How Dance in HSE Forms A Community
As a dancer, I've always been drawn to how movement creates community. To explore how HSE DANCE transforms individual passion into collective energy, I spoke with Sofia, the inspiring head of the club. Under the years HSE DANCE has become more than a studio—it’s a unifying force where students find expression and belonging. Together, they prove that dance isn’t just steps; it’s a language that brings diverse students together, forging connections that last far beyond the studio. Let's discover how this vibrant community moves together.
When it comes to student dancing, I joined HSE DANCE in my first year of the university. Overall, I was quite keen because dancing is a big passion. Initially, I came for a choreographer casting. I knew I probably wouldn't get in, but thought it a mini-challenge: if not as a teacher, I'd join the organizational team. That's what happened. I am very determined, so I went to the events department casting and spent my first year there.
I actively organized internal events, and that year also produced a podcast pilot for the performance “Who me.” We interviewed the chief choreographer. It was my first dive into this field, and I gained a lot of experience. Thanks to this, I even found a job producing a more serious podcast. In short, I was quite active. Then, in the second year, the previous heads handed over the position to me and my co-leader Lera.
The club (HSE DANCE) was founded by Polina Kolesnikova in 2018. She decided, “Why don't we dance at HSE yet?” She started regular groups and a team performing at festivals. We still have the same goals, but I focus more on professional dancers. At HSE DANCE, tracks for beginners and professionals coexisted, but professionals took less space. As someone with a professional background, I'm interested in promoting new initiatives for them.
About Just Dance... They appeared later. At some point, we competed for resources, like the only dance hall at HSE. It's hard to find available time slots. Another studio wanting limited time created competition. We existed like that initially, but then compromised, collaborated, shared the hall. We realized we had common resource problems. Now we have friendly relations. We even launched a joint project which is a dance camp called HJD2, combining K-pop (JUST DANCE) and contemporary (HSE DANCE). We get along very well, cooperate and help each other. In short, we are such sweethearts.
The camp was our big dream. We were excited and thought that the Ruza (HSE camp) camp ideal place for this event. When we realized it wasn't very accessible, we were discouraged. But this year, CPSI (Center for Student Initiatives) came with the idea. They helped us a lot. I wanted to develop themes for professional dancers, and this camp trains those who see themselves as future choreographers, teachers, directors. The program trains students from different campuses — Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, St. Petersburg. They come to improve skills and exchange experiences. We train in improvisation, choreography, styles. We invite renowned teachers with industry experience.
The casting has taken place, 50 final participants were selected. It will be going from July 4 to 6, 2025, in Ruza.
Actually, both. Our regular groups are for beginners and intermediates. It's a place to find community and take a break from studies. Dancing helps because you leave problems behind, focus on feeling in the dance, the music. We also have guys with experience. Many teachers combine serious work with creativity. For example, Lera (Afro style) works in urbanism but combines it with HSE DANCE. Vlad works as a lawyer but gives master classes and battles.
We hold battles at the Higher School of Business as part of Summer Fest. To be honest, this has been my big dream since I was 16. I'm very happy I made it come true. It's purely street. I was inspired by guys dancing on streets. I dreamed of bringing this to HSE DANCE. The battles were a huge success. They are not just local — we invite guys from other universities, bring together an inter-university community, and get to know each other. It's another platform to improvise and support. They take place in early summer, like June 1. This year they happened on June 1.
I think most come to change routine, relax by doing something different. But what they find is more interesting, because everyone finds something different. For me, dancing helped me become more confident and relaxed, expressing emotions. Let’s take Lera as an example. She first came to ladies' dance during a breakup. Dancing helped her gain inner confidence. Some come to show a different emotion, a different side, take on a role. Styles like hip-hop or Afro are ideal to gain this boost of energy. Others come to contemporary to work with deep emotions, finding expression, working with their bodies. Teachers Diana and Lisa do amazing work with physicality, helping people work with their inner world.
As someone shaped by dance... I apply soft skills from it in work. Dancing gave me inner confidence. The stage barrier is gone; I hardly get nervous performing in front of the audience. The main quality dancing gave me is diligence and understanding that systematic work affects quality. Dancing gave me perseverance and diligence.
Dancing balances concentration, discipline, focus with relaxation and softness. In my opinion it's wrong to overdo focus or movements. Dance is a cycle of relaxation and tension. It looks good with contrast: technique vs flow, slow, gentle. This is applicable to life — you can't always push to hard. You need cycles to switch attention.
Yes. We teach in Russian, but dance is a universal language. We had a cool girl from Korea competing in championships. The language barrier didn't stop us from dancing in one team and spending a great time together.
Literally, that's about HSE DANCE. We don't have one faculty less represented than others. Students come from a wide variety. The best example is our performing team. Girls from different faculties are incredibly close. Often connections last beyond university. Dance really does bring people together.
Pretty much all I did in the past three years. I'm proud of the team's growth. But externally... The Higher School of Business Ball. The idea came in my first year. Now I'm in third. With friends organizing events, it was a dream. We didn't think it was possible. Then I realized I had HSE DANCE teachers and a team. We promoted it in the second year but faced difficulties. The ball's journey is valuable — literally a story of fighting through hard work and attempts. We started organizing, needed funding, and competitions postponed. We couldn't win then. The next year, we took it to the Higher School of Business, very supportive. The team grew to 60 people. The ball was fabulous, like our dreams, even with limited funds. We had great sponsors: Chernogolovka, Twinby, Britva and Soda barbers. We attracted sponsors, created cool decor/catering on a small budget, assembled a friendly team, organized a community. Attendance broke records, about 500 people. We threw Russia's biggest student ball. Record amount of subscribers. We exceeded all the expectations. But most valuable is the difficult path and realizing my big dream finally came true.
We want it to be done annually. The faculty also mentioned it. We already have the methodology and the dream team. Next year, it will be bigger. I think it will happen.
Well... Apart from distraction and relaxation (hard to find a better way to immerse yourself), in dance you find new facets of personality, revealing hidden corners. It's hard to imagine another tool for such hidden emotions and inner worlds. Not just physical bonus, body toned. Impact on mental health is priceless. Also dance sphere has a very supportive community. You don't get bullied starting from scratch. You join a group where teachers and students cheer you on. That means a lot.
Thank you for inviting me.
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