SIX-year-old Eva swings into a backbend with ease, then assesses herself in the large mirror at the end of the dance studio and rewards herself with a contented smile.
Two dozen Ukrainian children in the room, including one boy, try to do the same, but only a few manage, while the rest end up sitting and watching in awe.
They all attend a free ballet course for Ukrainian refugee children, opened by Prague's National Theatre at the end of March, a month after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
"My daughter and I went to see the Sleeping Beauty ballet at the state opera... We jumped at the opportunity!" said Eva's mother, Yuliya Petronchak.
She and Eva left the western Ukrainian city of Lviv for Prague on the first day of the invasion to escape "the constant air alarms", while Eva's father stayed at home.
More than 4.5 million refugees have left Ukraine since the invasion started on February 24, and around 300,000 have ended up in the Czech Republic.
Like many children taking part in the course, Eva has experience from home -- she went to the State Choreographic School in Lviv for six months before leaving.
- 'The cradle of classical dance' -
"I have already spotted some talents," said Jana Jodasova, a former dancer at the National Theatre for 20 years who now teaches ballet.
At the beginning of the lesson, she helps the little dancers choose leotards and ballet shoes out of three bags provided by the parents of Czech children attending her regular classes.
She assesses the fit and sometimes sends a dancer back to the changing room with a different leotard.
The properly dressed little ballerinas meanwhile practise pirouettes on their own or test the firmness of the bars on the sides of the dance studio.
Jodasova came up with the idea soon after the Russian invasion started as she watched "the horrors" on TV.
"Russia and Ukraine are the cradle of classical dance, most kids over there go to ballet classes at least for some time," the energetic 59-year-old told AFP.
"Ballet is one of the things they can't live without."
Moments later, she faces a crowd of around a hundred mothers with their children queueing outside the building to register for the free course.
- 'Arms and legs' -
The new role has forced Jodasova to dig up her long-forgotten command of Russian, forced onto Czechs and other nations under Moscow's communist realm until 1989.
"I communicate with the children using my arms and legs and very poor Russian. But I feel we can understand each other," she said.
When she struggles, she turns to eight-year-old Alisa Kolesnikova, who was born to Russian parents in Prague and who attends Jodasova's regular course for local children.
Alisa, who has attended the ballet school for three years and wants to become a ballerina, relishes the opportunity as she guides the refugee children through the practice.
"I really love to show things to the kids, especially the beginners," the ginger-haired, blue-eyed dancer told AFP.
- Hoping to return -
One of the youngest children at the refugee course, five-year-old Vasilisa Malakutska, is no beginner either.
"I first took her to a ballet class when she was four and she didn't feel too well about it, but I think now is the right time," said her mother Ekaterina Malakutska, a marketing expert from Kyiv.
She is contemplating a ballet career for her daughter, just like Yuliya Petronchak is for little Eva.
"Either a ballerina or a doctor," university teacher Petronchak told AFP, adding that although Eva was happy at the Prague course, her future was in Ukraine.
"The safety of the child is key. But if there are no alarms in western Ukraine... we hope to return. As soon as possible."
ETX Studio
Tue Apr 19 2022
Ukrainian exercise during a ballet lesson organized by the School for children affected by the war in Ukraine on April 13, 2022 at State Opera in Prague. - ETX Studio
Ringgit ditutup kukuh berbanding dolar AS
Pada 6 petang, ringgit meningkat kepada 4.7650/7710 berbanding dolar AS daripada 4.7745/7775 ketika ditutup pada Khamis.
[TERKINI] Elaun masuk akaun bank tapi saya tak mahu - PM
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim memaklumkan, beliau memulangkan semula elaun diterimanya sebagai Pengerusi Khazanah Nasional Berhad.
Usia Persaraan: KWSP disaran sediakan pinjaman untuk akaun 1 penyimpang
KWSP disaran untuk lebih kreatif bagi membantu penyimpan capai jumlah ideal untuk zaman persaraan, iaitu sekitar RM240,000.
Penganalisis Ekonomi Dr Barjoyai Bardai mencadangkan KWSP pertimbang beri pinjaman untuk akaun 1, dengan syarat ia tidak boleh diganggu.
#AWANI745
Penganalisis Ekonomi Dr Barjoyai Bardai mencadangkan KWSP pertimbang beri pinjaman untuk akaun 1, dengan syarat ia tidak boleh diganggu.
#AWANI745
MoF tiada rekod surat kelulusan Najib
Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur diberitahu, Kementerian Kewangan tidak mempunyai pengetahuan mengenai dua surat kelulusan yang ditandatangani oleh Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak selaku Menteri Kewangan.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
Kes saman Ahmad Zahid terhadap Muhyiddin selesai secara baik
Kes saman yang difailkan Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi terhadap bekas Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, selesai secara baik di Mahkamah Tinggi hari ini.
AWANI Borneo [26/04/2024] - Permintaan terkahir Joanna | Cakna kepentingan pertahanan | Jangan takut ugutan
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas dari Borneo bersama Nickyson Nyambar;
#AWANIBorneo 26 April 2024
Suami mendiang Joanna dedah hasrat isteri untuk Gawai ini
Sarawak berpotensi jadi pemain industri pertahanan negara
Jangan berdiam, Armizan minta pemilik syarikat minyak lapor jika terima ugutan
#AWANInews
#AWANIBorneo 26 April 2024
Suami mendiang Joanna dedah hasrat isteri untuk Gawai ini
Sarawak berpotensi jadi pemain industri pertahanan negara
Jangan berdiam, Armizan minta pemilik syarikat minyak lapor jika terima ugutan
#AWANInews
Gelombang haba bawa derita baharu, risiko penyakit ke Gaza
Peningkatan suhu melampau luar jangka di seluruh Gaza menambah derita yang dihadapi warga Palestin setiap hari di semenanjung itu.
Tarikh akhir pengemukaan Borang E dan CP8D dilanjutkan hingga 31 Mei
Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN) hari ini memaklumkan tarikh akhir pengemukaan Borang E dan C.P.8D dilanjutkan hingga 31 Mei ini.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: AS terus beri tekanan kepada Turki
AS yang merupakan rakan sekutu Israel dilaporkan terus memberi tekanan yang hebat kepada Turki untuk tidak memberi kebenaran pelayaran misi Break The Siege Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.
Rumah terbuka himpunkan penduduk pelbagai kaum Kinabatangan
Sekitar 3,000 pengunjung daripada pelbagai kaum dan agama menghadiri rumah terbuka aidilfitri daerah Kinabatangan.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Republik Czech mulakan operasi pasar terbuka selepas sebulan perintah berkurung
Kerajaan negara itu minggu lalu membenarkan operasi premis perniagaan dan perkhidmatan tertentu secara berperingkat.
Empat cedera jambatan runtuh di Prague
Empat cedera dalam satu kejadian tanah runtuh di Prague, Republik Czech pada Sabtu.
Sepanyol dan Itali menang, Ireland kecewa
Sepanyol memulakan kempen mempertahankan kejuaraan dengan kemenangan 1-0 ke atas Republik Czech, Itali kalahkan Belgium manakala Ireland seri akibat gol sendiri.