Meet Ballet Dancer, Violetta Petrolay

We sent an interview to Violetta in the spring and she answered the questions with such a sweet conversational tone that we removed our questions from the transcript and turned her questions into a quick biographic narrative from her. You'll love her answers as much as we did. Violetta dances with the Kiev-Aniko Ballet.

"My name is Violetta Petrolay. I performed for the first time in Salute to Vienna this year, and it was great.

"My favourite musical composition by Strauss is the Explosion polka, but in ordinary life, I like the creativity of composer Ludovico Einaudi. I speak Ukrainian, Russian and English.

"I live, study and work in Kiev. I love this city, and this is my home. My favourite breakfast is an omelette with tomatoes or cottage cheese and jam, and herbal tea. I have a younger brother, he's two years old. I love him so much and I like spending time with him. We love to spend time in the zoo where we feed the animals and play with them. I enjoy reading. Currently I'm reading a book Stephen Chbosky called The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It's a very exciting book. I also like to relax with my friends. We go to the cinema, theatre, exhibitions, and concerts. We love active rest and travel.

"I want to travel and dance a lot. Salute to Vienna is an opportunity to travel, get acquainted with new people, gain experience, and at the same time work. Today it is difficult to say where will go and what I will do next, I want to try everything.

"Sometimes my work is physically difficult. When rehearsals go on for hours my body gets tired. Sometimes it's scary anticipating the pain I will feel in rehearsal. But when I go on stage, I feel the energy of the audience and it is the most exciting feeling.

"My ultimate New Year's Eve is a New Year's concert with my friends and then food, champagne, and a great mood. This was what I experienced this past year, thanks to the organizers of the festival Salute to Vienna!"

Images courtesy of Violetta Petrolay