KUDRINKA is an adult and youth folk and modern dance ensemble of about 50 dancers that resides at Moscow’s MosMetroStroi Palace of Culture. Kudrinka is celebrating its 37-year anniversary this year. Kudrinka is lead by Irina and Alexey Salnikov, and Marina Borden is choreographer and teacher of modern, tap and jazz dance.
Kudrinka’s delightful repertoire is strong on ethnic dances – Russian, Cossack, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Hungarian as well as Latin dances – and includes modern, tap, character and jazz dance.
In 2007 and 2008, young dancers from the Kudrinka Dance Ensemble (Kudrinka Kids) were invited to participate in the prestigious Cathy Row Ultimate Dance Competition in Mason, Ohio. This competition is an annual event of Cathy Roe Productions. Competition categories include Jazz, Tap, Ethnic, Modern, Character, Lyrical and others.
In 2008 they were selected for the BEST ENTERTAINERS award among other prizes at the Cathy Row Ultimate Dance Competition.
In 2007 the Kudrinka dancers brought back several prizes and trophies including First Place in Age Category 17-19, First Runner Up, Senior Group Dances and First Runner Up, Senior Duet/Trio Dances.
The invitation to Kudrinka from the Cathy Roe organization stated, “We consider this to be an incredible opportunity for these young professionals. They will have the chance to compete with and meet other dancers from the United States, participate in our Master Dance Classes taught by our experienced staff of dance professionals, gain international exposure, and become more familiar with the cultural aspects of our country. Cathy Roe’s Ultimate Dance would be thrilled and honored to showcase these talented dancers.“
Kudrinka was originally formed as (and continues to be) a “непрофессиональным коллективом художественной самодеятельности,” a non-professional artistic organization of the type that were developed at cultural centers for workers and families of various Soviet era enterprises, in this case Mosmetrostroi (the constructors of the Moscow metro system).
