Local Parktown North residents might have noticed a very large, magnificent wall mural going up on the wall of 8a, Seventh Avenue this month. This enormous emotive mural depicts the portrait of an elderly lady looking dreamily into the distance while several exquisite ballet dances leap across the rest of the wall.

This impressive scene is the entrance of the Orlovska Dance Academy’s new, expanded premises.

The portrait of the lady in the mural is Ludmilla Orlovska. Her presence in this artform is especially poignant as not only was she the Prima Ballerina at the Lviv National Opera and Ballet House in Ukraine, she was also Academy Director Alisa Balayan’s beloved grandmother.

The mural artist is a renowned South African artist, Nomad (Justin Guy Badenhorst). Nomad is a South African based muralist. His works can be found locally and internationally.

“I am beyond proud and excited about this vibrant centrepiece celebrating our love of dance and our rich legacy spanning multiple generations,” said Academy Director Alisa Balayan. “I so wish my grandmother was alive today to see how far her legacy has exceeded her. On the other hand I am grateful she is not around to see the horror of the war in Ukraine.”

Alisa and her mother Olena both teach at Orlovska Dance Academy and were both taught by Ludmilla back in Ukraine. It has been a bittersweet couple of months for the pair – the excitement of opening a new dance academy tempered by the shock at what is happening in their homeland. They are devastated by the unfolding of this “senseless” war.

There will be an unveiling of the mural and an official opening on …..

The wall mural is a wonderful addition to Parktown North’s vibrant Seventh Avenue. Every time we see Ludmilla’s dreamy expression as we pass 8a we can be reminded of a tremendous legacy being carried through to the young dance students of Orlovska Dance Academy.