Roxanka Kuželová with the trophy of European and Asian champion in Irish dancing.
Photo: Martina Kuželová
Roxanka, or Roxy, as they call her at home, showed a relationship to music and rhythm from an early age. She started systematic training two years ago. It all started with the Riverdance fairy tale, which she saw and where she really liked how the characters jump and dance there. The Kuželovs decided to find something for their five-year-old daughter where she could develop her hobby. “I found out that we have a great school of Irish dancing, even near our house, so we took it there for a test,” recalls Martina Kuželová.
It was a good choice, it turned out to be tailor-made for Roxy. “Irish dances are very demanding. It’s about having a good ear, rhythm and movement skills. You also need to practice and drill a lot. But whoever falls in love with it, it’s love forever,” explains Martina Kuželová. Roxanka found herself in all of this: She has talent, which was also demonstrated at the last championship, hard work does not hinder her, and above all – she enjoys dancing and enjoys it very much.
Training sessions? If necessary, even every day
If you want to fully dedicate yourself to Irish dancing, it really takes time and hard work, just like any other sport or art. In Bratislava’s Avalon Academy of Irish dances, where Roxy trains, there are training sessions three times a week for two hours. “If necessary, and if the parents and the child want, they can also arrange extra individual lessons,” adds Martina. For example, their Roxy now had five training sessions a week before the championship. It was quite easy to reconcile it with school – since Roxanka is a first-year student, she enjoys school and is managing everything without difficulty so far.
Roxy with trainer Adriana Šturdíková in Dubai.
Photo: Martina Kuželová Martina praises the cooperation with coach Mgr. Adriana Šturdíková TCRG, to whom, as she says, they owe a lot. “He has his skills, vast experience and a great attitude. If it wasn’t for her, Roxy isn’t where she is. She works hard in her classes, at the same time there is a great team, the babies are friends, they enjoy fun, and they also cultivate discipline,” she says.
There are also quite frequent competitions, at home or abroad (Prague, Vienna), but not all of them are attended. “The coach will recommend those that make sense for the child. And of course, according to the location and the financial possibilities of the parent. If we wanted, we could be somewhere else almost every week. But that would be very difficult – both for the child and financially.”
Kuželov players see the competition as an opportunity to get to know other countries and their culture. “To travel with some goal and purpose,” laughs Martina. This last one in Dubai was not an ordinary competition, where one gradually progresses from individual dances to higher categories up to the so-called “Open”, but it was the Championship of Continental Europe and Asia, where Roxy won gold in her U7 category (that is, under 7 years old).
“Above all, let him enjoy…”
Martina with her husband Ladislav, who is a well-known gastroenterologist and from today also the new general director of the University Hospital – St. Michal in Bratislavathey support their daughter in dancing as best they can, but they don’t pressure her into anything.
“Roxy has talent and we want to support her, but we don’t want to blow anything. It’s still true that she has to enjoy it above all,” emphasizes Martina Kuželová. At the moment, they mainly live in the present, they do not deal with the future. “At her age, we cannot yet estimate whether it will be permanent or whether her attitude will change during puberty. For now, she really enjoys dancing, she wants to do it, and every success moves her further. But the main thing is that he enjoys it. And we with her.”
For the Kuželovs, it is a priority that their children master foreign languages and enjoy what they do.
Photo: archive of Martina Kuželová
He is learning Chinese
In addition to dancing, Roxanka likes to draw and foreign languages are certainly not foreign to her – she is fluent in English, Spanish, is learning Chinese and now also German at school. It’s normal for the Kužel family. “All our children learn languages from a young age – it’s a priority for us,” says the mother.
In addition to Roxy, the Kužel family have two older sons – Richard and Robert. When Roxy joined them exactly on Christmas seven years ago, they took her as a Christmas present. Her father found an unusual name for her. “We didn’t know the name for a long time, I think only a few days before she was due, my husband and I concluded it. We wanted another R name, but we didn’t like anything common, so when my husband found Roxana in some calendar, we chose this one. In the end, we are very glad that we gave it, because it is like tailor-made for her,” says Martina.
Joy on stage.
Photo: Martina Kuželová
2023-12-02 10:04:31
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