Las Vegas woman to perform free concert of works from her native Tajikistan, Persia, Russia and more

Zarina Koilova is set to perform at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Winchester Cultural Center at 3130 S. McLeod Drive. The last big show Koilova performed was in 2002 at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., as part of the Silk Road Festival, a collection of Central Asian performers.

She danced before Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright and the Aga Khan, the Imam of Ismaili Muslims.

When the performance was over, she slipped out in the wee hours of the morning and defected from Tajikistan.

"We traveled a lot, and the KGB was always with us," Koilova said. "We couldn't talk to anybody. They were always watching us. But on this trip there were no KGB. An Iranian lady, a doctor, helped me."

At the time, Tajikistan had gone from being a Soviet Republic to a devastating civil war and years of famine. Even so, Koilova was unsure about leaving it behind.

"The doctor, she told me, 'You're going to stay here. You're going to change your life.' And that's what happened," Koilova said. "I left my son behind. He was 12. It was very dangerous for him, but I didn't have a choice. We had war, no food, no electricity, no gas for 11 years."

Not long after her defection, she met and married Patrick Standridge. Standridge's business partner's brother was working for Edwin Meese, a former Reagan cabinet member, and it was through Meese that the pair met.

Standridge spearheaded the drive to bring Koilova's son to America.

"He wrote a letter to a senator," Koilova said. "My son was alone in my country for three years. He's 23 now, and he works with my husband."

Koilova is set to perform traditional dances from Uzbekistan, Persia, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.

"A lot of the dances are traditional Persian dances," said Standridge, who plans to narrate the performance. "She's more Persian than Russian. She speaks English, Russian and Farsi."

Koilova has been dancing since she was 8 and has traveled across Europe and Asia to perform. This week's show will be her first Las Vegas performance.

The family moved to Las Vegas seven years ago. Standridge is a steel broker, and until recently, Koilova was a medical student.

"I dropped out," Koilova said, laughing. "It was boring and difficult. I'm a dancer. I love to dance. I love to perform."

Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 380-4532.