We talked to Ruslan Aydaev and Valeriya Kozharinova, the couple who won the Professional Rising Star Latin event at Blackpool Festival 2015. They represent Russia and are national bronze-medalists in Professional Latin category.
You need to listen to your partner, you need to believe in your partner and you need to work together
Congratulations, what a fantastic result for you!
[Valeriya] Thank you very much
I guess you have seen our website and read interviews with other couples so ...
[Valeriya] Of course!
So you had time to prepare the answers for my usual questions
[Valeriya] We will be honest! (laughing)
How did you start dancing? Tell us your history
[Valeriya] I started when I was seven years old. I lived in a small city in Russia called Bryansk. It is not far from Moscow, considering how big Russia is, it is about five hours away from Moscow. Soon, when I was eleven, I moved to US. I started dancing there in Eugene Katsevman studio. It was also Victor Kanevsky studio as they were connected at the time. I did not really have great results until I started dancing with Valentin Chmerkovskiy who was, at the time, already World Champion twice. From there, it took off for me. We danced together for five years, we had good results. We won the Under21 Latin in Blackpool. We were Rising Stars champions at the UK Open. We were semifinalists of the Amateur Latin in Blackpool as well. It was great five years, great partnership and I learned a lot.
How come you started dancing?
[Valeriya] Why? My mother's friend said, oh, she likes to dance, why don't you take her somewhere? When I was a little girl I loved to dance at parties, I was always dancing around. It was just a suggestion. We went to a dance school and they did not take me because I was too young. I must have been still six, and in Russia the traditional folk dance schools take school kids only. And then we went to the Ballroom dancing school which was just across the road from us. And they took me. I was serious about it right away. I was fully into it. I think I was a bit weird because nothing else existed for me. I did not want to do any other usual things the kids do, I had my music, my headphones and dancing. I was very committed to it. At one point of my life I was very sick, and my doctor said that I could continue but after a year or so. But I thought, forget about a year, I will start in a month! So nothing, pretty much, stopped me, I was very hungry for it. In the US I was very lucky because in Russia we were not exposed to many teachers, but in New York there were plenty of studios and all the famous teachers available. I remember at the time Slavik and Karina started dancing together so they were always there. Any many other famous teachers. So I suddenly was exposed to the real dance world, right away. So I was very lucky with that at such a young age. Other people started learning and getting all that information, much, much later because they were not exposed to it.
So what happened after your partnership with Valentin Chmerkovskiy?
[Valeriya] After we split up, I knew right away that there is no better place for me to look for partners than Russia. I knew there were many talented people there, maybe not that famous, but with a lot of talent. So, it wasn't like I knew who I wanted to dance with, I knew I got to search. The search started in Russia and it was funny that from the day we split up with Valentin, I had three people in one day telling me, you know there is this boy in Russia, you don't know him (laughing) and it was about Ruslan.
OK, and you Ruslan?
[Ruslan] When I started dancing I was nine years old. It was in my town when I lived, in Murmansk in Russia. It is in the north, very close to Norway and Finland. It is a very cold place. I danced in Murmansk until I met Valeriya.
[Valeriya] You had many partners
[Ruslan] Yes, but they were all in Murmansk. We danced mainly in Russia.
Did you compete abroad?
[Ruslan] We went to England and competed in Under 21 Latin in Blackpool and at the International. It wasn't too bad, we were in the top 24. It was a first time for me, I never seen Blackpool before.
[Valeriya] You only competed in Russia before
[Ruslan] I just knew everything about Russia, Russian teachers, Russian dancers and when I first came to Blackpool and seen the hall, felt the atmosphere I knew I want to be here, I want to come back.
[Valeriya] He wanted to develop in this direction
[Ruslan] My story before I started to dance with Valeriya is not that interesting. It was mainly in Russia, mainly in IDSF so it was different.
So what was your first competition together?
[Ruslan] It was the competition in Poland in Mikolajki. It is a very nice competition.
[Valeriya] At the time, all the couples could dance together, there was no separation between Amateurs in WDC and IDSF yet. Good old times! It was funny, as I said earlier, before we started to dance together, there were three people one day telling me about Ruslan. I've never seen him before, never seen any video with him. So I started to wonder why all these people are telling me about this person. Once I've seen the video with him I said to myself, OK, this is somebody I would like to dance with. I liked the style, I liked the look. It was right away. There were many good dancers there but you've got to find your person.
So your first try-out was a success?
[Valeriya] Yes. Actually we had two try-outs, but after the first one we pretty much knew we were going to dance together. It was very bad for me because he was at the time in a partnership and I did not want to split a couple. I felt really uncomfortable doing that. My teachers found him online and asked him, would you like to try? And he said, yes. I did not know what kind of relationship he had with his partner, maybe he was happy in it.
[Ruslan] The situation in my couple was not great at the time. I felt I needed to change the partner. When I saw the videos with Lera I said, yes, sure, I want to have this try-out.
When you said, you have seen videos, was it because she was such a pretty girl or was it about her dancing?
[Ruslan] First it was about the dancing (laughing). She had beautiful leg action and for me, the number one thing in the female dancer is her leg action.
[Valeriya] He was amazed by me (laughing)
[Ruslan] You cannot see it that often. I said to myself, she shows such a great beautiful leg action, I have to have a try-out with her
[Valeriya] We definitely clicked immediately. We both shared passion, we both are emotional and, from the beginning, it is both a positive and negative things for us. So the try-out was passionate and emotional and with dancing we tried different things. It was interesting. I've never practised that long, but that day it was hours and hours of dancing. Usually I practised three hours a day, but this time it was like six, seven and we were dancing and dancing. We were so into it, it worked. The fact that we are both emotional and strong characters creates sparks and fighting so it was not easy, it was not smooth.
[Ruslan] I remember from the first day I wanted to dance with Lera because I felt such a great energy. I never felt that energy before when I danced with the other girls. It was so different, so deep, so passionate.
[Valeriya] So obviously it was right for us.
When did you start?
[Valeriya] In January 2009. So it is six years. It is my longest partnership.
[Ruslan] We only just now feel that we are a very good team, very professional team and we can work together towards one direction. It is more than just being a couple. It is a team taking one road towards a common goal. And this team is us but also includes our teachers. Before, it was hard to practise together and to communicate.
[Valeriya] It was the most difficult five years in our lives. It felt like ten years (laughing) because so much happened. We were fighting all the time, we were splitting up, we would scream at each other at practice ...
[Ruslan] Too emotional, no stability
[Valeriya] There was so much fighting, and not being respectful ... it was a very difficult relationship.
Was it also a private relationship?
[Valeriya] Yes. And I am sure it was also a factor ...
[Ruslan] It was hard to separate private and professional lives.
[Valeriya] Very hard. Obviously we liked each other immediately. It was too much at the same time for both of us. I don't think we were ready for it. At the same time it was this financial crisis, my parents lost some business ... and they were helping us a lot, obviously dancing is expensive. So, everything crushed at the same time, and we had to grow up. I had a new partnership, there were new expectations, you wanted the same results but understood that you cannot have it immediately .... It was hard, all together. Anyway, the last year we are like a new couple. Everybody already wrote us off, they thought we were done. Our parents, our friends, our teachers at the time, everybody.
So what happen a year ago?
[Ruslan] We went to Ekaterina Lapaeva and Tone Nyhagen. They did amazing job with us. They changed everything for us. We feel much stronger together.
[Valeriya] They both have very strong characters.
[Ruslan] We had many great teachers before. Our first teacher was Espen Salberg.
[Valeriya] We are still connected to him but he is in Asia, does fashion, and it is hard to see him because he is away so much.
[Ruslan] He is absolutely amazing. One of the best in the world.
[Valeriya] We went to Tone Nyhagen. She is such a strong character. She told us the truth right away (laughing). She wasn't trying to please us and just give a lesson, she told us the harsh truth we needed to hear. And we needed somebody who was honest and be strong about it. Others did not want to hurt us. They were great teachers and we respect them all, but Tone and Katia just had a different effect on us. Others were too soft to us, they were trying to understand our problems. Tone just said to us, OK, if you behave like that to each other nothing is going to work and you are never going to make it. If you want to make it to the top, you have to change, otherwise forget about it!
[Ruslan] She told us we weren't good enough for the results we wanted at the time. And she was right!
[Valeriya] She said, you have a great potential but you have to change. She changed us, changed our relationship in life and as a couple. We both listen to her. We both respect her and trust her. She is our coach and we need somebody who had that authority to control us. I think if it wasn't for this authority it wouldn't work for us. Working with Tone you need to be prepared to trust and follow, it needs to be a team work. Ekaterina also helped us a lot, she is amazing and creative person and she believed in our couple.
[Ruslan] I think, for these past years, we were searching, trying to find what worked for us
[Valeriya] We were splitting up ... privately as well. You know how it goes, you say, I hate you!, to each other and then you have to practise together and work together and deliver. As emotional as we are, it did not work for us, we were constantly fighting. At one point we split up as a dancing partnership and our friends were puzzled, how come, two people who are so perfectly suited to each other in dancing, how come it couldn't work? Why can't we get ourselves together? I think this is what kept us dancing together, the belief that we are perfectly suited and we are meant to dance together. It held us together. We went through hell. When we went to speak to Tone it was our last resort.
[Ruslan] We had lessons with Tone when we first started dancing together, after we had a long break. We had to grow, we were not strong enough at the time to work with her. We wasted time really, now we understand that.
For some couples being together privately works, for some it doesn't. What do you think is a key to make it work?
[Valeriya] Respect.
[Ruslan] Honesty and respect.
[Valeriya] We went through so much. So there was nothing else for us but to change, to calm down. I am glad we had this time to re-think our partnership and to stay together. Most people would have just split up and never had a chance to see it grow. We were apart, we had little flings and romances, we know how it is to be apart, we experienced that and I don't think we were happy. We realised we needed each other. During all that time we were still dancing together and somehow we managed. In private life we came back to each other, being wiser already. Coming back to Tone, she teaches how to dance but also how to be with each other. If you are a strong man, a respectful man in life, that's how you need to behave in dance. She thinks that all this is connected. It is important to her that you understand you need to grow as a person and your dancing will grow with you. It is all in the head.
[Ruslan] Both Tone and Katia helped us a lot.
[Valeriya] I think it all is so intertwined. Our practices, our dance and our life. When it started to get better in dance, in private life it got better as well. I don't know how it is connected but it is.
[Ruslan] I think we became happier people. Dancing is a big part of our life, and relationship is part of our life. The positive energy from one influences the other.
[Valeriya] We still fight of course but never to the point when we break it. We don't get to the point where the last thing it is to walk away from each other. We fight but after a minute or two we say sorry to each other. Actually Ruslan says sorry more (laughing). He is nice. He is better than I am. I think we learned and grew up. I am sure that our friends and our teachers helped us not to walk away from each other.
OK, as you both admitted you went through hell for the last few years, my question will be easy for you. Tell me what you don't like about each other.
[Valeriya] There is actually nothing wrong about him. He is very passionate about his dancing and one moment he can say, oh my God, you are the best thing that ever happened to me, and in a second he can get negative and say something awful. This doesn't mean much to him, he forgets about it in five minutes but you know us, women, it stays with us! We don't forget (laughing). It can be just a man-woman thing. Now he is more careful, he knows what to say not to make me upset. He is smarter in that way. And I am smarter in that way.
[Ruslan] Are you sure (laughing)?
[Valeriya] Of course, we both are! There are still things to learn. But we won't do negative things on purpose. We don't compete as much. Actually Ruslan reminds me, at times, of Slavik Kryklivyy. I worked with Slavik since I was twelve. I could see how passionate and crazy he is about dancing. It is very important for him, it is his life, it is 24 hours, 7 days. He thinks a lot about dancing even when he isn't practising. Sometimes it looked like there was nothing in the world for him apart from dancing - and in that Ruslan reminds me of him.
[Ruslan] I was like that ...
[Valeriya] OK, he was. Now it is better. But this is also a positive thing. He always wants to improve. He is always hungry. I don't see a lot of people who are still hungry for it, to develop, to do take lessons. Everything he learns for him is amazing. All the lectures he goes to, like we went to Assen, he finds amazing. You don't get many people who feel the same way about it.
[Ruslan] Maybe because everybody is in that system from a young age. I started to be in this system much later. I feel I don't know many things. When I talk to Slavik he sometimes asks me, why do you talk to me like you were a newcomer?
[Valeriya] In Russia, when you want to address somebody with respect you use this plural form of "you". So Slavik asks him, why are you talking to me like this?
[Ruslan] And I was like, I have to because you are Slavik Kryklivyy! For me, it is like a history! But everybody talks to him in this relaxed way because they know each other for a long time.
[Valeriya] When we had the first lesson with Donnie ... do you know how these kids look when they are amazed? Ruslan is like that (laughing). However, sometimes he gets too negative, he wants it all to happen now rather than let the process be. He wants it to be perfect now.
[Ruslan] The problem is because we have very similar characters. We are both stubborn.
[Valeriya] Maybe if I was able to keep quiet it would be better (laughing). But I think he loves me for who I am (laughing).
[Ruslan] You can say that (laughing). I think the problem is that Lera, just like me, listens to her emotions more that the logical sense. So many times the fights erupt out of nothing. If she feels bad, negative, tired, she is likely to snap. The other problem for me is that she likes to talk too much (laughing). My previous partner did not like to talk a lot. Much less than me.
[Valeriya] She is a very quiet person, very private. I am much more outgoing and loud (laughing).
[Ruslan] Lera talks a lot, she always gives her opinion, also about me. I realise now that previously I tried to break her, win over her, when we had a fight. But it is not possible. She is very strong. Now I understand it. You have to realise that both partners have equal rights in the partnership, it is 50-50. There is no point of proving who the stronger one is or who is more important or has more to say. You need to listen to your partner, you need to believe in your partner and you need to work together. Now it is much better, no stress, sometimes a little stress (laughing).
Now tell me something really good about each other.
[Valeriya] First of all I've never stopped believing in him. I always thought he is a great dancer, very talented. The talent was there from the very beginning. That's what drew me to him, that's why I stayed with him. Also his passion and love for it. For him dancing is not just something he does or makes money from. He is driven by love of dancing. It inspires me because I am a little bit different. I like that because he helps me. When I am tired or don't have inspiration his energy helps me very much.
[Ruslan] She was a partner who believed in me every day no matter what results we had. She believes in authentic Latin, she respects its history, she believes in pure, classic Latin. She never panicked when we had bad results. I sometimes start to panic and doubt and think I maybe need to change something but she doesn't. She always stands for it, she learned it from the best coaches and she believes this is right way. She has seen it in Espen Salberg who was her first treacher and she has a very strong view on this subject. I would like to be like her in this matter. That's why I love to dance with Lera, she is not like a lot of girls changing her style every time she changes partner or teacher. She doesn't think of showing off, she follows what she believes.
What is your best competition ever and the worst competition ever?
[Valeriya] Maybe the worst was UK Open in 2013.
[Ruslan] There were many bad ones (laughing)
[Valeriya] It was in Amateur, we started going down and down. Dancing felt good but results were getting worse year to year. It was really a dark period of time for me. During that time we had many competitions which were really bad.
[Ruslan] Blackpool in 2011 was the worst for me. I was not ready, I felt terrible.
What about the best?
[Ruslan] Before this Blackpool, UK Open in January 2015 was really great. Obviously Blackpool this year felt really good for sure. We had stability.
[Valeriya] Definitely this Blackpool. I loved the atmosphere. Everything worked this year for us in Rising Stars.
[Ruslan] It was the first time we had a real pleasure dancing here. I could really enjoy the atmosphere. No stress this year. Usually Blackpool means a lot of pressure for dancers, but this year it was the first time for me when I felt ready mentally and could finally enjoy the competition.
[Valeriya] Even if it was a long day, 7 hours, there was no stress.
[Ruslan] Sometimes at competition, you go off the floor and you don't remember the music, the people because you were so stressed. But when you are calm you feel the audience, you feel the music. It was very good. Actually, last year we started to have good competitions, because we finally became ready mentally for it. You can be ready physically, many dancers are, you can practise for hours, but you have to be ready in your head as well. All the top couples are not only ready physically but strong mentally as well.
[Valeriya] We did have competitions where we were physically ready but something else wasn't right. There was stress, there was fear ... Of course you have to be physically prepared, competitions are difficult, but you have to be right in your head.
[Ruslan] Previously we were very focused on being prepared in detail technically, every step was practised, choreography was perfect but we did not put enough attention on the performance element, to be able to feel the atmosphere, notice the audience, dance for them.
[Valeriya] The whole package was never ready. We focused on technical. You learn all your life, you never stop and it is actually very hard to say before the competition, that's it, now stop, you'll do what you already practised. That's what Tone tells us when we go to lessons before the competition, you won't get better in two days, just relax and think of other things, not your Rumba walks (laughing).
[Ruslan] I was like this before. I would think about a little detail of left arm or left leg or something like that one day before the competition. I would analyse the detail but would be missing the bigger picture, the full product. Tone started to teach us to see the full product, the full package.
It is interesting, it looks like you see yourself mature and it shows this progress from Amateur through the Professional Rising Star to the Professional Open category.
[Valeriya] Yes, for sure. We danced the Rising Stars this year and we did get great results. It is a good promotion for us for the Open event. The judges were able to see us away from the top couples. They were able to see what we can deliver, and hopefully appreciate it. It gave us more confidence. The pressure for us was to do good in Rising Stars, now for the main event we can just go for it, relax and enjoy it, there is no pressure. We know we are not going to win. We know that, we don't need to freak out! So the point is, for us, not to have any set goals, just let go and dance.
[Ruslan] We were close to win the Rising Star at the UK Open, so in Blackpool we felt it is something we can do, there was a bit of pressure. After the 2nd place at the UK Open Tone told us it OK that we did not win there, so we can shoot up and win the Rising Stars in Blackpool. It will be a good exposure for us. So we started to look at it positively. We still had a chance to show ourselves in Blackpool. And it worked.
[Valeriya] This year is perfect for us. So after this, we will focus on all the main events this year and continue maturing, hopefully, for the years to come.
[Ruslan] We are ready to challenge the top couples (laughing)
[Valeriya] In a positive way!
What is the most important element in dancing for you: is it art, is it competition, is it music?
[Ruslan] The art part for sure
[Valeriya] For me too
Previously you talked a lot about the winning, about results. Isn't competing an important part of dancing for you?
[Ruslan] Yes, it is important. Both aspects are. When you are on the floor in the first round you think about winning as it helps you to focus.
[Valeriya] But in the end what matters is your dancing. Of course, when you know the result can happen, you know you have a chance, you think about it. But if the dancing is good, the results will come as well.
OK, back to your everyday lives. Who drives the car?
[Valeriya] I am the driver actually. I've been driving since I was seventeen.
Who is usually taking care of booking tickets, hotels?
[Valeriya] I am (laughing).
She is a boss! Who designs your costumes?
[Valeriya] We both are. Ruslan totally designs his costumes, his shirts, and he is very good at it.
Who is cooking?
[Valeriya] He does more than I. He cooks, I clean the dishes, I organise. Cooking is not something I have a feel for. Maybe because I grew up in America and you can order any food for take out. Anything. Good food, not fast food.
So what do you cook?
[Ruslan] I cook healthy stuff. I make sure my food is full of protein and other nutrients.
[Valeriya] He is crazy about health and body and training. He knows how many calories you need, what you have to eat in the morning, what you should eat for the night. He reads about it, he watches videos about healthy eating and diets. He boils chicken meat, which I hate and he hates it too, but it is very healthy for you. He does pasta, he does meat, he pretty much can cook everything.
So you do not eat the traditional Russian food?
[Valeriya] No, no. It is very heavy.
[Ruslan] I don't like it.
[Valeriya] But I must admit there are days when we go totally crazy.
[Ruslan] One day in a week ...
[Valeriya] We go like, can we have chips, today (laughing). It is cheating day.
What do you do for pleasure?
[Ruslan] Chips and cinema
[Valeriya] Bad for you, but we try to eat healthy most of the time.
[Ruslan] We don't try, we really eat healthy all week and one day we go a bit crazy.
[Valeriya] Sometimes you are missing the calories and you want something bad!
When you say chips, do you mean potato fries?
[Valeriya] In America we say chips and you say crisps! Like Lay's Chips. The best ones are in Russia. Really! We tried Lay's Chips in many countries and they are not the same everywhere. We like junk food sometimes.
After all day practising and teaching, do you want to forget about dancing in the evening?
[Ruslan] No. Many couples try to separate private life and professional life because they feel very tired after a day spent in the studio. But we are not like that. We can talk about dancing any time, all the time.
[Valeriya] We also talk about other things like politics, considering what is happening around the world like in Ukraine. I'm US citizen but also a Russian citizen. I often get involved in such conversations and I am very passionate about it.
Do you have friends outside of the dancing world?
[Valeriya] Not really. Even if they don't dance now, they used to dance.
[Ruslan] I don't have a lot of friends but have some from my childhood I still keep in touch with.
[Valeriya] When Ruslan stopped dancing for a year he fell into bad company. His friends were smoking, drinking, did not do much with their lives. He was like that for a year, he gained a lot of weight, he was going to the gym all the time. He was this bulky ghetto guy. If you looked at him then you wouldn't think he could be a dancer. I think dancing saved him.
What kind of movies do you like? Do you watch action movies?
[Valeriya] Yes, for sure. I seem like talking a lot but he makes a lot of decisions.
[Ruslan] Her English is better. We see all the movies I like.
[Valeriya] I like the girly films but I know it won't work for him so there is no point of asking. If I want to see it, I will go with my girl friends.
[Ruslan] She trusts my taste in films (laughing) so we watch the action movies together.
[Valeriya] We just seen the "Run All Night" with Liam Neeson. It is a mafia movie. The way he plays in it is great, so realistic. What else do we do? We watch movies and take care of our cats.
[Ruslan] We have a lot of animals
[Valeriya] Not a lot. We have three cats and say, another three which we gave away.
[Ruslan] So we had six a year
[Valeriya] I am completely crazy about animals. In Russia, unfortunately, you see a lot of them living on the streets. In US they are in shelters and you don't see them on the streets. But in Russia you see little ones, and hurt ones, and ones with broken legs ...
But you live in USA?
[Valeriya] No, we live in Russia actually. We dance for Russia as well. We used to represent USA and we would be in America half of the time. I had students there, I had Pro Am there. But Ruslan had a lot of students in Russia. So we were always in two countries, even more in Russia. SO in USA people did not even realise we were American couple because we were never there. So at one point we decided to start representing Russia as we felt our heart is in Russia and we are spending more time there than in the US. So we moved to Russia, we feel that for dancing Russia is better. For money making, for business, for quality of life, USA is obviously better. Lots of dancers who come to America get so much into making money rather than practice and getting better in dancing.
[Ruslan] It is less competitive in USA
[Valeriya] Yes, it is more relaxed. However, you are getting more and more American couples who are doing very well. Lots of them originate from Russia and obviously USA offers them opportunities in life and that's what make people go there.
Where in Russia do you live?
[Valeriya] In Bryansk, the place I come from. We also go to Murmask because Ruslan has a lot of kids there who he teaches.
It is quite a distance to travel?
[Valeriya] Two hours flight time from Moscow. We plan to move to Moscow very soon but it is difficult. In Bryansk we have a dance studio, it is easier because it is all set there. It offers stability. When you move, you have to start looking for a new place, you have to start from the beginning and somehow we did not get to it yet (laughing). We feel we should be in a big city more.
It must be more expensive
[Valeriya] Yes, very expensive. We feel we have our place in Bryansk. It is very calm, away from everything and we like that in a way. But, for opportunities, for growing, for making money, for being better known, we feel we need to be in St Petersburg or Moscow. One or the other.
Do you have any problems with visas?
[Valeriya] No problem for me, as I have two passports Russian and American. Ruslan has to apply for British visa every six months. Or Schengen visa or USA visa. It is always a problem. So it is easier for me. I have two passports but I feel Russian at heart. I have a lot of respect for America and how it treats its citizens but I love Russia.
Thank you very much and best of luck for the future.
All photos taken on a day by Peter Suba
