Oxana Banchshikova is originally from Kazakhstan, but for the last thirteen years has been living in Hong Kong, where she founded the Cosmic Dance Company in order
to realise her passion for performing, choreographing and teaching Bharatanatyam Indian Classical Dance. Taking up dance at the age of five, Oxana trained and performed in a variety of dance styles, from ballet through to
contemporary and jazz, always searching for something special and meaningful in her dance experiences. She found this in Indian Classical Dance and gained inspiration from its rich historical background and unique and complex dance techniques.
With support from her teachers, friends and family, Oxana researched this ancient art form and was awarded a scholarship by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to attend a four-year course at the Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Chennai, India and successfully completed her studies in 2006. She has also completed 3 year course and was awarded 1st class diploma in Nattuvangam (dance accompaniment) from “Kalapeetam” music school (Chennai, India, 2003-2006).
Since completing her course at Kalakshetra and settling down in Hong Kong, Oxana has performed on numerous occasions, created and directed many solo and group productions. She is never content to remain at one level for long and constantly strives to improve her skills through attending various workshops on dance and yoga in different countries. She has been spreading her love for Bharatanatyam by teaching it to students of different ages and nationalities for the last 12 years. Her experience of teaching dance to different people has helped her to evolve a unique style of keeping people interested and motivated in learning this dance form outside India.
For the last 10 years Oxana has been researching healthy and safe dance approaches in South Indian dance forms and Bharatanatyam in particular. Her personal experience and also extensive teaching experience to students of various ages showed a need for creating special exercise programmes to prepare the body for the particular stances and movements of Bharatanatyam as well as rehabilitation exercises for acquired pain that may have been caused by certain movements.
This led Oxana to completing the Ying Yoga course (deep passive stretch technique) in 2011 and the Pilates teacher certification course by Polestar Pilates in 2018. The Pilates method is well known around the world as a system of exercise and physical movement designed to stretch, strengthen, and balance the body in order to increase its efficiency and healthy function.
Oxana continues to research, practice and teach her students these exercises and hopes to promote the idea that a safe and healthy dance life is possible for all ages, and to continue her dance career as long as possible.