An autobiographical journey of a lifelong quest for artistic freedom.

This book is about the personal odyssey of becoming a dancer, teacher, and educator. With a few biographical elements, it represents a lifelong reflection of transformations from the innate gift to the fulfillment as an artist with the focus on self-education. As an artist, I take on a cosmopolitan approach to art by dissolving stigmas, national identities, borders, and walls from my experiences of the Soviet Union in the Cold War Era, through Canadian immigration, Danish society, and finally the American emergence, all through the eyes of a ballet teacher and artist.

Riddled with many conundrums and taboos, the dance world needs a new paradigm to survive and to move into the new dimension in order to experience the artistic side through a complete spectrum of emotion, from the technical elements to the psychological well-being of the teachers, dancers, and artistic leaders of today.

It took me almost eight years to write this book. It is a voyage through time both backward and forward, as memory recalls more and more of the pivotal moments and heartfelt details of what made me the person who I am today. Bringing many subjects to light, such as dignity and decency, a sense of purpose, the evolution and devolution of art, humanity and the individual being, this book reflects on the many conundrums facing art and artists of today.