Ballroom dancers

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Two Russian dancers united their love for Latin dance with their love for each other and became Australian champions.
For Michael Miziner, 24, and Anastasia Belykh, 25, Latin dance has been a way of life since they were children. Anastasia was only six years old when a Latin dance craze hit Russia in the late 1980s and she, like thousands of other Russian children, enrolled in classes as part of a new school curriculum. A few years later, Michael found his feet on the dance floors of suburban Australia. As a 12-year-old Russian immigrant, Michael gravitated towards ballroom dancing as a way to connect with the equally dance-enthused local Russian community.
From opposite sides of the globe, both children excelled at what is now known internationally as Dancesport, and spent their teenage years twirling around the world’s most renowned competitions. When their eyes finally met across a dance floor in 2003, a passionate relationship blossomed and a winning partnership ensued. Now, as the reigning Australian and Asia-Pacific Latin dance champions, Michael and Anastasia dedicate every day to the demanding, exacting and beautiful sport of competition dance.
9am: Sleeping in is the one vice Michael and Anastasia allow themselves whenever they’re in Australia, but waking up to views over Manly Cove on Sydney’s Northern Beaches makes getting out of bed all the more worthwhile. “We’re only here for about four months of the year, but we’re lucky enough to have a room with a view at my parents’ home,” explains Michael as he joins Anastasia for breakfast by the pool.
“I’ve been all over the world, but Sydney is one of the most beautiful places,” adds Anastasia, who only moved here three years ago to be with Michael. “We were a couple before we became dance partners. We met at the 2003 UK Latin Dance Championships, but Michael wasn’t competing; he was only there to find a new dance partner,” she explains. “When I saw Anastasia on the other side of the room I knew I had to meet her, but it wasn’t because I wanted her to be my dance partner,” Michael smiles. “I ignored his advances for two hours,” adds Anastasia, “but he finally changed my mind when he put his hand on my lips and said, ‘I know your mouth is telling me to go away, but your eyes are telling me to stay’… for some reason that was it.” Michael grins, then adds, “I didn’t find a dance partner that day, but I did find Anastasia.”
For the next two years, the couple spoke on the phone and rendezvoused whenever they were competing around the world. However, it wasn’t until Anastasia broke ties with her dance partner that she decided to join Michael in Australia. “When you live in Europe, Australia seems like another planet, so it was a huge decision for me, but I thought our relationship was more important than dancing,” she says. “I’d also broken up with my dance partner,” adds Michael. “In fact, I’d had five partners in two years and it just wasn’t working. I thought my dance career had finished.”
Not long after Anastasia arrived, however, the couple decided to risk taking their relationship to the dance floor.
“We’d seen dancing destroy other relationships in the dance world, so we made a promise that we would stop dancing if it began to affect our personal life,” explains Michael. “Now I think being a couple has helped our dancing because we both want what is best for the other person. There’s no competition between us and we see our future together, which isn’t always the way between dance partners… this can be a fickle business.”
10am: Diligently, the couple heads to the local gym to help maintain the strength they require for their physically demanding sport. “Latin dance is extremely physical so it keeps us pretty fit, but it also helps to be strong for the lifts,” explains Michael.
12pm: With their gym workout over, a waterside lunch offers Anastasia and Michael another chance to soak up Sydney while they can. “We do all the major international competitions, which means about 20 overseas trips per year. Sometimes we’re only away for a few days, but other times it’s more like two months, jumping from country to country,” explains Michael wearily. “At first it’s a lot of fun and you try to see as much of the country as you can, but after a few years you just want to do your job and get back home,” he says. “We love the dancing,” adds Anastasia, “but I wish I could blink us there and back without the 23-hour flights and hotel rooms in between.”
Words: Linda Peatling.