This is a ballet movement that can be done in all positions. The dancer with bends and extends the knees. All steps in ballet come down tobending and stretching the knees. That is why in my method I pay a lot of attention to this movement. This exercise serves as a warmup and landing of...
This is a ballet movement that can be done in all positions. The dancer with bends and extends the knees. All steps in ballet come down to bending and stretching the knees. That is why in my method I pay a lot of attention to this movement. This exercise serves as a warmup and landing of a jump and is actually the basis for many steps. In the grand plié the movement goes deeper and the knees bend more. Depending on the position, the heels stay on the ground or they come off the ground (in the case of the deep bow). The plié promotes blood circulation in the legs and makes your muscles more elastic. Make sure your knees are looking in the same direction as your toes. The plié activates your ‘en dehors’ (the “turn out” from the hips), so this is also an active stretch for your hips. Every time you bend, you should feel like you have a rubber band around your legs that you stretch and pull back up. By keeping your heels on the ground, your calves and Achilles tendons are simultaneously stretching. These should not be “empty” bends with loose legs. A correctly plié is an easy and great way to warm up.
Tatevik Mkrtoumian is a professional ballerina and starts to dance ballet at the age of 5 in Russia. At this age she already participates and wins prestigious prizes at various Russian ballet competitions. As both of her parents are professional ballet dancers, Tatevik inherited the passion for ballet. Meanwhile at age 7 she moves to Belgium together with her family. She was the first girl to be accepted into the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp without audition.
After graduation she receives an invitation to join to the biggest Estonian Theatre, theatre Vanemuine. Then just a few weeks later she earns her first solo part and dances there for 5 years as a professional ballerina. Consequently she tours with the company to Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Belgium and many other countries. Additionally, she also danced in productions of Ballet of Flanders, VTM (television), international dance festivals… Next to classical ballet Tatevik has a broad experience in other forms of art, including musicals, drama, opera, jazz dance, flamenco, modern dance, experimental dance and contemporary dance.
Within her dance career she performed over 600 shows all over the world. Furthermore she also frequently dances ballet master pieces, including: Fairyqueen, Carmen, La Dolce Vita, Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Raymonda, Thriller, Kreutzwald Meets Dance, New Years Jazz, Nutkracker, Beauty and the Beast, Giselle, Nuud, Casanova, Mary Poppins, Edit Piaf, Abba, Petrushka, The Sleeping Beauty, Mowgli, Kevade, Orpheus, Losbus Lesk, In Memoriam, La Bayadère, Le Corsaire, Incontro, Il Ballo, la givotentu, l’amore, Vision of Energy, Who Cares!, Don Quixote, Giselle, Bolero, Esmeralda, Swanlake, Oneigin.
Tatevik’s dream is to make the audience feel the pleasure of dancing when she is on stage. After she returned to Belgium she started a ballet studio where she teaches everyone to dance ballet and experience the benefits of this beautiful art. Eventually she realizes that the methods for teaching professionals were unfit for adult beginners ballet. As a result she then developed her own method and shaped it into a ballet method for beginner adults. Furthermore with this method every adult can learn classical ballet, get physically fit, flexible and enjoy the pleasure of dance without any prior experience required. Tatevik teaches Ballet Workout, stretching class and private class.
OLGA MKRTOUMIAN
Children classes
Olga Mkrtoumian is the professional teacher and choreographer of the Ballet Workout for children. We are very pleased to have Olga Mkrtoumian in our ballet school. With her as a teacher we ensure the most professional education for your children.
She learned classical ballet from Lilia Palovna. Lilia Palovna was a dancer from the Mariinsky Theatre in Russia. A historical place where ballets like ‘The Swanlake’ and ‘The Nutcracker’ were made. After graduation Olga danced as a professional dancer in Georgia. She traveled through the whole Soviet Union performing as a soloist. Afterwards she moved to Armenia where she soon became soloist at a famous folklore dance company of Arev Bagdasarian.
After her dancing career Olga decided to share her passion and knowledge with others. Eventually Olga moves to Russia to start teaching ballet. She made choreographies and taught both children and adults. Olga has won many prices at ballet competitions with her students. One of them was the famous “Morning Star,” where her choreography won the first prize. She has also made the choreography and directed shows at the Bourla Theatre and Het Paleis.
Olga has a very professional approach and a lot of experience working with children. The children fall in love with this art through her classes. She stimulates the children’s creativity and at the same time ensures they learn and understand discipline. Olga applies a personalized approach for every child, allowing them to make great progress while still experiencing the joy of dance.
Olga also trains students from the Royal Balletschool of Antwerp and other professionals. On top of that she also prepares young girls for auditions and dance competitions.
