I’ve always believed dancers carry their stories in their bodies. You can see it in how they move, in the depth behind each breath, the intention, the joy, the struggle, the triumph. There’s a purpose with which they teach, with which they perform. That’s what I saw the first time I watched Mariia Kurnosova work. It wasn’t just mastery, though she has plenty of that, it was something deeper. Something lived in and fought for.
The war with Ukraine rocked everyone’s reality. After a great deal of torment and distress Mariia made the difficult decision to leave Russia. In doing so, Mariia didn’t just move to the U.S., she left a life behind. A respected coaching career in Moscow, her own dance club, students who had become champions and family. She walked away from stability, familiarity, and the accolades that had defined decades of work. She walked away from status and access. And she did it not out of ambition, but conviction for her children, for freedom, for what was right and wrong, and for the chance to write a new chapter with honesty and hope. Maria arrived with more than credentials, she brought the kind of world-class knowledge that can elevate an entire community. As a choreographer, coach of numerous champions, and veteran judge, she adds a depth and a refined perspective that is priceless.
Since settling in the States, she’s done exactly what great artists and teachers do: she’s made others better. As a coach at Dance With Me, she’s taken dancers from their very first steps to the winners' podium. Her daughter, Elizaveta, continues to flourish, now winning in and for the United States, carrying her new home’s flag with gratitude and grace. The same fire that once lit up Russian championships now shines on American floors, still under Mariia’s steady hand.
She didn’t come here for a comfortable life. Mariia came here not just to find safety for her family. She came here to thrive and to make this country better in the most honest way she knows how: by teaching, by creating, and by lifting others through the art of dance. She didn’t come here to start over, she came here to continue. To grow and to weave her story into the fabric of now this great country and its dance community. And let me tell you, we’re better for it. I write this as a reminder that doing the right thing and leading with your heart always bears fruit, even in our little world of ballroom dance.
- Written by Valentin Chmerkovskiy
