BIOGRAPHY
Arina Yakimenko is a contemporary dancer. She started her path with artistic gymnastics and then discovered dance through competition. After competing on a world stage the world of contemporary art had opened up to her. And ever since then she is inspired by it every single day.
- Date of birth: 26 June 2003
- Eye colour: Brown
- Height (in cm): 171
- Languages: English, Russian
CONTACT
- arina.yakimenko@web.de
- https://www.instagram.com/yakimenko_arina_
DANCE EXPERIENCE
- Hesitation / Antonio Ruz / Zurich / 2024
- Petrushka / Lida Doumouliaka / Zurich / 2024
- Where is Mike / Nadav Zelner / Zurich / 2024
- Non Solo Uno / Filipe Portugal / Baden / 2024
- Lust / Caroline Finn / Baden / 2024
- Dive / Edouard Hue / Baden / 2025
- Peer Gynt / Sergey Vanaev / Zwickau / 2025
- Rat King & Russian dance & Snow / Sergey Vanaev / Nutcracker / Zwickau / 2025
- Bull(Destiny) / Carmen/ Sergey Vanaev / Plauen / 2026
AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
IDO ShowDance: 3 times World Champion, 6 times silver medalist and 3 times bronze prize winner.
DIPLOMA PROJECT / THESIS / ABSCHLUSSPROJEKT
- Project title: Hide and Seek
- Description: The title of a piece "Hide and Seek" refers us to the game loved by all the kids. We always talk about kids as of someone pure, vulnerable, and open to everything and everyone. They are willing to trust you with their whole heart unconditionally. Children have not experienced broken promises, lies, loss and all the things that force us to build a shell around us and"hide" our emotions and feelings somewhere safe, where no one could find it and hurt you even more.
However we live in a society, where we "Seek" for those who understand us, do not try to change who we truly are and accept our nature. Only once we have seen that the feeling is mutual we are ready to drop the shell and make yourself vulnerable. Nevertheless, once trust is broken, it cannot be restored.
The piece itself is a manifest to everything I said before. It is partially my story but more importantly, it is 10 people sharing their feeling and their own experience on a given topic. It is a 10 minute full structured and choreographed piece where everyone will see their own. It is a very fluid choreography with a lot of solos/ duos to highlight our differences but also how united we can be.
- Choreographer / Copyright: Arina Yakimenko
- Additional Persons / Contributors: Dancers: Luca Di Giorgio, Andrea Liotti, Junior Oliveira, Leann Puma, Sofia Iseppato, Sofia Borgo, Mimori Hosokawa, Sajana Homrighausen, Vivien Walter, Arina Yakimenko / Costumes: Ballet Plauen-Zwickau / Film : Valentine Popov
Q&A WITH ARINA YAKIMENKO
What does dance mean to you?
- Dance is well represented on stage in it’s different forms and styles, but for me dance goes beyond stage. Dance is everything that surrounds us, it is in the air.
What memory will you take with you from your time at ZHdK?
- It is hard to pick one memory, but something that will always stay with me is the memory of people that the walls of ZHdK had gifted me. Classmates that became my family, teachers, choreographers, and everyone I had met there.
Which work or choreographer particularly inspires you, and why?
- Nadav Zelner. His work was challenging and pushed me to my personal limits. He had taught me the power of control in chaos, and that knowledge I will always carry through my career and life.