Ms. Navka and Mr. Burkovsky danced to the signature song from Life Is Beautiful. The song was performed by the Israeli singer Achinoam Nini, known by her stage name, Noa, and the dance was choreographed by Ilya Averbukh, a Russian ice dancer and former Olympic medalist, who is Jewish.
The film, directed by Roberto Benigni, about a man who seeks to protect his son by convincing him that the Nazi persecution they were experiencing was part of an elaborate game, was nominated for the 1999 Academy Award for Best Picture and won the Oscar for best foreign-language film. Mr. Benigni, who also starred in the film, won best actor. Some have criticized the film, however, for sentimentalizing one of the darkest events in history.
In a post on Instagram, Ms. Navka suggested that the dance routine had intended to draw attention to the film.
Show this movie to your children, she wrote. Our children need to know and remember that terrible time, which I hope, God willing, they will never know.
Two million to three million Soviet prisoners of war were murdered by the Nazis, and tens of millions of Soviet citizens died during the war, a toll greater by far than that suffered by any other country.
Although the war is generally seen in Russia as a triumph over fascism, Russia has a reputation for anti-Semitism and pogroms going back to the czarist era. Mr. Putin has condemned the Holocaust and has taken part in commemorations.
