Ballroom dancer finds her place as teacher in unique space

By Christina Lent

The Beaverton Valley Times, May 28, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Jonathan House / Beaverton Valley Times

Tatyana Olar helps Jeff Olenick and Amy Shapiro with their form during a private dance lesson at Tatyana's Ballroom, a studio her family created in Beaverton.

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Tatyana Olar is living the American dream.

She has built a new life for her family while also establishing a flourishing ballroom dance studio, where the former Ukrainian dance champion can share her passion for teaching the swing, salsa, cha-cha, tango, waltz, fox trot and other popular dances she loves with others.

“It’s a dream that keeps growing and getting better and better,” she said.

Olar is the owner and lead instructor of Tatyana’s Ballroom, 6280 S.W. Arctic Drive, tucked into the Allen Business Park in Beaverton.

Sitting in the newly expanded studio her family transformed from a cold, concrete warehouse to a welcoming, luxurious ballroom, Olar remembered a time when she thought she would have to give up her dream of dancing.

“I cannot imagine my life without dancing,” she admitted. “It’s been a dream to be able to continue with my passion.”

Olar grew up in the former Soviet Union.

She began taking her first ballroom classes in fourth grade.

“It was appropriate and common to take ballroom classes in school,” Olar said. “It happened that I liked dancing very much and continued with it for many years after.”

As a budding young dancer, Olar said she was fortunate to discover she had a gift on the dance floor. Under the direction of talented dance instructors, she and her partners found success in dozens of competitions throughout the Soviet Union.

At the age of 19, Olar found a new way to enjoy the dances that brought her so much joy by teaching young children how to perform the intricate steps and move together across the floor in beautiful patterns.

The dance floor is a canvas, she said.

“Dancers add colors onto the dance floor like a painting,” Olar added. “It’s really fascinating to be surrounded by music and let it all go through your system, your body and feel it through your muscles.

“I have danced all my life, but there is no comparison to how much I enjoy teaching. As a teacher, you can change the lives of your students. The best rewards come when you see their transformation from people into dancers and see how happy they are, the smiles on their faces and how dancing has made their lives better.”

Yet Olar nearly had to walk away from her dream of transforming others into ballroom dancers.

A new beginning

When Olar was 23, she immigrated to the United States with her parents Gregory and Natalya Olar and her 4½-year-old son Vladimir Anokhin.

In 1992, they settled in the Beaverton area to be reunited with Olar’s aunt and uncle.

“When I moved I didn’t think I would be able to keep teaching,” Tatyana Olar admitted. “I was ready to do anything.”

Finding her place in a new country was a challenge for Olar, who at the time was a single mother with the added responsibility of having to ease her parents’ transition into a new culture.

“In one day our roles switched,” Olar recalled. “It was difficult at first, especially not knowing the language.

“It took a year before I began speaking English. I’m still learning even after 16 years.”

After more than a year of working full time with Lutheran Community Services, Olar found her way to a local ballroom dance studio, where she became an instructor until the birth of her youngest son Max.

She continued giving private lessons and teaching small classes.

As ballroom dancing became more popular and her sons got older, Olar needed to find a place to open a studio.

Labor of love

In June 2005, she opened Tatyana’s Ballroom after a major remodel of the warehouse space off of Allen Boulevard.

The transformation was a labor of love for the Olar family, with everyone pitching in to do their part from laying the wood dance floor to painting and hanging decorations to finding the right furniture to add to the feel of the large ballroom.

“I could see a clear picture of everything in my mind,” Olar said. “The idea is I wanted colors in here to be pleasant and homey.

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