For those who study and teach dancing, going online has been a challenge. It’s hard to hold classes that would usually require direct contact in an online format. However, according to Elizaveta Kukina, a choreographer of ITMO University’s Creative and Corporate Projects Planning Center and head of the university’s dance team FLAME, now is a great time to think about your own health and pay attention to things that are often overlooked.
In order to keep moving forward, continue teaching, and share useful information, ITMO University’s Creative and Corporate Projects Planning Center together with Tatyana Tarabanova, a teacher of modern dance, choreographer, and specialist in biomechanics, have created a series of four short video classes on how to approach physical exercise from anatomical and biomechanical points of view. The videos were shot at the IC Lab studio founded by Yaroslav Pavlov, an ITMO graduate.
The lectures (available in Russian) will be of use not only to dancers. They will also allow casual viewers to study the body structure and to learn what happens when it moves, as well as find out how to approach physical exercise more thoughtfully. According to the organizers, the main idea of the course is to provide students with reliable information on the basic actions required to maintain a healthy body. The course may also be of interest to those who aren’t into dancing but want to learn more about their bodies and useful exercises.
“It’s an introductory anatomy course. It turned out to be quite comprehensive even though anatomy of movement is a field that is difficult to condense,” explains Elizaveta Kukina. “Our body works in accordance with the same old laws of biomechanics. It’s a part of all dancing techniques. The course by Tatyana Tarabanova can be considered to be about the basis of modern dance but it includes relevant information that can be applied in other styles as well.”
Tatyana Tarabanova, the developer and lecturer of the course, is a modern dancing teacher with a degree in anatomy and biomechanics. She gives classes all over Russia and shares knowledge that she acquired in various countries.
“I will apply techniques that not many modern fitness coaches practice. However, modern professional dancers are familiar with them, as they help to connect your mind, consciousness, and imagination with your body,” says Tatyana Tarabanova in the introductory lesson of the course.
“Anatomy of movement is a field that can help many people improve their health. It may be hard to comprehend at times and studying it requires effort. Just like any science, it’s hard to put anatomy simply, but we did our best to make videos that are accessible and interesting,” says Elizaveta Kukina.
The lectures were shot at the IC Lab studio founded by Yaroslav Panov, a graduate of ITMO University’s Information Technologies and Programming Faculty. The studio develops interactive online courses with use of AR technologies, creates educational videos, chat bots, and does location shoots. According to Yaroslav Panov, when graduates succeed, it’s always partially thanks to their university.
“The foundation laid out for the students and graduates is a credit to ITMO University. We were taught both technical aspects and general understanding of information technologies supplemented by a powerful philosophy and logical thinking. This foundation consists of high-level education and intellectual environment that are rare in the modern Russian educational system. I learned a lot thanks to it. When you have expertise in technical science and out-of-box thinking, it’s easier to come up with things, make choices, and optimize solutions,” he says. “We were happy to work on the Anatomy of Movement course because we knew that we could help and do it well. IC Lab regularly works on various projects. Most of our clients are corporations but nevertheless, we are glad to create beautiful, interesting projects, such as this one.”
