Dance workshops with Mrs Anna Struk

Do you remember my first post? The one about the tournament? At those competitions, there was a school called GrawiTan that won only first and second places. It turned out that their teacher could come to our dance school on Sunday. And come like that every month on Sundays. When I arrived in Pruszków, I went upstairs with my mom to look for the room where we have the workshops. In the orange room, there was a stand and some group of people. Mom asked if this is where the modern dance workshops are. No. That was kung fu! Instead, in the red room stood Ms. Anna Struk. Of course, at first we had no idea it was her, but when the lady heard about the modern workshops, she said it was here. I said hello to the lady and we talked a bit about dance. Then some little kids started arriving. 7 - 9 years old. I was afraid that no one my age would be there, but while I was staring out the window, I saw Natalka, Zosia, and Stefa in the parking lot. The workshops started when the girls ran into the room at the last minute and introduced themselves. There was a warm-up and the teacher gave us a few training choreographies. Then we had a break. Most of the young ones went downstairs to their parents, but we stayed in the room with Stefa and Oliwka. Stefa stayed because she is Zosia's sister, and Oliwka stayed because she is Stefa's friend. Complicated. But we had the whole room to ourselves, so we played wheelbarrows, we were windshield wipers, I swam butterfly on the floor, Natalka was Stefa's horse, Zosia built a tower out of finger biscuits, then we built a stable for Natalka out of mats and soft puzzle pieces and I was a good fairy. And I had mini wings. Made from hands.

Almost at the end of the workshops, the teacher gave us a hard task. Hard because it was mainly a younger crowd. We had to make our own modern routines. I was the leader of one of the groups. Natalka was the leader of the second. When we danced, the teacher said those routines were ten out of ten. Because we knew how to cooperate and we reached an agreement even though it was sometimes difficult.

• I am very proud of everyone. Natalka, Hela, Zosia, you stay with me. You will now have the basics of classics - Ms. Ania announced at the end of the class. For the little ones, the end of the class. We, as the older ones, went through the whole barre as well.

When mom came for me and asked how it was, I was as exhausted as liver guts. For reading enthusiasts. Information about Ms. Ania. Anna Struk – dancer, pedagogue, and choreographer, graduate of the Ludomir Różycki State Ballet School in Bytom, where she obtained a professional dancer's diploma in 2013.

She continued her education in London at the renowned London Contemporary Dance School (The Place), where she completed her bachelor's studies between 2014–2017, followed by master's studies from 2017–2019.

During her studies, she completed an internship with the Richard Alston Dance Company (2017), with whom she performed on theater stages in England and Scotland, gaining valuable stage and ensemble experience. During her education, she collaborated with many acclaimed choreographers and pedagogues, such as Dane Hurst, Hannes Langolf, Victor Quijada, and Hofesh Shechter, among others. She also trained under the guidance of prominent teachers, including Jeannie Steele (Cunningham technique), Chisato Ohno (balet and Gaga), as well as floor work and release technique specialists such as Marso Riviere and Baptiste Bourgougnon. Already during her studies, she conducted classes and workshops in London, teaching ballet and Cunningham technique.

After returning to Poland, she began working as a pedagogue and choreographer, collaborating with Grawitan and the then Musical Theatre in Lublin (now the Lublin Opera), where she worked for several artistic seasons. She completed postgraduate studies in Pedagogy at the KIRE university in Kraków. Currently, she is developing her own brand "Modern Flow Anna Struk," continuing her collaboration with Grawitan. Her students regularly win awards and distinctions at dance competitions, which confirms the effectiveness of her pedagogical and artistic work.