Hennie Konings
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Beig the son of a Russian mother and
a Dutch father Hennie Konings grew up with Russian music and dance. Already
as a ten year old boy he accompanied on the balalaika the songs which his mother
sung. As a teenager he discovered his love for the Russian dance. In 1968 he
graduated at the Rotterdam Dance Academy as a dancer and a dance teacher. Within
the framework of the cultural agreement between The Netherlands and the former
Soviet Union he received a scholarship to continue his dance study in Moscow.
He took dance classes with Tatyana Ustinova and Olga Zolotova at the folk dance
school of the 'Piatnitsky Folk Chorus', and he went through a training period
with the 'Beryozka' dance ensemble. Between 1969 and 1987 he undertook many
study trips to Russia where he learned many of the Russian dance styles, both
dancing for stage as well as the living folklore of the Russian villages. In
1986 he ended his career as a performing dancer. Since then he dedicates himself
to the teaching of Russian folk dance. In the mean time Hennie Konings become
an internationally leading Russian dance pedagogue. He regularly teaches
Russian folk dances in many countries in Europe, USA and Asia and he lectures
about Russian folkloristic dance and its development. The paticipants in his
courses are both amateur and professional dancers as well as dance teachers.
Through the years Hennie Konings has produced many choreographic works for folklore
ensembles but most of all he has made choreographic adaptions for recreational
dance practice.
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