Dance teachers embrace a new life

"We saw and experienced the city when it was hit hard by the pandemic, but now everything is back to normal, which has allowed us to explore and enjoy our lives here." she says.

Before teaching ballet in Wuhan, the couple were at a ballet school in Xiamen, Fujian province, where they worked from 2012 to 2018.

Akhmadullina, 36, was born in Kazan, Russia, and started to dance at the age of 5. Peshekhodko, 33, was born in Cheboksary and first received dance training at 6 years old. From 2016 to 2017, he studied at the Chinese Language and Culture College of Huaqiao University in Quanzhou, Fujian province. The couple both performed with the Crown of the Russian Ballet and Konstantin Tachkin St. Petersburg Ballet Theater.

As ballet dancers, they toured Chinese cities many times with productions such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Don Quixote.

"We have seen lots of changes in China, and we are especially impressed by the appetite for dance in the country. There are many beautiful theaters staging ballet performances. Chinese parents often take their children to those shows, and give them a glimpse of the art form," says Akhmadullina.