Sport in HSE: how to study and do sport in one spot

In January 2020, a gym for students was opened in Building T, and all sports activities in the HSE Cultural Centre will be free until the end of the month. Which activity to choose, from whom to learn and where to look for information? See the guide below.

Yoga

Obviously none of us seeks to break out of the wheel of samsara, staying in downward-facing dog pose. For a long time, yoga became not spiritual, but quite bodily practice and excellent gymnastics, on which, by the way, the system of Soviet exercise therapy grew.

Three times a week, yoga classes in the HSE Cultural Center are conducted by student Alyona Kuzmina and participation doesn’t require knowledge of mantras or the ability to fold legs in a lotus pose. But the abundance of asanas, where the head is down, helps improve cerebral circulation, which in turn has a positive effect on the functioning of your brain – this is a fact.

Alyona builds classes based on Hatha Yoga with elements of Vinyasa Flow. “This is an indispensable base of asanas, yoga poses with smooth transitions, able to immerse into a state of flow, give lightness and relaxation to the mind,” says Alyona about the effect. Schedule can be found here.

 

Dances

The HSE Dance community was founded by Polina Kolesnichenko, a 2nd year student of the 'Advertising and Public Relations' HSE programme. She has been engaged in dancing for 12 years. HSE Dance classes are held in the dance hall of the HSE Cultural Centre on the ground floor by students for students – hip-hop is taught by fresher of the Faculty of Law Vlad Bulanov, there is still latin, jazz funk and vogue, which are conducted by other students, and the schedule is reported on Instagram and on VK group.

By the way, vogue is a very interesting genre, the basic movements of which are the catwalk and hand moves from 90s rave culture. With the vogue plasticity you will just save your face at the most glamorous party. 

Typically, each lesson requires registration, but until the end of January all groups are free to visit!

Contemporary dance with Sona

On Sundays, classes are held with the legend of the HSE dance culture. This is Sona Hovsepyan, a professional choreographer who has been training students since 2007. In 2016 step dancers under her mentorship at the XIII Worldwide Dance Olympiad won 10 gold medals.

Now Sona focuses on contemporary style – this is a type of modern dance, in fact it’s also ballet, movements require plastic and a certain stretch and are based on the performer’s direct creativity, there are no rules, and a performer is free to express himself or herself through spontaneous gestures. “Every movement will only be beautiful when it truthfully and sincerely expresses feelings and thoughts”, said Isadora Duncan, the founder of the contemporary dance, about the essential part of this revolutional style.

At the moment, recruitment to the contemporary dance group is in progress; no special training is required. Classes with beginners start in February and will be held on Mondays and Fridays at 19:00, you can sign up by phone: 8 (919) 727 83 00.

Ping-Pong

The table tennis hall is located on the ground floor of Building Z. But firstly, you will need to complete the ‘finding a hall’ quest. It promises to be a very exciting journey through the mazes of the buzzing womb of the basement of the HSE Cultural Centre. But if the craving for sports is strong, then you will certainly reach the goal – inconspicuous signs and arrows will lead you to the hall, which works every day from 12:00 to 22:00 and does not require an appointment.

There are rackets and balls. In many ways its underground atmosphere resembles the formation of Ping Pong Club Moscow. By the way, ping-pong fans claim that the sport taught them to predict future events, because they have to be guided by “scanning” the opponent’s intentions during the game, and in this skill they achieve incredible results.

Gym with a trainer

What marked the year 2020 is the opening of a gym for students. At the end of 2019, a gym for employees was opened in Building S, and now in the room T203 from 12:00 to 22:00 there is a space where students can make not only a healthy mind but a healthy body too. This is the gym with two treadmills, two exercise bikes and elliptical trainer, as well as everything you need for basic exercises: dumbbells, bench press, barbells, squat rack and other equipment. Gym is closed on Sundays .

In order to start classes, you need a doctor's permission. A stern-looking but very responsive coach Mikhail will help with your training. “Just don’t think that if you buy Nike sneakers from ad and a fashionable sweatshirt, you become a sportsman. You need to train not for your image, but for your health,” says Mikhail, so fill up with zen and pump iron as it is.