First things first // person of interest
HITTING HER STRIDE. A year later, at age 9, we reached the finals at the European Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark. After that we competed in Germany, England, France, Poland and Russia. I started teaching dance at 13, and my dream became to have my own dance studio. My other dream was to compete in the U.S. DanceSport Championships. I never imagined my parents would make my dream come true and make it possible for me to enter this prestigious competition in Miami when I was 14 years old. We immediately fell in love with this country and its friendly people. We knew without a doubt that this was where we wanted to live and work, and so we moved to the U.S. I only knew a few English words — hello, bye-bye, dog and cat.
OWNER OF ANASTASSIA BALLROOM & DANCE
DISCOVERING DANCE. I was born in Kalinigrad, Russia and both of my parents were dancers. My father was the ballet master of a well-known dance ensemble, and has over 40 years of experience in dancing and choreography. I wanted to dance from a very young age. FINDING THAT FIRST DANCE PARTNER. I was in kindergarten when my parents decided to let me enter a ballroom dancing competition, but first I had to find a dance partner. My mother took out my picture book and said, ‘Here, find the boy in your class you think is the
28
I lakeandsumter
.com
cutest.’ I picked out the cutest boy, and my mom and I went to his house. My mother told his mom, ‘Your son has to dance with my daughter.’ GIANTS ON THE DANCE FLOOR. We were only 8 years old when we entered our first competition. We were competing in the 8- to 10-year-old division. We were being bumped left and right by the others because they could barely see us since we were so little … We received medals at the end, after four or five hours of dancing, and for me, this was the jumping board into the world of competitive dancing.
IT’S A WONDER LIFE! My dream now is to have the most beautiful, the most fun and most exciting dance studio in Central Florida and continue to make my parents proud of me. That dream includes having my father teaching with me for many years. My mother does not teach anymore. She prefers to take care of us, and we love that she does. LIFE MOTTO. Believe in yourself and dance like no one is watching! (CHECK OUT ANASTASSIA CUTTING THE RUG @ WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=WNGXNC5SAV0)
WRITER: JANE FUENTES PHOTO: PROVIDED
ANASTASSIA ABRAMENKO
DREAMS DO COME TRUE. I absolutely love dancing, but it is hard, physical work, and it can get tiring at times. In September of 2014, I had a birthday coming up, and my parents suggested I treat myself to a vacation and go back to Russia for two or three weeks. When I came back I received the biggest surprise of my life yet. My amazing parents gave me the biggest birthday present I could wish for — my own dance studio!
