Jazz-Funk for teens in Irpin

An honest word about the style itself

The studio's senior instructor Yuniia Furman is straightforward about jazz-funk: "It has no fundamental base of its own. It is a combination of elements from different disciplines — jazz, hip-hop and other contemporary styles. That is exactly how jazz-funk came about." Which is why this style turns up so often in music videos, concert shows and commercial routines.

So why take it

Getting to know different disciplines helps a dancer gradually build a wider movement vocabulary, control their body better and adapt more easily to any choreography. That is why the studio regularly runs workshops in hip-hop, house, popping and other styles — so that children are not confined to a single one.

Why there is physical conditioning in the class

The children who come to jazz-funk are growing fast, and the muscular corset does not keep up with a rapid growth spurt. So a class is not only learning combinations: there is general physical work, and attention to how a teenager moves.

On working with teenagers

"Sometimes teenagers are the easiest people for me to work with. They feel that I understand them," Yuniia says. She is not trying to become the children's friend, but she does want to be someone they trust — which is why the word she chooses for herself is mentor. The full story is in Jazz-funk without the myths — and how to work with a self-conscious teenager.