For the last four years, Irina Boubnovskaia has traveled the United States as a performer on the “Dancing With The Stars” Tour, dazzling audiences with her award-winning Latin ballroom talents.
But earlier this year, the 30-year-old dancer found a more permanent place to showcase her expertise.
In January, Boubnovskaia opened the Ballroom Palace dance studio in a suite along the Waterfront at Roslyn, to teach people of all ages how to shake what the good lord gave them.
“There’s so many things to love about dancing but the biggest thing is what you can do with your body, what you can understand with your body and building the relationships with the people you dance with,” Boubnovskaia said. “You express your feeling through dancing and form that chemistry with your partner, and honestly it’s just a great way to exercise.”
Ballroom Palace offers both individual and group classes in a variety of dance styles, from the traditional foxtrot and waltz to the Latin-infused samba and quick-step and the more modern hustle and salsa dancing invoked in nightclubs by lively music and romantic atmosphere.
The 2,200 square-foot studio held a grand opening party in May that attracted nearly 300 people even though it was still under construction at the time, Boubnovskaia said, and the building’s ownership told her the Waterfront hadn’t seen so many people packed into one suite before.
“This is my dream,” Boubnovskaia said. “I wanted to have my own dance home. This place is very warm. People are friendly and I thought this place would be perfect.”
Boubnovskaia has been dancing since she was five years old and moved to the United States from Moscow in 1998 at age 15. For the next six years, Boubnovskaia was a U.S. National Amateur finalist, and in 2006 she took third place at the Blackpool Dance Festival as a “professional rising star” in the Latin category.
“I think competing is the best experience I think you can have as a dancer,” Boubnovskaia said. “It’s a different world, and when you get there it’s a totally different experience.”
During this time, Boubnovskaia taught dance at a studio in an area of Brooklyn that has a large Russian population, and she said working out of this studio gave her the inspiration to one day open her own studio.
Boubnovskaia’s win at Blackpool caught the attention of “Dancing With the Stars,” where she danced on two tours and lent her movements for the television show’s video game series. She has either toured or danced on the show’s Tuesday night results episode ever since.
Boubnovskaia also performed as part of Louis Van Amstel’s “Let’s Dance” instructional DVD series, and the two have danced together on numerous occasions.
During down time for the show, Boubnovskaia began looking for locations for a studio and ultimately settled on the Waterfront at Roslyn at the suggestion of Arthur Schvetsov, one of her Ballroom Palace business partners and longtime dance partner.
“He lives in the area and actually is the one who showed me the area and I just fell in love with Roslyn,” Boubnovskaia said. “I started saving some money after “Dancing With The Stars” to open Ballroom Palace and hopefully it will pay back and do well. It’s worked out great so far.”
Ballroom Palace features a large open dance floor with a private room that Boubnovskaia said is used for more individualized training or for engaged couples practicing their wedding dance. Some students even train with their dance instructors for competition.
Though she said one-on-one lessons are the fastest way to learn and improve one’s dance skills, Boubnovskaia said group classes have become popular with those wanting to dance with multiple partners and socialize with friends.
“Social dancing is very popular on Long Island. I’m amazed,” Boubnovskaia said. “I’m amazed. It’s a universal language, and you can dance with really anybody after you’ve learned a few basic steps.”
Boubnovskaia said soon the studio will begin training children for competition and continue to expand ballroom dancing into mainstream American culture.
“In America, ballroom dancing has gotten much more popular in the last 10 years,” Boubnovskaia said. “Before “Dancing With The Stars,” people didn’t really know what a pasa doble is, but with all the shows it’s gotten more popular. My dream is for everyone to learn ballroom dancing, even children. It’s healthy for your body and great for your brain as well. You analyze more, you think.”
