Nadezhda and Mikhail Biruns

Today we are going to be transferred to the 70th years of the XX century and our story about the famous dancing couple – Nadezhda and Michael Biruny – an amazing couple, who danced in the same competitions as the great Marcus and Karen Hilton, which during all their 12 – year dancing career has not lost a single competition in Belarus, first began to represent our country at international tournaments, becoming finalists, winners and prize winners of these tournaments, was the first couple of international class in the Republic, thus making his modest contribution to the development of ballroom dancing in Belarus.

Mikhail Birun was born on October 21, 1954 in Minsk. He was engaged in classical wrestling, participated in competitions. He graduated from the Power Engineering Department of the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute. From 1985 through 1990, he studied ballet at the GITIS department. He began dancing at the age of 15 in the Chelyuskintsev Park of the Cinema area. His first teachers were Max Samuilovich Katz and Lidia Lazareva.

Nadezhda Birun (Simhes) was born on March 18, 1954 in Zagorsk (Sergiev-Posad), Moscow District. In 1959, together with her parents, she moved to Minsk. Was engaged in ballet studio, in musical school in a class of piano and a violin, had sports categories on swimming and figure skating. Graduated from Minsk Radio Engineering Institute, department of design and manufacture of radio equipment. Started dancing at the age of 15 in the Park of the Chelyuskintsev Cinema. Her first teachers were Max Samuilovich Katz and Lidia Lazareva.

Nadezhda and Michael met and became a couple in 1971 in the ballroom-dance studio at the Minsk Tractor Plant’s Palace of Culture at Max Katz and Lidia Lazareva.

1972, 1975, 1977 – the winner of I, II, III national competitions on 10 dances and the Soviet program;

1972 – Diploma winners of the I All-Union Competition of Ballroom Dancers, winners of the special prize of the Central Committee of the Komsomol as the youngest and the most charming couple;

1973 and 1975 – as members of the USSR Delegation they participated in the First All-Union Competition of Ballroom Dancers and the Special Prize of the Central Committee of Komsomol – as a member of the USSR delegation participated in international seminars “Youth and ballroom dancing”, “Dance, sport, art” in Ust-Lab and Brno, where they were finalists and winners (LA-2, ST-3) of international tournaments;

1973 – representing the BSSR in the gala-performance of the laureates of the All-union competition at the All-Russian festival in the Palace of Sports “Yubileyny” in Leningrad;

1975 – the prize-winners (3rd place) of the II All-Union competition of ballroom dancers in Kiev in the team of Belarus;

Winners of the inter-republican tournaments “Minsk ball-74” and “Minsk ball-76” on 10 dances and the Soviet program.

In the 1976 tournament, having gained the necessary points, they moved into the S-class, becoming the first pair of international class in Belarus;

In 1977 they represented the USSR in Leipzig (La-5);

1971-1977 – Winners of regional and city competitions in Belorussia; winners, prize-winners and finalists of numerous tournaments in Riga, Tallinn, Ogry, Klaipeda, Kaunas (La-1/St-3), Leningrad, etc;

At the same time they took part in demonstrative performances in the Republic and abroad, in seminars, training camps, in the shooting of a short film by the “Belarusfilm” studio “I want to ask you to dance…”, in TV-shows of Belarusian and Moscow Television, in governmental concerts, etc.

1978 – finalists of the inter-republican tournament in Gorki. Winners of the prize of the USSR Union of Artists for the best costumes.

1979 – participants of the Championship of the socialist countries in Moscow (semifinalists);

1980 – among the best couples of the USSR took part in the cultural program of the “Olympics-80” in Moscow in the Olympic village and in the exhibition tournament in the cinema-concert hall “Warsaw”;

1979-1982 – participants in numerous tournaments: Zvezdny Gorodok (St-1, La-3), Viljandi ( La-2, St-1), Vilnius ’79 and Vilnius ’81 (finalists), Frankfurt on Oder (St-2), etc;

1982 – participants in 5 international tournaments of Berlin Festival with the participation of world amateur champions Markus and Karen Hilton, 26 pairs from 11 countries ( 8th, 9th place);

1982 – winners of the inter-republican competition in Gomel in 10 dances and a program of Soviet dances;

In 1983 – finished competitive career at the international tournament “Danube Cup” in Bratislava (5th place) and created a school and ballroom dance studio “Grazia” at the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions.

Since 1984, Mikhail has worked with show programs in Korea, the Philippines and Singapore. Nadezhda continued to work at the Palace of Trade Unions, took part in judging republican competitions, international tournaments in Poland, Bulgaria, All-Union competitions of ensembles in Vilnius and Moscow.

Today Nadezhda and Mikhail live and work in Minsk. Both were members of the Belarusian Professional Dance Union. In 1996 they were certified by the British Association of Dance Teachers.

Awarded Badge of Honour of All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions “For Achievements in amateur art”.

Son, Igor Birun born in 1978, an architect, lives and works in Moscow.

“…With great gratitude and love for our mentors and teachers Mark Samulovich Kats and Lidia Petrovna Kats-Lazareva, our dancing friends and colleagues, with whom we were fortunate to live together this wonderful time…”.

Nadezhda and Michael