We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elena Grinenko. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elena below.
Hi Elena, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
In the very beginning it was my mom who brought me to the Ballroom dance. I was only 7 years old, but I fell in love with it right away. At that age you don’t really think that it is your purpose in life, you just follow your passion and desire to be better. I happened to be a very competitive person and dancing and competing at the same time was perfect for me. I looked at kids that were already dancing more than me and I had a desire to get there as soon as I could and to be honest better than them 🙂 In any sport you have a friend/rivery relationship with your teammates. You love them but you want to win.
Somewhere at 13 I decided that it’s what I want to do in my life. I have a list of what I want to achieve and by what age it will happen. Talking about the law of attraction. When you really desire something all your thoughts are directed that way and you take steps towards those goals.
Once you find something that you are passionate about and you set your goals, nothing is impossible.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a former competitive Ballroom Dancer. National and World Champion. Why former? Because I no longer compete. Like in any sport, people retire from competitions at an earlier age, each sport has its different age line. I decided to retire at 29 on the peak of my career. That was part of my childhood list to retire before 30, so I can have kids. After I crossed over to as I call it an official part of the business. I coach other competitive couples to achieve their goals in dance, help them become better dancers and I also judge competitions. This is where your career takes a very different turn from putting all your time and knowledge into your own body to helping other dancers achieve the same with their bodies if not better than you, that’s the goal to make the next denegation of dancers achieve more. It becomes a new passion to help them become better, create something that makes them unique. It is extremely satisfying to see the progress they make. It feels like you have clay and create a unique master peace. You can find all my dance related info on www.ElenaGrinenko.com
My other projects were alway related to dance. I had a dance studio LA Ballroom, dance competition DSF, dance talk shows DanceJunkies and DanceTalkTV and even a Ballroom Dance talent agency Grinya Talent. Dance is my passion, my life, it’s who I am, but in the back of my mind I was always thinking that I want to do something else in my life besides dance. Dancing and practicing during your competitive career and then teaching takes a toll on your body. Have something in life that does not require that is hard to find when you love something so much. But because I was determined to do so, I finally opened an accounting firm with my friend, which is very far from art and dance 🙂 but gives me something different, where I can grow, learn and develop in different spheres and does not require standing on my feet all day. You can find info about the company on www.KBTaxAdviser.com
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
You can’t achieve anything on your own. It takes a village to raise a child. Having people that support you and help you is very important. If it’s not your papants, it can be your mentors, coaches, people that can guide you to make the right decisions. Find people that inspire you to be better, surround your life with those people, learn from them and see yourself grow. And then of course practice, practice, practice.. Try, try, try and if you fail, recognize your mistakes, let go and move on. You can’t be perfect, you can only become better by trial and failure. Until you find what absolutely works for you, put 1000% into that, to make sure you are the best at what you do as an individual, to become unique.
Listen to all opinions, they are valuable even if they don’t work for you. Collect that knowledge, but don’t lose yourself. Choose the path that is yours to build.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I was born and raised in the USSR before the country fell apart in 1990 and became 15 different counties, like it is now. 1970th born kids that still remember that regime, we are I think the last generation of children that was raised in a TOUGH LOVE situation, where you don’t really have a choice. Discipline was very strict when I was a child. My mom was the drive of that tough love. She is the one who pushed me to the extreme, to be the way I am today. A lot of that was not necessarily pleasant and we had a lot of differences and fights, but as an adult right now, I can only say that made me who I am today and helped me through my career and my immigration. My dad was much softer, which helped me to see the other side of tough love and see that not everything is a battlefield, which I value a lot. Because of mom, I can go through the walls when needed and because of dad I don’t just jump to attack that wall right away, I stop, think, talk it out and then make decisions and if I can avoid conflict and resolve it, I choose that option. You find yourself a lot of times in a life situation when people around you look at it like it’s the end of the world and you look at it and start making rational instead of emotional decisions about how to be in that situation and you move on. Kids that grow up in harsh environments are more adaptable to tough situations. My country definitely gave me that and my parents did the best they could in the environment we were in.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elenagrinenko.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenagrinenko/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElenaGrinenkoDancer
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElenaGrinenkoDance
- Other: KB Tax Adviser: https://kbtaxadviser.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/kb_tax_adviser/
