CONTACT: Peter Zhmutski                                                                     

Cell Phone: 918-812-1768

Studio: 405-310-4699

E-mail: juliadanceacademy@yahoo.com                                               

Web-Site: www.juliadanceacademy.com

YULIA ZHMUTSKI – BALLET AT A WHOLE NEW LEVEL

Russian Ballerina brings the “Royal Ballet” to Oklahoma

“When I was little and I asked my mother to buy

me a “curly skirt” (a tutu), I never dreamed that

ballet would someday lead me to America.”

                                              Yulia Zhmutski

Yulia Zhmutski, ballerina from the Former Soviet Union – her life, her struggle towards success, her coming to America is the inspiration for every little girl’s dream to come true. Born into a poor family, raised without a father, living away from home for 8 years in an elite ballet school, studying nothing but dance all day long, Yulia reached the heights of a star by earning her success with hard work, strong faith, and a never-ending dream in her heart – to make a difference in the world through dance. Today, this widely acclaimed and celebrated Russian ballerina teaches the “Royal Ballet” in Oklahoma. 

Yulia first became interested in dance in childhood. As a small child, she asked her mother to buy her a “curly skirt” (a tutu). After fourth grade, she left public school to study “classical ballet” at the elite National School of Dance and Choreography in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Entrance to this school is very competitive and only the most talented dancers are accepted. In an eight-year period, out of the whole country, only 250 dancers graduate as professional artists of ballet from this school. Of this number only 10 dancers are hired to dance with the National Theatre. Not only was Yulia hired to dance with the National Theatre, but she also was recognized as one of the top ballerinas in the country.

In Yulia’s eight years of study at the school, what was once merely a childhood diversion grew into a professional career. Her experiences and nationwide performances only strengthened her desire to live through dance. The hard work at the Ballet School paid off. Yulia was professionally recognized as an Artist of Ballet, Traditional Uzbek Dancer, Traditional Slavic and Russian Folk Dancer, and Middle Eastern Dance Expert. She won numerous dance awards and performed in a leading role for the most prestigious performances and troupes in the Former Soviet Republics.

Today, 12 years later, Yulia has her own daughter, five-month-old Julia. She and her husband, Peter Zhmutski, an OU alumnus, came to Norman, Oklahoma to raise a family. Yulia teaches Russian Ballet at Julia’s Academy of International Dance (www.juliadanceacademy.com) at 315 W. Main St, Norman. She loves children and she lives her dream – making a difference in the world through dance.

“Dance lives inside, in the heart. If you don’t feel it with your soul, then it’s unlikely that you’ll attain anything other than flat, repetitive, movements. Dance is after all, first and foremost, an expression of emotion and spirit.”

Yulia Zhmutski