical dance is her passion, hobby and job all rolled into one. She started learning the very special, authentic dance form Bharata Natyam at an early age. Her mother, Natasha Volodina, sent her to take lessons with the guru Sharadha Raghuraman at the age of five. Trained and coached by her mother, she took her final examination – the Arangetram – when she was ten. Since then, she has been improving her style and learning new, challenging pieces from various Indian gurus, including guru Padmini Rao and guru Sivi Mahadevan. She is continuing to perfect her technique by taking master classes by top dancers.
Antonia: “After many performances in different countries and creative collaborations with European and Indian musicians, the time has come for me to create something myself. I have been making choreographies for our students for some time, mainly focused on their learning process and adapted to their level. However, participating in the Dance Showcase was a way for me to take things a step further: to make something completely new using the Bharata Natyam vocabulary, combining it with a Western influence and my own vision. I am very grateful for the opportunity to receive professional coaching and to present my choreographic debut on stage.”