Katya Virshilas - 1 week Salsa workshop in Hyderabad

Press Release:

SHIAMAK

presents

Salsa with Katya

Students at Shiamak Davar’s Institute for the Performing Arts (SDIPA) are preparing to burn up the dance floor, with Katya Virshilas’ sizzling hot Salsa moves. Shiamak has specially flown in the renowned Canadian performer and choreographer, who trained Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez for the acclaimed dance drama, Shall We Dance.

Katya Virshilas, who also played the lead in the 2006 Antonio Banderas blockbuster Take The Lead, will collaborate with Shiamak to exclusively train SDIPA students across India. Although she excels at Latin dancing, Ballroom and Salsa, Katya has also trained in the Ballet, Jazz, Modern, and Hip Hop styles.

Born in Lithuania, Virshilas initiated her dance training in Israel with a mix of Folk, Jazz, Ballet and Modern movement. “I loved dancing immediately! I loved the music and the audience. I can remember seeing a Ballroom Dance competition on T.V. with my mom one day, and I was instantly hooked on it! It looked so glamorous and easy… but boy was I wrong,” quipped Virshilas in an exclusive interview with Hotshoes, Canada’s Dance Magazine.

After moving to British Columbia, Canada, at the age of 13, Virshilas was told by a Dancesport coach that she was too old to start training. Today, the 22 year old blonde bombshell is a four-time Vancouver B.C. Dancesport Champion, from 1998-2002. She was declared the Korean Open Latin Champion in 2002 and represented Canada at the World Dancesport championships in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2003.

Virshilas then moved on to clinch a dancer’s part in Shall We Dance. Although she was only supposed to be on set for one week, the choreographers liked Katya so much that they asked her to stay back and coach Gere and Lopez as the Assistant Choreographer.

In Take the Lead, Virshilas plays a ‘stuck-up’ girl opposite Antonio Banderas, who stars as Pierre Dulaine, a dancer who invaded the hip-hop culture of New York City to teach high school students the Tango, Rhumba, Fox Trot and Waltz. The film is based on a true story, and the review by Rolling Stone Magazine’s Peter Travers states, quite aptly, “Katya Virshilas would make anyone sign up for lessons.”

Shiamak presents the Salsa with Katya Workshops 2007, which give you this unique opportunity to learn with the beautiful, accomplished and well-traveled Katya. To enquire about class details and check for availability, do call the SDIPA office at 6597 9630/31 or visit www.shiamak.com.