Nike, Fighting Style Grappler, Dancer, Greece Beach Classic

Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the first Prime Minister of India and a central figure in Indian politics before and after independence, was once quoted as saying, “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

Nike, an accomplished dancer, world traveler and wrestler at the historical Fighting Style tournaments in Greece never met Mr. Nehru who passed away in 1964, but her spirit and zest for life certainly mirrors his suggestions and life philosophy.

**fciwomenswrestling.com article, fightingstyle.com photo credit**

Karen Alexandria Kain, from Hamilton, Ontario is a retired Canadian ballet dancer, and currently the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada.

In 1973, she won silver in the women’s competition and another silver for best pas de deux (with Frank Augustyn) at the second International Ballet Competition in Moscow.

She was once quoted as saying, “Dancers, like all performing artists, like nothing better than to be challenged.”

As our female submission world continues to expand into the world of dance and other inside female sports, Nike is a fine example of another dancer who sought to expand her athletic skills and wrestle as well.

Some of her matches were against Hera, Kahti and Joanna to name a few.

She fought with spirit, intensity and determination.

Here is a brief review by Femcompetitor Magazine of her historical matches.

FEMCOMPETITOR MAGAZINE REVIEWS

“It was like going on vacation to review some of the videos of the sleek, sensuous German dancer Nike who wrestled at the Fighting Style tournament in Greece.

When she met gorgeous, shapely Joanna on the beach, both girls were sporting light colors and with the crowd anticipating a good match sitting in the background, the two beauties circled each other.

The German Dancer was the aggressor and wrestled the Greek beauty down into the sand and made it extremely hard for her to escape. This went on for some time as Nike used her long legs and held the advantage.

As the crowd and the beautiful girls sat on the beach providing an audience, Nike would meet up with the shapely Auburn haired Hera.

The height difference between the two was substantial and so was the competitiveness of the match.

Nike dominated from start to finish at one point sitting on top of the sexy Hera for what seemed like an eternity. Give Hera credit though. She did manage to get Nike to submit and all the more amazing was that Hera accomplished this while she was below Nike. Ultimately she was too much for the curvy maiden.

As we found out when traveling back in time to review her matches, Daphne was one tough blonde and Nike found that out as well. This was an intense match and Nike often found herself in trouble at the mercy of some mean body scissors applied by Daphne.

The signature match in our eyes was when Nike met the formidable Kahti.

Sporting black and very Darth Vader like in the beginning of the match, Kahti took control and kept Nike in pain. To Nike’s credit she endured the pain and turned the tables, gathering herself and pouncing on top of Kahti. From there she trapped her in an upper neck and body scissors. Kahti fought valiantly, thought about tapping out and didn’t then thought about it again and again and finally the pain was too much and the tough Kahti tapped out.”

There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish.……Warren Bennis

Since Nike explored our world, let’s briefly explore the world of contemporary dance in Germany.

In America we certainly have our plethora of television dance shows and Germany is no different. One of the most popular is Got to Dance, a dance – talent show that has been produced since 2013. It is an offshoot of the eponymous British mission, which is produced since 2009. The show is recorded in Cologne.

What about the more formal side of dance in this great country?

Dancers are made, not born.…….Mikhail Baryshnikov

Our tour begins at the site hamburgballett.de which explains, “The School of the HAMBURG BALLET, established in 1978, trains young people from all over the world for a professional dance career.

The syllabus gives priority to all aspects of classical-academic dance – such as pas de deux, pointe work, classical and contemporary variations, and Neumeier-repertoire. The syllabus also includes courses dedicated to the techniques of modern and character dance and is complemented by Pilates and strengthening classes. The syllabus puts a strong emphasis on classes in choreographic composition. The academic program also includes anatomy, music theory and dance history.

All classes are held in the Ballettzentrum Hamburg – John Neumeier. This building, previously a high school for girls, is one of the last buildings designed by the famous Hamburg architect Fritz Schumacher. It has been converted into a training facility with nine studios, used by the HAMBURG BALLET, the National Youth Ballet and the school.”

Now for a little bit of German dance history.

Heike Hennig is a German dancer, choreographer and director of the opera and dance ensemble “Heike Hennig & Co”.

Ms. Hennig had her first dance lessons at the age of 5 years in Leipzig. In 1989, through her escape from East Germany (GDR), she was able to study modern dance, choreography and Body-Mind Centering (BMC) in Cologne and at Moving on Center – School for Participatory Arts and Research in Oakland, California; she then studied in the US with teachers such as Steve Paxton. Following that, Heike Hennig worked in Brazil and Portugal.

In 1995 she came back to Germany.

From 1998 onwards, she worked as a freelance choreographer and teacher. She instructed body- and moving-oriented teaching-methods at the Gret Palucca-School in Dresden, the University of Leipzig and the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig as well as in interdisciplinary workshops including anatomy, painting and choreography.

In 2000, Heike Hennig founded the FZTM (Forum of Contemporary Dance and Music) in Leipzig, together with Friedrich U. Minkus, and her ensemble Heike Hennig & Co. As director she developed numerous stage pieces and interdisciplinary art projects at many different stages and art institutions in Leipzig, Berlin, Dresden and Weimar, among other places.

Germany as we know is a country full of wonder and endless adventures. We just touched upon the surface of her world of dance but we can see how Nike could expand her love of life through dance in her home country.

We are certainly ecstatic that Nike decided to expand her athletic adventures into the world of wrestling for our enjoyment. As Mr. Nehru stated, we do live in a wonderful world and beautiful women like Nike who decided to give competitive wrestling a try is proof of that.