Dance
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I MARCH 2018 35
from his home country to make them and
ship them to the United States.
Though Handanovic is strict with his
dancers, he said his teaching style also
allows children to feel more connected with
their parents’ culture and learn discipline.
“The children who are coming here
they’re learning language, they’re learn-ing
culture and they make friends,” he
said. “I learned to be strict because when
you’re dancing you need to be very, very
disciplined. Discipline teaches you what
kind of person you’re going to be outside.
Most of the children, when they finish
here, they’re doctors, surgeons. I’m proud
of the children.”
Danis Lalicic,16, is from Sunnyside and
has been attending practices since he was
10. His family is from Montenegro.
“I found a passion for it,” he said. “Back
then when I was little I didn’t really see the
point of this but when I started going to
weddings and parties and stuff like that I
realized why I should keep on going. You
get to hang out with people from your
own country and get to interact with more
people that are from the same place as
you and you can bond better.”
The students also participate in national
folk dance competitions and have gone
to Canada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania
and other states to compete against other
teams.
Some parents bring two or three of
their children to classes and according to
Handanovic, some students who met at the
classes have gotten married, had children
and now bring their kids to his school.
Vahida Murataj has been bringing her
12-year-old daughter Miranda to Kud Hala-turko
since she was 8 years old.
“She liked dance so we decided to give
it a try,” Murataj said. “It’s close to home
and it was a nice place to bring her get to
know other kids from her culture. We keep
our kids off the street. Instead of hanging
out on a Friday night on a Saturday night
they’re here up to the age of 17 or 18.”
Murataj’s family hails from Montenegro
but are ethnic Albanians. Though she does
not know how to perform these traditional
folk dances, she wanted her daughter
to learn.
“You know everyone here and they’re
like family,” said Miranda Murataj. “It’s not
just like one star or one main person per-
Photos courtesy of Angela Matua
Photos courtesy of Angela Matua
