It takes courage to break away from tradition and family to pursue your own passions. It takes a lot of nerve to convince your family to allow you to fly the nest at a mere 10 years old to attend a Boarding School in a foreign city away from them so you can hone your skills.
Maxim Zenin, our M8 of January has that courage and nerve in spades, especially when he was the first in his family to want to pursue a career in the arts, namely as Ballet Dancer. Team that up with fierce talent and ambition and this young Russian native is unstoppable.
Maxim now calls Australia home, for the time being at least, driven out of his homeland by the awfully sad situation imposed on them. He is thankful to find a compassionate community here to help him further his Ballet career, and we are thankful he is blessing us with his incredible talents! We are the lucky ones, in fact we are Pirouetting and Plieing our heads off in appreciation.
Meet Maxim!
NAME: Maxim Zenin
AGE: 24
CURRENT POSITION:
I am a professional ballet dancer. I graduated from the Vaganov Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg then worked at the Mariinsky Theater for 5 years. Now I work in a ballet company in Australia.
WHERE IS YOUR HOME TEAM:
I was born in the south of Russia in the city of Volgograd, but moved to St. Petersburg at an early age and lived there most of my life.
WHO DO YOU PLAY FOR NOW:
Now I live in Melbourne, Australia.
WHAT’S YOUR GAME PLAN:
I came to Australia to continue my professional career as a ballet dancer after I had to leave Russia after the start of the war.
I am happy to find a place where I feel safe and where all people live in peace and order. My main goal is to continue to develop and grow professionally.
My ambitions are huge, there are a lot of ideas and plans in my head. Sometimes I want to implement it all here and now, but everything takes time but I'm sure that I'm on the right track.
WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE IT:
I work very hard and never stop learning, even having achieved some success, I do not stop growing further. After all, there is no limit to perfection.
And also sometimes I take risks, unfortunately the path to success is never without risk. But I will say from my own experience that any justified risk is rewarded in full. Be brave.
LIST 1 OR 2 ‘GOLD MEDAL’ MOMENTS IN YOUR LIFE:
There are actually many of them, but probably the beginning of work in a new company is always a very significant moment in life. When you get a contract from the best theatres in the world, it really becomes a big event in your life. As for the gold medals, I won the Grand Prix in the competition of choreographers (Vaganov Academy).
To be honest, I plan to continue developing my choreographic career. I hope that one day I will create a ballet, many in fact! I also consider it a great privilege to participate in ballet gala concerts around the world. It not only allows you to see the whole world, but also forms a huge Arts community. We are like a family and I think it's wonderful.
WHO ARE YOUR CHAMPIONS:
I admire a lot in my life. I admire my director, my colleagues, coaches, and friends. Many people who surround me now motivate me a lot and I often learn from them. I also admire people who create something (whether it be music, dance, clothing, painting), any manifestation of creativity is always admirable.
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT MAKES AN EVERYDAY CHAMPION:
Courage, diligence and self-confidence. This is probably the champion set.
WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO:
Don't spare your energy for what you love. Use all the opportunities given to you, and in any situation, remain human. Sometimes, like a naive child, I think that the most important thing in the world is kindness and love.