They move across the ballroom dance floor with all the grace of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
But this couple are teenagers. And Snezhana Urbin and Igor Sharapanyuk, have traveled all the way from Siberia to perform here.
The young couple, ages 15 and 17, are junior ballroom dance champions in their native country. And recently, they’ve been capturing regional and national championships across the United States during their yearlong stay in New York on student visas.
On this particular day, they were dancing in the more relaxed setting of the gymnasium at Countryside School in Barrington, where they were invited by the Parent Teacher Organization.
Their performance is a lesson in dance appreciation, demonstrated by the two dancers, and a lesson in body language, illustrated by the couple’s friend and host, Kenney DeCamp, a producer and mime artist from Barrington.
“You know what you were all doing, besides giggling?” asked DeCamp, after using mime to mimic certain emotions for the elementary pupils. “You were reading my body language. It’s really important to learn as you grow up how your body talks.”
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DeCamp also explained how the elements of dance–balance, coordination, flexibility, rhythm and stamina–are incorporated into Snezhana and Igor’s performances.
DeCamp, who is working on educational videos for children, was largely responsible for bringing the two dancers to the Midwest. He met the couple six years ago while lecturing and performing in Russia.
The youngsters had just won the Russian Youth National Championships in the Latin International Ballroom category.
When he learned the two dancers had obtained visas to attend high school in New York, where Snezhana’s sister runs a dance studio, he persuaded them to visit the Chicago area during their spring break and perform for schools and Rotary clubs.
“There is so much stage presence with these children. It’s phenomenal,” said DeCamp. “I felt they’ve got to be shared with the people I know.”
Snezhana and Igor started dancing together at ages 5 and 6, after his mother took him to a ballroom dance school taught by Snezhana’s mother in their native city.