TORONTO STAR BALL 2022
I’ve been an Arthur Murray dancer since 2008. As an artist, I credit my fascination with painting and drawing ballroom dance to the excellent instruction I received at the Arthur Murray Studio in Edmonton, Alberta. (Big big big thank you to current franchisee Andrea Stein and former franchisee Bill Jacobsen for instilling such a strong love of dance in me. And big thank you to all of the teachers at the Toronto Yorkville Studio who have kept that love alive since I moved to Toronto.)
Dmytro Gurkov, posing with my painting of him and his partner Celeste Bailey.
Since I started The Fine Art of Dance, I’ve wanted to show my work at an Arthur Murray event. That goal finally came to pass earlier this month, when I exhibited my work at the Toronto Star Ball.
Located at the Westin Harbour Castle in down town Toronto, Star Ball was a lovely two days of dancing. One of the highlights of the event for me was the dramatic pro show on Saturday night - I particularly love watching the professional routines, as they inspire a lot of my work.
Another thing that made this competition special was the opportunity to visit with one of my old teachers, Bill Jacobsen, who was one of the adjudicators at the event.
The left side of The Fine Art of Dance exhibition at Toronto Star Ball. Work featured in this image, from left to right are:
Resurrection (The Matador); Yulia 2 (Samba Show Dance); Yulia 1 (Samba Show Dance); Halleluljah (Travis & Jaimee Show Dance) (featured on the Paintings page of the website); Flying the Dress (Dmytro & Celeste Waltz Study (sold); Dmitry & Olena Cha Cha Sketch and Max & Tatiana Tango Sketch (both of which are featured on the Drawings page of the website).
The right side of the Fine Art of Dance exhibition at Toronto Star Ball. Work featured in this image, from left to right are:
Travis & Jaimee Show Dance (Contra Check) (featured on the Drawings page of the website) (sold); Dancing Bolero (Robyn & Katherine) (featured on the Paintings page of the website) (sold); Yulia Sketch 1 & Yulia Sketchh 2 (currently featured on the Creative Process page of the website).
During Star Ball, I also started a new painting of pro dancer Celeste Bailey. While I am in the very early stages of creating this piece, I am really enjoying the dramatic energy that the painting is starting to exude, and look forward to working on it further in the coming weeks.
