Valeria Urimagova forever inscribed her name in the history of the Belarusian dance sport, bringing the FIRST World Championship medal of the World Dance Sport Federation for our native Belarus (and there were only 4 at the moment).
It was the “bronze” at the 10 Dance World Championship in the category “Juniors-2” WDSF, which was held in Ireland, Limerick, in 2006.
The same year Valeria and her partner (Andrew Kishkurno) – students of the dance club “Duet” of Minsk State Palace for Children and Youth, coaches Konohov Mikhail Vasilievich and Urimagova Elena Alexandrovna (mother of Valeria) danced in the World Final in Latin American program in Barcelona (Spain). It was a great result and the first success for our country, Belarus, and these two bright victories were the logical result of hard work of the guys and their coaches, which were preceded by victories and impressive results – finals, prizes and wins in many major international tournaments in Spain, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and, of course, in Belarus.
Today, Valeria Urimagova:
– A top Latin American dancer representing Spain on the international stage – winner and finalist of the most important world championships UK & Blackpool (United Kingdom Open Championship and Blackpool Dance Championship) in the “Amateurs” and “Professionals” (Rising Stars);
– Owner of her own largest dance studio in Barcelona – Freedom Dance Studio (as Valeria Urimagova and her partner Mark call it), where they teach more than ten different directions for all ages, from beginning children’s groups of 4-5 years old, to sport groups and seniors 70 years old and older. In addition to Latin American dances Mark and Valeria teach also salsa and social dances. There are other teachers for the other areas. In their studio you can find some of the best ballroom and hip-hop dancers in Spain;
– The organizer of the largest international dance camps with world-renowned teachers.
In addition to dancing, Valeria graduated in Spain at Formatic Barna University, Faculty of Tourism, as well as in Poland at the College of Economics.
Valeria knew from childhood that she wanted to dance. That is why she went to study at school No. 51 in Minsk with a choreographic bias, and when she was noticed by the famous coach Mikhail Vasilievich Konohov, she became a serious dancer in the club “Duet”.
Valeria grew up with her grandparents in the village of Felikso near Lida. Knowing the girl’s great desire to dance, Valerie’s mother set her a condition – if Valerie does well on her high school exams, then her mother will let her study at a school where there is a ballroom club. And the girl’s father even thought that his daughter would take up boxing. Valerie passed her high school exams with the highest score and immediately reminded her mother of her promise. And the mother kept her word.
At the celebration at the end of the school year, Mikhail Konokhov, a teacher from the Duet Dance Club, selected five dance couples. Valeria Urimagova was among them. From that moment on, dancing became something big for Valeria. There were constant trainings, performances at tournaments. At the age of nine, Valeria had already begun to travel with performances abroad – to countries near and far abroad – a total of about 30 trips per year.
“- It was easy enough with studies. My mother told me if I couldn’t cope with my studies, then I wouldn’t be able to dance. And since I really wanted to dance, I had no choice. I had to make it everywhere.”
Valeria Urimagova recalls her winning world championship with particular excitement: “Most of all I remember the atmosphere of friendliness and the athletic spirit of the dance. And also the pride: the representatives of each country carried their national flag, and it was a great honor for the couple. In addition, I remember the wonderful audience in Ireland, very many people, even the German team, were cheering for us. When the public likes a performance, dancing is much easier, and the judges notice it and mark it with marks.
At such a young age Valerija already spent 5-6 hours a day in the gym and she remembers surely that there was no desire to walk instead of training: “We had a great desire to dance. And when you come on the floor, hear the music, you do not think about how many hours will pass. A person has no right to be lazy to achieve results”.
After graduating, the already famous and titled Valeria was invited to continue her dancing career in Poland. This new partnership didn’t last long, but apart from dancing Valeria managed to enter and successfully finish economical college in Poland.
In 2009, the famous coach and dancer Karina Rubio invited Valeria to an audition in Spain for the champion of the country. The duo of Valeria and Mark formed immediately and successfully exists to this day:
After only one month of training together, Valeria and Marc took:
– 2nd place at the Spanish Championships in the European program;
– In 2010 they won the Spanish championship in 10 dances, the championship in the standard and also won the second place in the Spanish championship in the Latin-american program;
– Also in 2010 they took 4th place at the European Championship in Denmark and World Championship in 10 dances in Canada;
– In 2011-2012, Valeria and Mark won the Spanish 10-dance adult championship and were semi-finalists at the European and World Championships (WDSF).
Since 2013, Valeria and Mark decided to change their dance trajectory a bit, focusing on the Latin American program and began training with the best coaches in the world in England and America. The famous Richard Porter and Barbara Mccoll became the main teacher of the pair. Donnie Burns, Alan&Hazel Fletcher, Karina Smirnoff, Allan Tornsberg, Riccardo Cochi & Yulia Zagoruychenko, Maurizio Vescovo – not the whole list of teachers of Valeria and Mark, who helped them in a very short time to become finalists of the United Kingdom Open Championship in the Amateur.
The guys also had a two-year break due to Mark’s illness. However, Valeria turned out to be not only a devoted partner, but also a true friend and person, and her support and faith did their job – the guys returned to the floor together and in the “Professionals” category they achieved new successes, becoming silver medalists of the UK & Blackpool – United Kingdom Open Championship and Blackpool Dance Championship in the “Professionals” (Rising Stars);
“I really like living in Spain. I liked Spain right away when I arrived. The Spanish are very hospitable and fun people. It was hard to get used to the culture because Spanish people’s favorite word is “mañana”, which means “tomorrow”. They enjoy life, don’t rush anywhere, and leave everything they can do today for tomorrow. It used to make me very angry, but now I’m used to it. I don’t live by those rules myself. Spanish are very friendly. I feel at home here.”
Valeria doesn’t come to Belarus very often, but when she does, she gladly gives master classes to the Belarusian dancers and performs a show.
Valeria believes that everyone who wants to dedicate themselves to dance can become a professional in Belarus. You just need to keep at it and do your best.
Valeriia said that it’s never easy and believes she’s lucky because in her life she’s met many talented people who have something to learn. Valeria considers her parents to be her best friends. It is with them that she can share everything and get good advice.
According to Valeria, everyone has their own destiny and their own country. For her it’s Spain.
“No matter what difficulties you meet, always go for your dream and never give up!”
