TAMPA, Fla. — Two 17-year-old girls from Ukraine now call Tampa home. They moved here in February through a ballet program, and next week, they’ll be taking the stage at the Straz Center for a performance of a lifetime.
“I want to come every day to the class, work on myself, dance, perform, and just inspire people,” said Sofiia Maltseva.
Dancing is a universal language. It takes dedication and practice, something Maltseva and Yuliana Hryhorenko both know. They’ve been dancing since they were little kids, and now, they’re rehearsing to perform in Don Quixote at the Straz Center on May 6 and 7.
“I’m so excited,” said Maltseva. “It’s something new. It’s a new performance for me and I’m so happy to dance in Don Quixote,” added Hryhorenko.
The girls’ stories start in a war-torn country.
“It’s kind of nervous for us being here because we don’t know what’s going on there. And, like, we are seeing this news, but we can’t, sometimes, call our parents and ask what’s going on,” said Maltseva.
Known for their talent in Ukraine, the Youth America Grand Prix – the world’s largest nonprofit international student ballet competition - reached out to the Straz Center to place them here.
“It seemed like it was just weeks from that conversation until they were actually here. And I wondered how are they going to fit into life here, and the school is different than their training, and they’ve really just adapted beautifully,” said Philip Neal with the Straz Center.
“It’s something different from what we’re used to because it’s different climate, weather, everything, but I love it,” said Maltseva. “It’s like vacation all year.”
Though it feels like a vacation, they still make it a point to keep in touch with their proud family back home.
“I miss my parents so much and I call them every day, like, five, seven times because I love my parents, my family so much,” said Hryhorenko.
They said in the future; they’d both like to end up performing on a big stage in New York City.
