Broche Banter #35 -- Madame Olga
Today on the show, I chat with Madame Olga, a celebrity teacher in New York City and online on Instagram and her streaming service Madame Olga Television.
She is known for her true Russian style of teaching, but even more so for bringing humor to the ballet studio to help dancers find their perfect 5th position through love, light, and positivity.
If you haven’t experienced a class with Madame Olga, I highly recommend that you hit pause, go to Instagram.com/madameolgav or search Madame Olga on YouTube and watch a few minutes of class with her before continuing. And then, after you listen to this podcast, you should definitely dance along with one of her classes!
Enjoy!
Madame Olga: Hello.
Julie Gill: Welcome to the show. I'm so excited to get to chat with you today.
Madame Olga: Me too. It's wonderful to be here.
Julie Gill: You've been teaching in New York for a very long time. But now we have all had the wonderful pleasure of getting to dance with you on Instagram and now on Madame Olga TV through this difficult time, so I can't wait to hear about your story and why you spread so much love and positivity to all of us.
Madame Olga: Absolutely. I would love to share anything I can.
Julie Gill: So tell me about what your ballet training was like? Madame Olga has so much positivity to share with us all. Were you trained by positive and optimistic teachers?
Madame Olga: Oh, not exactly. Not exactly. My training was very rigid, structured. Hard-core Russian technique. Like the real deal, you know, strong, heavy, very serious. Very serious. I did not has the positive energy. It was not terrible and negative. It's just wasn't exactly the way I teach. I has developed my own style, I believe. But it was very tough, very tough. Hard. I mean, I got hit with a stick. I got hit with a stick. Yeah. And lots of yelling. Lots of "Get it right this time" "It has to be perfect." And this is important yes, to maintain this structure, that ballet is nut no, I did not has as much positive energy when I was child.
““Yes, I think you can do it through love. I think you can teach the perfect fifth position. Through love.””
Julie Gill: So what inspired you to spread ballet through so much positivity?
Madame Olga: Ah, I think I reached a point where I thought you know, I believe I can get the same results from the students without torturing them completely and destroying their self esteem. Ballet can really destroy your spirits. It can break you down and make you feel like zero like nothing. Like you feel you have no self worth. Yes, you dancing, but it's never good enough. It's never good enough. You're never... you're never perfect enough. Your body's never perfect enough. You didn't do perfect performance, something can be better. Part of this is inside of me all the time. Always. Once you grow up like this, it's really always there. But I thought, you know I can be.... I don't has to be like this. I feel the voice inside of me that's telling me to do something different. It really is a voice inside of me that I don't even know where it's coming from. I don't know who's talking to me. I don't know if it's the gods or the spirits or the energies or something is telling me "Olga, do this today." Or “Olga, think this, say this.” I just…. I'm trying to always learn and expand and how I can be better. I don't think I have to be a monster to be good teacher.
Julie Gill: So when when a dancer is not yet perfect, you believe as a teacher, your philosophy is that they can become perfect through a loving environment and that you don't have to tell them that they're bad. And you don't have to tell them that they're negative in order for them to learn anything. You think they can learn it through this positive environment.
Madame Olga: I absolutely 100% believe this is possible. Yes, I think you can do it through love. I think you can teach the perfect fifth position. Through love.
Not “PERFECT 5th POSITION YOU STUPID!” You tell this to a child? To a 10 year old little baby, you’d say this? “You're stupid. You don't has what it takes!” I don't believe in this. I'm sorry. I will not do this. You know. And the reason I know this is because it's happened to me, it's happened to all of us. Even the best, the best has gotten beat down. And I choose not to teach like this. I've seen many, many dancers crumble and disappear. Poof, they're gone. Because they go crazy. They lose their self esteem and they cannot… they can no longer has the confidence to perform with the confidence to cast a career if they if they feel like sh*t. I'm sorry, my language. If you feel like poopoo. You can delete this one. Yes, I'm sorry.
Julie: Why didn't you quit?
Madame Olga: Why didn’t I quit?
Julie: Yeah, why didn't you quit? Why did you stick with it?
Madame Olga: Because it's my calling. It's my it's…. The God told me to dance. The gods blessed me with the ability. And there was no there was no choice. I just, I was dancing when I was eight months old. My mother said I was dancing before I was walking. So I didn't quit because I don't… I don't quit. I just change. I just choose another direction. Another possibility, another road. I don't quit. I just reinvent myself or try another way. You know?
Julie: Well, this year is certainly a testament to that you've tried. You've you've totally changed everything about how you teach. Tell me about that process.
Madame Olga: Honestly, I did not even plan I nobody knows what was happening in the world. Nobody still knows, you know, back to March, everybody's completely lost. Now it's December. Everybody's still completely lost. Yeah, it's just, you know, what the hell is going on? But, um, the teaching, transformation reinventing online on social media. I didn't plan this this. If I remember, my friend said “Olga, you should do this. You should do this now.” Like, “Let's reach people Let's meet people around the world. Instagram Live is a thing now. It's this opportunity.” She said, my friend said “Do it.” I didn't even think to do I just I don't really think very often I just do things I just feel I feel and I listen and I just create or whatever. So it was accident. Instagram Live was total accident. I just started and I was like, “This is nice. I like this.” I love connecting to the people around the world. It's beautiful. It's a strange blessing for the difficult things that the planet is experiencing right now.
“Instagram Live was total accident. I just started and I was like, “This is nice. I like this.” I love connecting to the people around the world. It’s beautiful. It’s a strange blessing for the difficult things that the planet is experiencing right now.”
The Instagram Live to connect to people. It was a blessing somehow that happens.
Julie Gill: You give us all light and positivity in your classes who who gives it to you who helps who helps you maintain your positivity and light through this time? Who's your inspiration?
Madame Olga: You know, I has to admit it's called to maintain the positivity and positivity and light because I cast you cast this if I'm going to give this so I every day is I guess to say “What do I need today to find my lights my positivity so I can give.” I meditate, I pray, I look to my family for love. My mom, my friends are incredible. They're all so happy, happy people, I surround myself this happy, positive, funny, people. Funny. My friends are hysterical. So this is a way to look to keep in the light and keep in the place of love and not fear in the darkness. No.
I try to read books, maybe people that I believe, know more than me, I believe you can learn something from everybody. But if there's like a motivational speaker, or meditation, meditation CDs, I try to do lots of different things, I really do find that meditating kind of just really calms me down, not like I'm calm. But if I just do even just two minutes, if I just do two minutes, and I stop, and I just get quiet.. You know what I do, I learned this from a book, they said, very simple. You can pick a word, a word or a phrase, and you can say the word, and then you meditate on this word, or this phrase, like, you know, light or safety, you just say, light and you just meditate and the word will just trinkle into your body and become part of you. So I believe in the power of energy, that you can go boop to the positive or you can go to boop to the the basement, you know.
Julie Gill: You talk a lot in class about the power of your thoughts and the power of what you visualize and what you put out into the world. You know, we say a lot of things in your class. Is that where this is coming from as well?
Madame Olga: Yes, I strongly believe just because I has experienced both sides. I has experienced where I say negative things, again, and again and again about myself. My legs is ugly. I wish I was more beautiful. Why am I not perfect. And saying that and living that I can see when I do this. or when I did this, how it's affected my life, my life my career. And I could see like, “Okay, this is what I was saying and thinking was putting me this direction. So let me see how my life could possibly change if I change what I think and I say” and when I doing this, I actually see the results of a better happier existence. So I has experienced this side and as experienced other side so I think it's like… it's not scientific proof but I think it's really obvious to me that's what what's your thinking and saying can affect.. you know?
“I has experienced where I say negative things, again, and again and again about myself. My legs is ugly. I wish I was more beautiful. Why am I not perfect. And saying that and living that I can see when I do this. or when I did this, how it’s affected my life, my life my career. And I could see like, “Okay, this is what I was saying and thinking was putting me this direction. So let me see how my life could possibly change if I change what I think and I say” and when I doing this, I actually see the results of a better happier existence. So I has experienced this side and as experienced other side so I think it’s like… it’s not scientific proof but I think it’s really obvious to me that’s what what’s your thinking and saying can affect”
Julie Gill: Yeah, you get out you get back what you put out?
Madame Olga: Yeah, and I'm learning this every days and sometimes I say terrible things and I get into bad place and I say I find myself blah blah blah bad bad bad negative and no it's not good then I has to flip it around. I'm not perfect even though everybody thinking I am. I'm very close to perfect.
Julie: 98 99%
Madame Olga: Yes, everybody knows
Julie: Do you meditate in Russian?
Madame Olga: Sometimes. I always thinking in Russian, of course like English is you know, second language, it’s difficult for me but when they I thinking, when I dancing in my head I hearing my Russian teachers screaming at me all the time But um, yeah, I do. A little bit Russian, a little bit English.
Julie: Multitalented
Julie Gill: So many of our listeners, especially here at Roche are adult dancers, adult learners learning ballet for the first time. They come to me worried that they're old or tight or stiff or can't do it. What do you what do you what do you have to say to them?
Madame Olga: Well, maybe they is old and tight! Ha, I’m kidding.
Julie Gill: But even if they are old and they can they still do it?
Madame Olga: They can do anything. The first thing to think is to not say “I can't do it, I shouldn't do it, or I shouldn't try, or I'm too old. I'm too tight." The first thing is to try to eliminate those sentences, those thoughts and those words. What good is that going to do? “I'm too old. I'm too tight.” I mean that. No! Anything is possible. Let's say someday I'm 90 years old, and I want to start to learn to paint. I will start! My grandfather was teaching himself to play piano when he was 80 years old. He said I want to play, and he started to play at 80. You know, um, you can do anything at any age.
“They can do anything. The first thing to think is to not say “I can’t do it, I shouldn’t do it, or I shouldn’t try, or I’m too old. I’m too tight.” The first thing is to try to eliminate those sentences, those thoughts and those words. What good is that going to do? “I’m too old. I’m too tight.” I mean that. No! Anything is possible. Let’s say someday I’m 90 years old, and I want to start to learn to paint. I will start! My grandfather was teaching himself to play piano when he was 80 years old. He said I want to play, and he started to play at 80. You know, um, you can do anything at any age.”
And the good news for the older dancers, the body, the body's living, breathing thing, and it responds to energy and to repetition, and the body can be manipulated. The muscles can be manipulated. So let's say for the turnout, for instance, you thinking, “I have no turnout. I'm here.” Little by little, you can you can push the body. You can push the body. The body can be transformed at any age.”
“And the good news for the older dancers, the body, the body’s living, breathing thing, and it responds to energy and to repetition, and the body can be manipulated. The muscles can be manipulated. So let’s say for the turnout, for instance, you thinking, “I have no turnout. I’m here.” Little by little, you can you can push the body. You can push the body. The body can be transformed at any age.””
Julie: Even if you're really old.
Madame Olga: Yeah!
Julie: Like really old. Really, really tight.
Madame Olga: Yes, if you have determination, you massage the muscles do do the roller and, and stretch and breathe and the problem is a lot of people, old and young. They're not breathing. They're not breathing. They go to stretch the leg. They got to stretch the leg [holds leg up OVER HER HEAD, see image]. And they’re holding. They’re holding. Do you know how much more result you're going to get if you’re breathing? This is a big problem. And I'm tight. You're tight because you're not breathing stupid!
Julie Gill: So, yeah, it seems really stupid! If you're not breathing that's so natural for people to do. Why are we not breathing? What's going on with that?
Madame Olga: We're not breathing because we we forgot as a child when somebody scared us like our parents or some stupid teacher said [incoherent yelling]. And then we started to gasp. And then we forgot, because the child in us stopped breathing because of some moments or moments. This happens to lots of human beings. And it's not anybody's fault. Nobody wanted to to hurt anybody. They just didn't know the difference, you know. So now as adults, we have to undo that tension. And that trauma and they're not breathing, the holding because of the pain we we have to relearn how to breathe, as a as an old person, like me. I didn't breathe in until more recently, in the beginning of my ballet career, nothing went in, and nothing went out. Nothing.
Julie Gill: So when we breathe, when we breathe, and we dance at the same time. How are we supposed to still be perfect? If you're balancing if you're holding your fifth, if you're holding everything tight, how are you supposed to breathe, you have to hold this incredible position.
Madame Olga: Right I mean, when you holding the position, of course everything has to be working. But the first thing to remember is that the breaths is part of the movement. The breathing is part of every …. arm, arm, the back, the back, the legs, the plié, the jump…. everything moving together because ballet is based on math… mathematic… math mathematics, coordination. It’s all coordinated So the breath is part of the movement. So if you holding attitude, don’t hold your breath, the breathing is part of the of the position.
Julie Gill: It's what the audience likes to see it makes you a human, it makes you able to connect.
Madame Olga: Yes, and yes, and everybody, I believe everybody breathes a little different. I like I like into the nose, you know, I like to breathe a little bit lower, like lowered into the sides and into the lower back. I like to breathe more lower. Up here? [gasp] No. Breathing lower down into the back.
Julie Gill: So question for you, when when a dancer is really learning some of these messages around self love around accepting yourself around loving yourself and getting that positive message? Where will they get the motivation from to find Perfect Fifth, if no one's yelling at them and hitting them with a stick? How will they learn that?
Madame Olga: Well, I always say, the biggest teacher you will ever have, is yourself. Even when I teach people, I always tell them, “Yes, I'm going to give you some things but you know who's going to be the biggest teacher of your life. You.” You've learned the most from you. You can't give a teacher of the credit. “Oh, my professor in the school taught me everything I know.” No, they taught you a lot but you… it's inside of you. It was always there inside of you of what you can do and, and what who you are and what you can become. If you want the perfect fifth position. It's really up to you. It's not up to somebody else to say, fifth, fifth fifth. It's up to you to tell yourself fifth.
“Well, I always say, the biggest teacher you will ever have, is yourself. Even when I teach people, I always tell them, “Yes, I’m going to give you some things but you know who’s going to be the biggest teacher of your life. You.” You’ve learned the most from you. You can’t give a teacher of the credit. “Oh, my professor in the school taught me everything I know.” No, they taught you a lot but you… it’s inside of you. It was always there inside of you of what you can do and, and what who you are and what you can become. If you want the perfect fifth position. It’s really up to you. It’s not up to somebody else to say, fifth, fifth fifth. It’s up to you to tell yourself fifth.”
Julie Gill: It's hard to believe sometimes that you can have all of this within you already. When you when you look out at how incredible all of this is that you're trying to achieve. It's it's amazing to think that all of it is already inside of you. And you have to look for it and search for it and uncover it. It's amazing thought.
Madame Olga: Yes, it's all inside to do that. Yes, you're going to learn from so many teachers, every teacher every teacher can teach you something even the stupid teachers can teach you something, I think. So you take, you take, you take, you take, but the most beautiful part of you is from you, not because somebody told you “Put your arm over here.” Yeah, it's nice. Of course, this is kind of supposed to be correct. But the most wonderful part of you is just who you are. You're different, you're special, everybody's unique. If you know they has to shine. They has to shine their light in their own way, everybody everybody has their own way of shining. Ut doesn't cast to be like him or her or me. You shine how you shine.
“the most beautiful part of you is from you, not because somebody told you “Put your arm over here.” Yeah, it’s nice. Of course, this is kind of supposed to be correct. But the most wonderful part of you is just who you are. You’re different, you’re special, everybody’s unique. They has to shine. They has to shine their light in their own way, everybody has their own way of shining. It doesn’t has to be like him or her or me. You shine how you shine.”
Julie Gill: That's really nice message especially in ballet, which can feel so conformist. That's a really nice message that every person is still very individualistic and is expressing it through their own way.
Madame Olga: Yes, and I believe this is a little bit lost in ballet right now. Because people is dancing, like [mimics robot] not with feelings like they used to, I'm sorry, but back in the day, you know, in the 70s and 80s. This was dramatic. This was dramatic and lots of… lots of emotion. This is a little bit lost. And I'm hoping for the best that this little by little is coming back.
It's not a sport. It's not in the Olympics to say, you know, can you jump to the 10 feet high and you get to score! This is not ballet!
“Yes, and I believe [the individualism] is a little bit lost in ballet right now. Because people is dancing, like [mimics robot] not with feelings like they used to, I’m sorry, but back in the day, you know, in the 70s and 80s. This was dramatic. This was dramatic and lots of… lots of emotion. This is a little bit lost. And I’m hoping for the best that this little by little is coming back.
It’s not a sport. It’s not in the Olympics to say, you know, can you jump to the 10 feet high and you get to score! This is not ballet!”
Julie Gill: is it time to start learning that like let's say it's your third class and you haven't quite figured out a tendu yet. Are you allowed to start dancing and expressing yourself yet or should you wait until a little later?
Madame Olga: No. Absolutely in the beginning the heart is involved. Even in your first moment of, Okay, this is plié, this is how we do plié and the plié is eight counts, so slow and you're shaking and the muscles is like what what is this? I've never used these muscles before. But right away in the beginning, you dancing and you listening to the music and you.. you do both… you the heart, and you start to do the technique. Because this is why you dancing. You're not dancing just because you want to do fifth position. You're dancing, because you want to dance.
“Absolutely in the beginning the heart is involved. Even in your first moment of, Okay, this is plié, this is how we do plié and the plié is eight counts, so slow and you’re shaking and the muscles is like what what is this? I’ve never used these muscles before. But right away in the beginning, you dancing and you listening to the music and you.. you do both… you the heart, and you start to do the technique. Because this is why you dancing. You’re not dancing just because you want to do fifth position. You’re dancing, because you want to dance.”
Julie Gill:That's right. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Last question for you today really is rather open ended? Any last message that you want to share with our listeners, especially those who maybe have some self-doubt about their own dancing abilities? Or, you know, maybe maybe could use a little bit of encouragement right now in this crazy time?
Madame Olga: Yes, I would like to say if you feel fear, or doubt or low confidence, or you don't like your body, you don't know where your life is going because you feel like the world is paused and it's upside down. I think the best thing you can do is go to the mirror, look in the mirror in the bathroom or the living room wherever you has. And look in your eyes, look in your beautiful eyes, into your soul. And say, “I love you.” This is something you can do every day. You can look into your eyes and just take a look and really, really look. Take a moment and you're looking and you go “There I am. That's me. That's me. I see me. I see myself in my eyes and I love you.” This is the best thing you can do.
Julie Gill: What a great message to end on I everyone out there listening should go experience Madame Olga's classes whether on Instagram TV or on Madame Olga's new Madame Olga TV, where you can dance anytime and get these positive messages anytime of the day. Amazing ballet training as well. It's really been such a pleasure to talk with you today and have you on the show. Your energy and positivity just radiates and you’ve really been a light during this time for so many of us out there and more than I think you even know.
Madame Olga: Thank you so much darling. And you're a beautiful light as well and you just keep doing what you're doing because you're doing such wonderful things.
Julie: Thank you