Biography
Maria Lazareva is a performer of Indian dances in Moscow. By education she is philologist and she is professional translator and interpreter from Greek language. Maria speaks Modern Greek, English, French, Italian and Serbian, she also learns Hindi and Sanskrit.
Maria had also musical education: first instrument is traditional Russian ‘domra’ and second is piano. Maria started to dance in childhood (classical ballet choreography), but interest for this form of dance disappeared fast. Later she did Greek folk dances and Latina solo. Searching for the close to her soul dance form, Maria joined ‘Amrita dance school’ in Moscow in 2011 under the guidance of teachers Alexandra Masalova and Margarita Schegolkova. In April 2013 Maria was invited to join the professional troupe ‘Amrita’, where she dances now under the guidance of famous Guru ji and choreographers Mrs. Irina Alishad and Mr. Andrey Burynin. Guru ji Mrs. Irina Alishad has developed big love for Indian dance, respect and interest for Indian culture, helped to develop dance technique.
Main dance forms are: folk Indian dances, Bollywood, semiclassical dances and fusion. Maria is also interested in technique of ‘new dance’ of Uday Shankar, that she got to know during educational session in 2017 from the leading choreographer of West Bengal – Mrs. Tanushree Shankar, relative of the legendary dancer Uday Shankar and world famous musician Ravi Shankar. Maria also had a course of the basics of Bharatanatyam (Pandannalur style) under the guidance of famous Indian dancer and choreographer Sneha Narayan (Bangalore). Maria is attracted by the beauty, technical complexity of this form of classical Indian dances. Big support for dance are yoga (Guru ji Mrs. Ekaterina Martynova) and Sanskrit (leading sanskritologist, Indologist and philosopher Guru ji Mr. Sergey Lobanov).
In dance for Maria is very important the inner filling and not only the form. Dance is the possibility to share pure beauty and joy, it is the possibility to be close to the beauty.
16.02.2018 – participation in the 1st International Festival and Contest of Performers of Indian dances “Nataraja” (organized by Amrita dance group)
08.12.2018 – annual dance show “The wheel of fortune”(Amrita dance group)
29.07.2018 – performance on the ‘Indian Wedding Festival’, Moscow
14.04.2018 – dance competition ‘Indian Dance Fest’, Moscow (1st place in nomination «Bollywood. Adults 1.»)
31.03.2018 – dance competition ‘Dance Star’, Bulgaria, Sofia (2nd place in nomination «Folkloric and national dances»)
24.03.2018 – dance competition «Holi Mela 2018», Moscow (4th place in nomination «Solo. Bollywood»)
03.03.2018 – solo concert in Slovakia, Piestiany, in the frame of Holi celebration
02.12.2017 – annual dance show ‘Amrita – nectar of immortality’ (Amrita dance group)
20.11.2017 – opening of the personal photo exhibition “Life in Himalayas” (Indian Embassy, Moscow)
24.12.2016 — annual dance show “Heritage of Great Moghuls”(Amrita dance group)
12.12.2015 — annual dance show “Maqtub”(Amrita dance group)
November 2015 – performance on Diwali celebration (Indian business alliance, Nritya Sabha foundation, Moscow)
13.06.2015 — International competition of arts in Saint-Petersburg (1st place with Amrita dance group in nomination “Show Bellydance)
01.05.2015 — World Dance Olympiad ORTO (1st place in Bollywood Cup of Russia with Amrita dance group)
23.11.2014 — annual dance show “The sands of time”(Amrita dance group)
15.03.2014 —annual dance show “Caravan of stories”(Amrita dance group)
Indian dance helps to learn more about the history and traditions of the country, it enlarges the horizons. Maria often travels to India, researching its culture and customs. From 2015 she has visited Delhi, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Himalays (Kullu valley, Kinnaur, Keylong, Lahaul), Little Tibet (Spiti valley) and Ladakh.
Maria is also a painter, she studied in Surikov Moscow State Academic Art Institute of the Russian Academy of Arts (add. Education “Painting and drawing”). She works in watercolor and soft technique.