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Hennie Konings
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.