- You mentioned your inventions, tell us more about the ankle joint trainer.
- The ankle trainer is the first major invention. Initially, we planned it as a trainer for going on pointe shoes aimed at reducing the likelihood of mistakes, defects of technique of jumping up. Due to the fact that the foot in the shoe becomes a little shorter in the position on the toes, the solution for return the foot to its normal position when descending from the toes was not found. However, another idea was born – and this is how the ankle trainer came to life. It allows you to perform Demi pointe, which improves the extension of the ankle and the performance of a Plié with a bent ankle, increasing its depth.
- And did you invent it yourself?
- Yes. Of course, we conducted prior market analysis. We studied existing solutions to this problem but there was simply no trainer meeting all the requirements. First, I did a paper sketch, based on the principle underlying the trainer shape. Then followed three hot months of Vladivostok summer advantageously spent quarantine due to the pandemic in the workshop with a jigsaw in my hands and a mountain of sawn wood. I cut out the blanks, glued them together, processed them for the first time and drove them to a deeply respected teacher – Yulia Aleksandrovna, on whom we tested the samples. She shared her opinion and I continued to perfect the sample. And so 3-5 times a day. Until finally she said – “This is it!”
- Fascinating story. Has the solution become universal for everyone? Both children and adults?
- No, I then selected the size of the trainer in such a way that it would fit only from the age of eight, so that it would not be used too soon on children. This took some time. After that, more improvements followed. As a result, we got a universal foot trainer from size 32 (about 8 years old) to size 45.
-So, there was some kind of a research?
- Absolutely. Before filing an application with Rospatent, a careful study was carried out that proves the effectiveness and safety of using the invention.
- Your book "Ballerina's Foot" came out before the announcement of the trainer and it already contained information on the invention.Wwhen did you realize that everything worked out with the invention?
- Yes, indeed, the information was already in the book. But I made amendments literally in the last minutes. When the data from the experiment and research showed that it was safe to use, I immediately included the information into the book. The trainer allows to maintain the structure and function of the foot. It is of utmost importance in our time, when the intensity of physical activity for children is simply off scale. I realized that everything worked out at the moment when the first child performed exercises on the trainer for a minute and after that got into the first position. They were two completely different lower limbs, not just the feet. After working on the trainer, the leg stood more inverted compared to the other and with the unaided eye a higher angle of the longitudinal arch could be seen.
- Was it immediately noticeable?
- Yes, nothing else was needed. Everything became different in the child's head. When asked to do Plie, one foot went to the side and the other to the side forward. I wrote in “Health in Ballet” and “Ballerina's Foot” that the rotation of the entire lower limb depends on the position of the foot. If the foot is pronated, then the entire lower limb becomes rotated and nothing can be done about it. Therefore, the arches shouldn’t be placed in the wrong positions when performing choreographic elements. After doing exercises on the trainer, the ankle becomes more mobile and the foot stops falling into the positions. Immediately. It becomes clear how not to overwhelm the arches. On the contrary, even the wish to place them otherwise disappears. It can be seen straight away.
- About your books. You have already written two, are there any plans for a third?
- Sure! The first of my books covers general physical health issues and principles that should not be violated if we want to get a healthy artist and athlete. The second book focused on the foot in particular. It deals with more specific issues and it is written a more complicated manner than the first one. Although "Health in Ballet" is read by children all over the world and they say that everything is clear to them, that it is written in a comprehensive way. Now the third book is in progress, I will not reveal all the cards, but I want to release it in November 2021 as already established as a tradition.
- How did you come up with the idea of releasing children's magazines?
- The idea was born when my child asked me to buy magazines to read. What I could see on the shelves in stores just upset me. He loves to listen to fairy tales before bed, he learns the names of dinosaurs, I can't even pronounce them, but he does it easily. After all, lots of children are interested in learning something new. I decided that I would make a worthwhile children's magazine which would contain not only pictures and coloring pages, or content that is completely unnecessary for the development of the child, but a full-fledged source of useful information for the child. I selected a team for this project, which included ballet teachers, ballet experts, professional artists and many others. We made a good magazine with information about the history of ballet, musical literacy, etiquette rules of behavior in the theater given in children's language, and all this is presented through a positive fictional character – a girl named Tanya who is in love with ballet. Children will associate themselves with Tanya and learn with her. I want parents to read this magazine to their children before going to be, I want it to be in every choreographic school in our country so that children would stop looking at their phones before the class, but receive new useful knowledge!
-How many issues are in the magazine?
- At the moment, for several years ahead, but this is not the limit. We are working on more issues.