Nadia Popova, who was born and raised in Urkraine, finds comfort through dance
Nadia Popova, now a Palm Desert resident, was born and raised in Ukraine.
“My hope is for them to find the strength. I know they won’t get their life back.”
Popova grew up in a small and quiet town of Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
“That town is a small, small little city. Today, it’s almost empty.”
Her mother and brother still live in her childhood home and have no way of leaving.
“His first thoughts in the morning. Am I actually alive or am I just thinking I am?”
Her hometown now full of destruction and violence. “I remember that hotel, we used to stay there many times. It’s right close to the apartment building my mother lives. The building, it is completely destroyed. So it gets only worse.”
They've told her bombings have been non-stop. Popova said her family can not only hear the bombings, but they can feel the rumbling of each explosion.
“Just seeing and hearing, I’m feeling what’s happening there so I know what is exactly going on.”
Popova said it feels like she’s living in two worlds right now. “Being at the struggle is a normal state of living in Ukraine. That’s the way I grew up. Being in the struggle was a normal being, that’s how people have lived for so many many years there.”
She's lived in the Coachella Valley for 9 years. She's been taking private lessons to relieve stress with The Nickerson-Rossi Dance Company in Palm Springs.
Popova said she feels like there isn't much she can do to help from half a world away. So, she uses dance as a way to heal and express herself.
“Dance was always a way to recharge for me. It was always to express myself through the body language.”
Although she will not be participating in the Palm Springs International Dance Festival this weekend, Popova said it’s an event that’s much needed.
“To bring all this amazingness, all the talented, all the creativeness," Popova said, "So I think we’re very lucky.”
Most of all, she said the community’s support has pushed her through this tough time.
“United is the word. I feel united, I feel supported through the human connection. It’s the most amazing feeling. So you’re not alone, you’re not at the danger, you are not struggling, you’re not here to suffer. You’re here to support each other.”
Popova will not be performing at the Palm Springs International Dance Festival, but she said she will be there supporting fellow dancers.
The festival, presented by Nickerson-Rossi Dance, kicks off Saturday and runs through April 3rd.
You can find tickets here.
