I fled war in Ukraine and came to the Fylde coast, now I'm wowing Strictly Come Dancing judges with my dancing
“We just danced our hearts out.” BY JESS LAWSON
A young dancer who fled the war in Ukraine has returned to perform at a major charity dance event on the Fylde coast after impressing celebrity guests so much the first time around.
Oleg, 12, who moved to Fleetwood after fleeing the Ukraine war, and his dance partner Skylar-Rae, 11, have only been dancing together for a year, but the duo have already been described by their coach as “a little bit of a force to be reckoned with” and are said to have the potential to reach the top of their game.
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The pair performed at Dance Floor Heroes, a charity event supporting Tia’s Crown, a mental health charity. The event featured VIP hosts and judges known from Strictly Come Dancing.
Oleg and Skylar-Rae danced in front of Vincent Simone, Pasha Kovalev, Ian Waite, Graziano Di Prima and James Jordan, as well as Dan Whiston from Dancing on Ice, during the pre-show event in the Empress Ballroom.
Their dance coach, Alison Slinger, said: “They love to see them. They love to see the kids anyway, but they love to see this pair. Our hosts, Ian and Vincent they watched, they saw them last year and you know they blew them away, so it was good to see them a year on.”
Last year, when they performed at the event, Oleg and Skylar-Rae had only been dancing together for six weeks. Since then, they have progressed from the Juvenile level of dancing to Junior level.
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Alison said: “Completely different kind of grade of dance, completely different approach to choreography. It’s a lot more mature and obviously a lot more with the dresses and the hair and the bling as well, which they’re secretly loving.”
Despite performing in front of professional dancers, Oleg said the experience was enjoyable. He said: “Although we were a bit nervous, we knew it wasn’t a competition, so we just danced our hearts out and it was just a great atmosphere to be in.”
Skylar-Rae, from Blackpool, agreed. She said: “We just tried our best and like he said it wasn’t a comp.” Although Skylar-Rae has been dancing for around three years and Oleg for two years, Alison said: “They look like they’ve been dancing their whole lives.”
She explained this was because of the work ethic and heart the pair put into their dancing. Speaking about having the pair return for the event, Alison said: “It’s a joy. We’d actually been asked to bring them back.”
More about Tia’s Crown, the charity for the event can be found at: https://www.tiascrown.co.uk