Even with two broken fingers, gymnast Nadya Vasina is starting her day with intensive training.
After 13 years of gymnastics, Vasina is used to injuries, even though the 26-year-old quit professional sports nine years ago. Today she performs all over the world in her own artistic show, which combines gymnastics, dance and acting.
Vasina was seven years old when her parents enrolled her in a gymnastics class. At 12, she joined the Ukrainian national team, led by the famous coach Albina Deriugina.
In 2007, Vasina helped the Ukrainian national team to win the gold medal at the Worldwide Universiade, a biannual sports competition for students similar to the Olympic Games.
But that’s where Vasina decided to stop. At 19 years old, she saw a life filled with 10 hours of training every day, top competition, privation and constant pressure from the coaches, who she said often humiliate their students to spur them to achieve better results.
The training style of the Ukrainian coaches meant young Ukrainian gymnasts went into competition in fear of failure and unhappy when performing. In contrast, the young gymnasts from the United States were enthusiastic and excited about competing, says Vasina, who in 2013 trained young gymnasts for the United States national team ahead of the Olympics.
So after the 2007 victory, she quit. It wasn’t an easy move to make. As a professional gymnast who had spent most of her life in the gym, Vasina knew little about the outside world. She had no idea how she was going to make her living.
“It seemed like an insane decision,” Vasina recalls.
Nadya Vasina rehearses her new show in a dance studio in Kyiv on March 30. She presented it on April 6 in Las Vegas. (Anastasia Vlasova)
However, soon after she quit gymnastics, Vasina met Ukrainian circus performer Anatoly Zalevsky, who was performing for the Cirque du Soleil, a famous international circus troupe. She joined the troupe as a gymnast and stayed with it for two years.
Vasina says that the hardest thing for her after changing careers was to learn how to express herself while performing.
“Zalevsky told me to forget about the ribbons and juggling clubs and to open my soul. At first I thought he was mad,” she recalls with a laugh.
She learned how to act for her performances with the Cirque du Soleil, where all the performers take drama classes. There, Vasina says she was once told to picture an old giraffe that hadn’t eaten for three days. Another time, she had to depict a flashing lamp using only her body.
Vasina says that many Ukrainian artists succeed in the Cirque du Soleil because Ukraine has one of the best circus schools in the world.
With new-found skills under her belt, in 2009 Vasina staged the first show of her own – a tribute to the late pop star Michael Jackson. It was a success, and since then she has created another more individual shows. She has performed them in the United States, Germany, France, and Ukraine.
In contrast to the strict rules in competitive gymnastics, Vasina’s shows are burlesque in style, playful and sexy. She combines dancing with sophisticated gymnastic moves, bright costumes and lighting effects.
Vasina says that shows like hers are very popular in the United States, but are still new to Ukraine.
Creating a show is expensive, but it pays back pretty soon, Vasina says. Besides touring with her shows, she performs at parties and other events. She also gives free performances at Ukrainian orphanages and for the military.
“This art is not about doing a dozen backflips and landing in a tiger pose,” Vasina says. “It’s something that brings joy to you and your audience, makes them relax and switch from something bad to something positive.”
Vasina presented her new performance, entitled “Showroom,” on April 6 in Las Vegas, and started on a U.S. tour after that.
