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Meet Kristijan and Anja Burazer

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristijan and Anja Burazer.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Our story goes back into 2014 when the owner of the dance studio suddenly passed away, and people were fighting to take over the dance studio. We realized that this is not something that we want to be part of it and for that reason, we decided to leave the studio. But leaving the studio behind also meant, leaving all the dancers that we were teaching behind. There was this ”rule” that dancers belong to the studio, and just like that we lost all our student/dancers. You have to understand that Slovenia is a small country; less than two million people live in this country. And at the time there were maybe 100 dance couples in total, so finding work was not easy. It was a real struggle, for months we couldn’t find any work, the only thing that kept us going was a small amount of money we saved, and we didn’t spend it for dance lessons and dance competitions. We vividly remember the day when we went to the grocery store, and we were literally counting coins to buy bread and milk. From that day on, we decided it’s time to take action. We contacted a few people in the dance industry and had to choose between moving to Singapore or the USA. At the beginning of 2015, we moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Clearly, we made a great decision, and we don’t regret anything, and after four years in this amazing country, we have the privilege and honor to be interviewed for Voyage Phoenix Magazine.

We are both coming from Slovenia, a very small country in Europe, but with a big reputation of really good and successful dancers. Our dancing paths started when we were young kids between the ages of 7-9. Usually, this is the age when most kids in Europe starts with ballroom dancing; some of them started even earlier. We moved to the US four years ago because of ballroom dancing, and because this is the land of opportunities and like they say ”sky is the limit”. Our goal and mission is to bring the culture of ballroom dancing into every person’s life.

Ballroom dancing on a professional level requires a lot of hard work, dedication, discipline, and commitment if you want to reach the top. You need to be willing to practice, practice and practice every day; it’s like a ballet. But on the other hand ballroom dancing has lots of health benefits which people and not aware of. Like improved conditioning, aerobic fitness, weight management, better coordination, confidence… We think dancing is a sport. A lot of people will argue that is art, but in reality, there are thousand and thousand hours spent on dance floor rehearsing and working really hard to achieve excellence, and we love every second of it.

I Kristijan started dancing 20 yrs ago after I saw my sister Nika performing at the competition. She was dancing hip-hop at the time but gave me the inspiration to start dancing. I decided to start dancing too, except I changed hip-hop for ballroom dancing. The main reason I started dancing was because I love music. Music gives me freedom and ability to express who I am. For the past 15 years I’m also sharing my dance knowledge and passion with students from different backgrounds (doctors, lawyers, artists,..) basically everyone who loves dancing.

My name is Anja, and I also started dancing 20 years ago. The reason why I started dancing was because the ballroom dancing team visited my school when I was in first grade of elementary school. Dance team had a presentation of ballroom dancing, and all the girls wore makeup, glittery dresses, the music was fun, and that’s when I decided this I something I want to do all my life. Dancing brings out the best of me; it brings me joy and happiness. Like my husband, I also share my dance experience and love to dance with our students.

Please tell us about your art.
We are ballroom dancers, artists, athletes… The art we create is art created through music, our bodies and our emotions. When we are dancing, we feel connected to yourself and our partner, not only physically but also emotionally. Through dancing, we are telling the story, story of love, sadness, happiness, pain… The most amazing thing about dancing is that you can truly express how you feel, and for people, it’s very easy to connect to that. There is no pretending when you are dancing; you are truly you. When you are on the stage, you truly feel alive and free; there is this nothingness in your head, no limitations of who you are. Dancing makes us feel alive, positive, living life in gratitude, and we are so humbled to be able to help others feel the same.

Dancing has been around for centuries, long, long time ago this is how people were communicating. There was no verbal communication, only body language, and sounds. That’s why dancing is so important to us because you can create using your most precious instrument-body. You don’t need space; you don’t need brushes, equipment, only your body. The movement itself creates art.

Our training is in ballroom dancing; this is what we grew up with. We are coaches and active professional competitors. Some examples of dances are; samba, cha cha cha, rumba, waltz, tango…and many more. The knowledge we have comes from all around the world. We had the privilege to work with the best coaches, teachers, and mentors in the dance industry. After all these years we are still educating, and improving. When we are teaching our students, we focus on what they are good at, what are the things we need to do to become the best possible versions of themselves. Dancing is more than just steps to music; it’s also body and mind therapy. People think dancing is just a hobby, but it gives so much more. It sort of unlocks the potential of each individual person, gives them the courage and confidence to do anything in life.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
The biggest challenge the artist facing today is being misunderstood, judged and underpaid. How do you judge the artist? It’s very difficult, people have their own eyes and taste, and some might like it, and some don’t. Who is better ballet dancer Nureyev or Baryshnikov? None. They are both great individuals, who see the world differently, who come for different backgrounds and see the beauty of movement differently.

Dancing it’s an art form that really shouldn’t be judged. Every person is so unique and has something else to offer. We dancers tell stories, trough our bodies with the help of music. There will always be people who will not understand you, and there will always be people to who you will bring tears to their eyes. Competitive dancing is a sport, but also an art. For us looking at the dancer who can touch us emotionally is a great dancer.

Another thing that dancers struggle is that, people don’t understand the amount of work and hours we put into choreography, music,…They usually say, “Well, you can just show us something, you’re a dancer”. As much as we love this beautiful art form as dancers, we also need proper compensation for this. We devoted our lives, our childhood, our free time to pursue this dancers dream, and yet we found that every now and then people expect us to perform for free. How are we any different than doctors, handymen, and firefighters? They help you get better physically; we help you get better emotionally. We feed peoples souls with hope, happiness, joy, fun and that is priceless.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
We are independent dance instructors, that means we don’t belong to any dance studio, we can teach anyone anywhere. The most important thing for us is being available to everyone. We have different services we offer, like wedding dances, private lessons, group lessons… You can check us out on our website www.proballroomdancers.com and find out more about what we offer.

Our main goal is for everyone to experience dancing. For a lot of people dancing is something so outside their comfort zone that they just don’t want to try it, or they assume is too difficult. We can truly say that from our experiences everybody can dance. Dancing is a fun way of getting to know your life partner better, reconnect, getting to know new people and being able to fully express yourself. You can follow us, students, behind the scenes photos/videos and all the accomplishments on our social media.

Usually, we are competing at least twice a month, everywhere around the US. But there are also upcoming events in the local Phoenix area. One of the competitions in going to be held between 23-26 of May at Westin Resort and Spa in Scottsdale and the other one will be at Arizona Biltmore Hotel from 12-14 September in Phoenix. We will be attending, and you are more than welcome to come and check us out. Stop by and say hi, we will be more than happy to talk to you and meet you.:)

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Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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