Ukrainian dance
Encyclopedia
Ukrainian dance refers to the traditional folk dance
s of the peoples of Ukraine
.
Today, Ukrainian dance is primarily represented by what ethnographers
, folklorists
and dance historians refer to as "Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dances" ' onMouseout='HidePop("21056")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Ukrayins'ki Narodno-Stsenichni Tantsi), which are stylized representations of traditional dances and their characteristic movements that have been choreographed for concert dance
performances. This stylized art form has so permeated the culture of Ukraine
, that very few purely traditional forms of Ukrainian dance remain today.
Ukrainian Dance is often described as energetic, fast-paced, and entertaining, and along with traditional Easter eggs (pysanky), it is a characteristic example of Ukrainian culture instantly recognized and highly appreciated throughout the world.
clay vessels, dance
has been performed in the lands of present-day Ukraine since at least the third millennium BC. It has been assumed that up to the introduction of Christianity in Kievan Rus' in 988, dance served a very important ritual function in the lands of present-day Ukraine. Pre-Christian rituals combined dance with music, poetry, and song. A remnant of these ritual dances ' onMouseout='HidePop("74197")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Obryadovi tantsi; see also Khorovod
y) which survive in limited form today are the Spring Dances, or Vesnianky
, also referred to as Hahilky, Hayilky, Hayivky, Yahilky, or Rohulky. Another seasonal event featuring dances was the yearly pre-harvest festival of Kupalo
, which to this day remains a favorite theme for Ukrainian choreographers
.
These religious
ritual dances proved to be so strongly ingrained into the culture of the people prior to the introduction of Christianity, that rather than attempting to eliminate them, Christian
missionaries
incorporated Christian themes into the song
s and poetry
which accompanied
the dancing, using the dances to spread their religion, as well as enabling millennia-old steps and choreographic forms to continue to be passed down from generation to generation.
At about the time of Ukraine's Kozak uprisings, social dances became more and more popular with the people native to the lands of present-day Ukraine. Ukrainian social dances ' onMouseout='HidePop("28596")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Pobutovi tantsi) can be distinguished from the earlier Ukrainian ritual dances by two characteristics: the prevalence of musical accompaniment without song, and the increased presence of improvisation. The early Hopak
and Kozachok
developed as social dances in the areas surrounding the Dnipro river, while the Hutsulka
and Kolomyjka
sprang up in the Carpathian mountains
to the west. Eventually, social dances of foreign extraction such as the Polka
and Quadrille
also gained in popularity, developing distinct variations after having been performed by native dancers and musicians gifted in improvisation
.
The third major type of Ukrainian folk dancing which developed prior to the modern era were the thematic or story dances ' onMouseout='HidePop("57680")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Siuzhetni tantsi). The story dances incorporated an artistically sophisticated level of pantomime
and movement which entertained audiences. Thematic story dances told the story of a particular group of people through movements which mimicked their work; such dances included Shevchyky , Kovali , and Kosari .
By the turn of the eighteenth century, many of these traditional dances began to be performed, or referred to thematically, by a blossoming theatrical trade. Peasant
or Serf
Theaters entertained the subjucated native peoples of present-day Ukraine, who remained relegated to lower social classes in their own homelands, while their foreign rulers often lived lavishly in comparison, importing foreign entertainers and their dances. It is within this context that staged Ukrainian folk dances, which depicted the ideals of an agrarian
society, gained even more popularity with the native population, which further developed the theater into a thriving occupation.
(b. 1880, original surname Kostiv), an actor
, choir
conductor
, and amateur musicologist. Verkhovynets had acquired a professional level of training in the arts as part of Mykola Sadovsky's theatrical troupe, which had itself incorporated a distinguished level of folk dance in its productions of dramas based on Ukrainian folk themes. While touring central Ukraine with the theatrical troupe, Verkhovynets' would take off whenever he could and visit the villages surrounding the cities he was performing in, in order to learn about and record the villages' traditional dances. His landmark book which he based upon this research, Theory of Ukrainian Folk Dance (Teopiя Українського Hapoднoго Taнкa) (1919), brought together for the first time the various steps and terminology now recognized by all contemporary students of Ukrainian dance. It also fundamentally altered the nature of Ukrainian folk dance by setting dances on a stage (with the audience seated at the front, two wings, and a backdrop), and laid out a method of transcribing folk dances, which was later put into use across the Soviet Union
. This book has since been reprinted five times (the last time in 1990) and remains a basic instructional text of Ukrainian dance.
The history of Ukrainian dance diverges at this stage of Vasyl Verkhovynets career. Because of the aftermath of the Russian Revolution
, it would develop contemporaneously both in Ukraine as well outside of the Iron curtain
for more than 40 years. In Ukraine, Verkhovynets remained involved in the training of the next generation of dancers, while outside of Ukraine Vasyl Avramenko
, building on Verkhovynets' work, would develop the art form in the Ukrainian diaspora
.
, Mykola Bolotov, and Halyna Beryozova were choreographing with folk steps and forms. During this period (between the world wars), the three-part Hopak
was developed by Verkhovynets.
In 1937, Pavlo Virsky and Mykola Bolotov founded the State Folk Dance Ensemble of the Ukrainian SSR
, with the goal of elevating folk-stage dance to its highest artistic level, and solidifying it as a viable stage art form. Although the group was disbanded during the Second World War, Lydia Chereshnova (who had directed the Ukrainian Song and Dance Ensemble entertaining troops during the war) brought it back into existence in 1951. After Vakhtang Vronsky of the Odessa
Opera Theatre directed for a few seasons, Pavlo Virsky
returned as artistic director of the State Folk Dance Ensemble of the Ukrainian SSR
from 1955 until his death in 1975. During this twenty-year period, Pavlo Virsky demonstrated tremendous creativity in his choreography and propelled Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance to a world-renowned level.
Other notable Ukrainian choreographers and companies include:
, Australia
, the United States
, and South America
. Many village dances had survived the trip abroad and retained their traditional place at community gatherings (as documented in Andriy Nahachevskyy's book Social Dances of Ukrainian-Canadians). However, it was through the work of Vasyl Avramenko that Ukrainian dance secured a foothold in the West, developing as its own artform.
Vasyl Avramenko (1895–1981), began his career as a dance instructor at a Polish internment camp in 1921, having previously studied the theatrical arts in Kiev
, and later with Mykola Sadovsky's troupe, where he met and received training from Vasyl Verkhovynets. After the war
, Avramenko toured western Ukraine, instructing where he could, but eventually setting out to spread Ukrainian dance throughout the world. After travelling through Poland
, Czechoslovakia
, and Germany
, Avramenko came to Canada
in 1925.
Avramenko was able to create a dance troupes by enlisting local immigrants in Canada almost immediately upon his arrival. His missionary zeal soon spread a series of dance schools throughout Canada, including the cities of Toronto
, Calgary
, Oshawa
, Hamilton
, Fort William
, Port Arthur
, Kenora, Winnipeg
, Edmonton
, Yorkton, Regina
, Vegreville, Canora
, Dauphin
, Windsor
, and many others.
Eventually, Avramenko would establish schools in the United States, including New York City
, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Utica
, Yonkers, Buffalo
, Boston
, and others.
Avramenko created many Ukrainian dance groups in his lifetime. A nomad by nature, he would often stay in one area for only 2–3 months at a time, or about as long as it took him to teach his entire set of dances to a new group of students. When he eventually left a town, Avramenko would appoint a leader to continue teaching the dances. Many of these appointed leaders later created their own Ukrainian dance groups. One of these leaders was Chester Kuc, who founded the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company
in Edmonton
in 1969. Because of this "Johnny Appleseed
" approach to his artform, Vasyl Avremenko is known in the Ukrainian diaspora as the "Father of Ukrainian Dance," and is credited with spreading this Ukrainian dancing across the world.
Avramenko's students toured much of North America
, performing to tremendous acclaim at important venues such as World's Fair
s, and the White House
. He once even gathered over 500 dancers to appear on stage with him in a lavish evening of Ukrainian dance performed at New York's Metropolitan Opera House
, in 1931. Avramenko eventually moved into film production in the United States, producing film versions of the Ukrainian opera
s Natalka Poltavka
and Cossacks in Exile, as well as other Ukrainian dramas, starring Ukrainian immigrants, and always featuring Ukrainian dancing.
In 1978, the Ukrainian Dance Workshop was started in New York by several leading teachers of Ukrainian dance in North America, including Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky
. Trained in Lviv
, Vienna
, and later Winnipeg
, Pryma-Bohachevsky had toured the world before settling in the United States and becoming the country's most prolific teacher and choreographer of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance. For over twenty-five years, her direction of the Ukrainian Dance Workshop, and her Syzokryli Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, not only developed some of the finest Ukrainian dancers of North America, but also attracted already-established dancers. This combined pool of talent allowed Roma Pryma to try ever more innovative choreography, evoking modern Ukrainian themes such as the murder of outspoken musician Volodymyr Ivasiuk and the Chernobyl disaster
. After developing the next generation of Ukrainian folk-stage dance instructors, establishing numerous schools and instructional intensives, choreographing hundreds of dances, and teaching thousands of students, Pryma-Bohachevsky died in 2004.
was Vladimir Kania, who organized his first adult dance ensemble in Perth
in 1951, and ran that ensemble and others for decades. Kania had been trained in Ukrainian dance in his hometown of Jarosław.
Another early innovator in Australia was Natalia Tyrawski, who founded the Ukrainian National Ballet (later renamed "Veselka") in 1952 in Sydney
. Tyrawski had studied and performed professionally in Ukraine, and continued to teach Ukrainian dance in Australia for almost fifty years.
In the 1960s, Vasyl Avramenko
visited Australia and experienced similar successes in developing dancers on yet another continent and promoting the Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance style which he and Vasyl Verkhovynets
had pioneered. Most of Avramenko's influence in Australia stemmed from his massive workshops, which were attended by students of various ages.
Marina Berezowsky moved to Perth, Australia with her husband in 1949, after having performed with numerous dance companies in Ukraine. After working extensively with the West Australian Ballet
and the Australian Ballet School
, she founded and became artistic director and resident choreographer of the Kolobok Dance Company in Melbourne
in 1970, in the wake of successful Australian tours by various international folk dance companies. Kolobok's goal was to give artistic expression to the varied dance traditions brought to Australia by Ukrainians and other immigrants.
The "Kuban Cossacks" dance troupe was formed in 1956 in Melbourne, and led by Wasyl and Lilly Kowalenko, achieved international success for their performances of Ukrainian cossack dances and songs. By 1989 the troupe had appeared in 13,000 live shows in 30 countries, and had appeared on 160 television shows.
Ukraine has many ethnocultural regions, many with their own music, dialect, form of dress, and dance steps. The scholarship of Verkhovynets and Avramenko, however, was mostly limited to the villages of central Ukraine. Gradually, others began filling in the gaps of this research, by researching the dance forms of the various ethnic groups of western Ukraine, publishing this scholarship, and founding regional dance ensembles. Most of this research, however, occurred after Verkhovynets' and Avramenko had already toured Ukraine, which limited the available sources of "traditional dance" knowledge to isolated villages or the immigrant communities who left their native territories before Verkhovynets and Avramenko began touring.
Because of the spread and influence of Verkhovynets and Avramenko's early work, most of the dances representing these ethnocultural regions, as performed by modern-day Ukrainian folk-stage dance ensembles, still incorporate the basic steps of bihunets and tynok, although new variations between "regional" styles of dance have developed as a result of more and more advanced instruction and choreographies becoming prevalent. Story (character) dances, such as pantomimed fables, and staged ritual dances are not necessarily linked to particular regions.
The stage costumes adopted by modern-day Ukrainian dance ensembles are based on traditional dress, but represent an idealized image of village life, with dancers identically dressed in vibrant colors untarnished by time or nature. While the dance-steps, costumes, and music differ from dance to dance, it is important to realize that many of these variations are modern-day choreographic constructs, with changes having been made to advance the art more than to preserve cultural traditions.
The "regional dances" of Ukrainian dance include:
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
s of the peoples of Ukraine
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
.
Today, Ukrainian dance is primarily represented by what ethnographers
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
, folklorists
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and dance historians refer to as "Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dances" ' onMouseout='HidePop("21056")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Romanization of Ukrainian
The romanization or Latinization of Ukrainian is the representation of the Ukrainian language using Latin letters. Ukrainian is natively written in its own Ukrainian alphabet, a variation of Cyrillic....
Ukrayins'ki Narodno-Stsenichni Tantsi), which are stylized representations of traditional dances and their characteristic movements that have been choreographed for concert dance
Concert dance
Concert dance is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is usually choreographed and performed to set music.By contrast, social dance and participation dance may be performed without an audience and, typically, these...
performances. This stylized art form has so permeated the culture of Ukraine
Culture of Ukraine
Ukrainian culture refers to the culture associated with the country of Ukraine and sometimes with ethnic Ukrainians across the globe. It contains elements of other Eastern European cultures as well as some Western European influences. Within Ukraine, there are a number of other ethnic groups with...
, that very few purely traditional forms of Ukrainian dance remain today.
Ukrainian Dance is often described as energetic, fast-paced, and entertaining, and along with traditional Easter eggs (pysanky), it is a characteristic example of Ukrainian culture instantly recognized and highly appreciated throughout the world.
Pre-modern history
Judging by the figures depicted in motion on TrypillianCucuteni culture
The Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, also known as Cucuteni culture , Trypillian culture or Tripolye culture , is a late Neolithic archaeological culture which flourished between ca...
clay vessels, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
has been performed in the lands of present-day Ukraine since at least the third millennium BC. It has been assumed that up to the introduction of Christianity in Kievan Rus' in 988, dance served a very important ritual function in the lands of present-day Ukraine. Pre-Christian rituals combined dance with music, poetry, and song. A remnant of these ritual dances ' onMouseout='HidePop("74197")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Romanization of Ukrainian
The romanization or Latinization of Ukrainian is the representation of the Ukrainian language using Latin letters. Ukrainian is natively written in its own Ukrainian alphabet, a variation of Cyrillic....
Obryadovi tantsi; see also Khorovod
Khorovod
Khorovod is a Slavic art form, a combination of a circle dance and chorus singing, similar to Chorea of ancient Greece.- External links :*...
y) which survive in limited form today are the Spring Dances, or Vesnianky
Vesnianky
Vesnianky are spring dances performed in the lands of present-day Ukraine which have been performed for thousands of years. While they pre-date Christianity, Christian missionaries altered many of the dances by incorporating Christian themes into the songs and poetry which accompany the dancing....
, also referred to as Hahilky, Hayilky, Hayivky, Yahilky, or Rohulky. Another seasonal event featuring dances was the yearly pre-harvest festival of Kupalo
Ivan Kupala Day
Kupala Day is celebrated in Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine currently on the night of 6/7 July in the Gregorian or New Style calendar, which is 23/24 June in the Julian or Old Style calendar still used by many Orthodox Churches. Calendar-wise, it is opposite to the winter solstice holiday...
, which to this day remains a favorite theme for Ukrainian choreographers
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
.
These religious
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
ritual dances proved to be so strongly ingrained into the culture of the people prior to the introduction of Christianity, that rather than attempting to eliminate them, Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
incorporated Christian themes into the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
which accompanied
Accompaniment
In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...
the dancing, using the dances to spread their religion, as well as enabling millennia-old steps and choreographic forms to continue to be passed down from generation to generation.
At about the time of Ukraine's Kozak uprisings, social dances became more and more popular with the people native to the lands of present-day Ukraine. Ukrainian social dances ' onMouseout='HidePop("28596")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Romanization of Ukrainian
The romanization or Latinization of Ukrainian is the representation of the Ukrainian language using Latin letters. Ukrainian is natively written in its own Ukrainian alphabet, a variation of Cyrillic....
Pobutovi tantsi) can be distinguished from the earlier Ukrainian ritual dances by two characteristics: the prevalence of musical accompaniment without song, and the increased presence of improvisation. The early Hopak
Hopak
Hopak , also referred to as Gopak or Cossack dance, is a Ukrainian dance. It is performed most often as a solitary concert dance by amateur and professional Ukrainian dance ensembles, as well as other performers of folk dances...
and Kozachok
Kozachok
Kozachok or kazachok is a folk dance from Ukraine. It is a fast, linear, couple-dance in 2/4, typically in a constantly increasing tempo and of an improvisatory character in a major key...
developed as social dances in the areas surrounding the Dnipro river, while the Hutsulka
Hutsulka
The Hutsulka is a popular Ukrainian folk dance from southwestern Ukraine. It is performed by amateurs, professional Ukrainian dance ensembles as well as other performers of folk dances....
and Kolomyjka
Kolomyjka
The kolomyjka is a Ukrainian folk dance especially popular in southwestern Ukraine. It originated in the eastern Galician town of Kolomyia...
sprang up in the Carpathian mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
to the west. Eventually, social dances of foreign extraction such as the Polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
and Quadrille
Quadrille
Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...
also gained in popularity, developing distinct variations after having been performed by native dancers and musicians gifted in improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
.
The third major type of Ukrainian folk dancing which developed prior to the modern era were the thematic or story dances ' onMouseout='HidePop("57680")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Ukrainian">translit.
Romanization of Ukrainian
The romanization or Latinization of Ukrainian is the representation of the Ukrainian language using Latin letters. Ukrainian is natively written in its own Ukrainian alphabet, a variation of Cyrillic....
Siuzhetni tantsi). The story dances incorporated an artistically sophisticated level of pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
and movement which entertained audiences. Thematic story dances told the story of a particular group of people through movements which mimicked their work; such dances included Shevchyky , Kovali , and Kosari .
By the turn of the eighteenth century, many of these traditional dances began to be performed, or referred to thematically, by a blossoming theatrical trade. Peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
or Serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
Theaters entertained the subjucated native peoples of present-day Ukraine, who remained relegated to lower social classes in their own homelands, while their foreign rulers often lived lavishly in comparison, importing foreign entertainers and their dances. It is within this context that staged Ukrainian folk dances, which depicted the ideals of an agrarian
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
society, gained even more popularity with the native population, which further developed the theater into a thriving occupation.
Modern history
Ukrainian folk-stage dance began the path to transforming into its present incarnation first and foremost through the work of Vasyl VerkhovynetsVasyl Verkhovynets
Vasyl' Mykolayovych Verkhovynets was an actor, conductor, voice teacher, amateur musicologist, balletmaster, choreographer and dance ethnographer He is credited for fundamentally altering the course of Ukrainian dance by devising a method of transcribing dance to paper, recording traditional...
(b. 1880, original surname Kostiv), an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, and amateur musicologist. Verkhovynets had acquired a professional level of training in the arts as part of Mykola Sadovsky's theatrical troupe, which had itself incorporated a distinguished level of folk dance in its productions of dramas based on Ukrainian folk themes. While touring central Ukraine with the theatrical troupe, Verkhovynets' would take off whenever he could and visit the villages surrounding the cities he was performing in, in order to learn about and record the villages' traditional dances. His landmark book which he based upon this research, Theory of Ukrainian Folk Dance (Teopiя Українського Hapoднoго Taнкa) (1919), brought together for the first time the various steps and terminology now recognized by all contemporary students of Ukrainian dance. It also fundamentally altered the nature of Ukrainian folk dance by setting dances on a stage (with the audience seated at the front, two wings, and a backdrop), and laid out a method of transcribing folk dances, which was later put into use across the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. This book has since been reprinted five times (the last time in 1990) and remains a basic instructional text of Ukrainian dance.
The history of Ukrainian dance diverges at this stage of Vasyl Verkhovynets career. Because of the aftermath of the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, it would develop contemporaneously both in Ukraine as well outside of the Iron curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
for more than 40 years. In Ukraine, Verkhovynets remained involved in the training of the next generation of dancers, while outside of Ukraine Vasyl Avramenko
Vasyl Avramenko
Vasyl Kyrylovych Avramenko was a Ukrainian actor, dancer, choreographer, balletmaster, director, and film producer, credited with spreading Ukrainian folk dance across the world...
, building on Verkhovynets' work, would develop the art form in the Ukrainian diaspora
Ukrainian diaspora
The Ukrainian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Ukrainians, especially those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national identity within their own local community.-1608 To 1880:After the loss...
.
Development in Ukraine
Classical choreographers in Ukraine began to turn to Vasyl Verkhovynets for his expertise when incorporating the increasingly popular folk motifs into their works. In addition to established names like V. Lytvynenko and Leonid Zhukov, younger choreographers like Pavlo VirskyPavlo Virsky
Pavlo Pavlovych Virsky was an innovative dancer, balletmaster, choreographer, and founder of the P. Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble, whose work in Ukrainian dance was groundbreaking and influenced generations of dancers....
, Mykola Bolotov, and Halyna Beryozova were choreographing with folk steps and forms. During this period (between the world wars), the three-part Hopak
Hopak
Hopak , also referred to as Gopak or Cossack dance, is a Ukrainian dance. It is performed most often as a solitary concert dance by amateur and professional Ukrainian dance ensembles, as well as other performers of folk dances...
was developed by Verkhovynets.
In 1937, Pavlo Virsky and Mykola Bolotov founded the State Folk Dance Ensemble of the Ukrainian SSR
P. Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble
P. Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble is a world-renowned Ukrainian dance company based out of Ukraine, well known for its innovative approach to the art form. The ensemble was created in 1937 by Pavlo Virsky and Mykola Bolotov, and guided by Pavlo Virsky until his death in 1975. During...
, with the goal of elevating folk-stage dance to its highest artistic level, and solidifying it as a viable stage art form. Although the group was disbanded during the Second World War, Lydia Chereshnova (who had directed the Ukrainian Song and Dance Ensemble entertaining troops during the war) brought it back into existence in 1951. After Vakhtang Vronsky of the Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
Opera Theatre directed for a few seasons, Pavlo Virsky
Pavlo Virsky
Pavlo Pavlovych Virsky was an innovative dancer, balletmaster, choreographer, and founder of the P. Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble, whose work in Ukrainian dance was groundbreaking and influenced generations of dancers....
returned as artistic director of the State Folk Dance Ensemble of the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
from 1955 until his death in 1975. During this twenty-year period, Pavlo Virsky demonstrated tremendous creativity in his choreography and propelled Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance to a world-renowned level.
- The Ukrainian Folk Choir, founded under the direction of Hryhoriy VeryovkaHryhoriy VeryovkaHryhoriy Huriyovych Veryovka was a Ukrainian composer, choir director, and teacher.-External links:*...
in KharkivKharkivKharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
in 1943, including a contingent of dancers under directors Oleksander Dmytrenko, Leonid Kalinin, and later O. Homyn. - The Chornohora Songs and Dance Ensemble was founded by Yaroslav Chuperchuk in 1946, and renamed Halychyna in 1956.
- The Dnipro Dance Ensemble was founded in DnipropetrovskDnipropetrovskDnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
prior to WWII, and flourished under Kim Vasylenko from 1947. Vasylenko has written numerous times on the topic of Ukrainian folk-stage dance, including the classic Lexicon of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance. - The Yatran Dance Ensemble was founded in KirovohradKirovohradKirovohrad , formerly Yelisavetgrad, is a city in central Ukraine. It is located on the Inhul River. It is a motorway junction. Pop. 239,400 ....
in 1949, and gained great renown beginning in 1957 under director Anatoliy Krivokhyzha
Development in North America
Ukrainian immigrants brought their native traditions to the lands they settled, largely in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Many village dances had survived the trip abroad and retained their traditional place at community gatherings (as documented in Andriy Nahachevskyy's book Social Dances of Ukrainian-Canadians). However, it was through the work of Vasyl Avramenko that Ukrainian dance secured a foothold in the West, developing as its own artform.
Vasyl Avramenko (1895–1981), began his career as a dance instructor at a Polish internment camp in 1921, having previously studied the theatrical arts in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, and later with Mykola Sadovsky's troupe, where he met and received training from Vasyl Verkhovynets. After the war
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Avramenko toured western Ukraine, instructing where he could, but eventually setting out to spread Ukrainian dance throughout the world. After travelling through Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Avramenko came to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1925.
Avramenko was able to create a dance troupes by enlisting local immigrants in Canada almost immediately upon his arrival. His missionary zeal soon spread a series of dance schools throughout Canada, including the cities of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Fort William
Fort William, Ontario
Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...
, Port Arthur
Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...
, Kenora, Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Yorkton, Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, Vegreville, Canora
Canora, Saskatchewan
Canora is a town located at the junction of highways No. 5 and 9 in east-central Saskatchewan, north of the city of Yorkton. Centrally located on the corners of four adjacent rural municipalities, the community is home to approximately 2,400 residents and draws upon a substantial trading area...
, Dauphin
Dauphin, Manitoba
Dauphin is a small city in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 7,906 as of 2006. The nearby lake was given the name "Dauphin" by the explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye in 1741 in honour of the heir to the French throne...
, Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, and many others.
Eventually, Avramenko would establish schools in the United States, including New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, Yonkers, Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and others.
Avramenko created many Ukrainian dance groups in his lifetime. A nomad by nature, he would often stay in one area for only 2–3 months at a time, or about as long as it took him to teach his entire set of dances to a new group of students. When he eventually left a town, Avramenko would appoint a leader to continue teaching the dances. Many of these appointed leaders later created their own Ukrainian dance groups. One of these leaders was Chester Kuc, who founded the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company
Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company
Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company is a Ukrainian dance company based in Edmonton, Alberta and a leader of Ukrainian dance in Canada. It was founded in 1969 by Chester and Luba Kuc and named after the Cheremosh River that separates the historic regions of Bukovyna and Galicia in Ukraine...
in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
in 1969. Because of this "Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed , born John Chapman, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
" approach to his artform, Vasyl Avremenko is known in the Ukrainian diaspora as the "Father of Ukrainian Dance," and is credited with spreading this Ukrainian dancing across the world.
Avramenko's students toured much of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, performing to tremendous acclaim at important venues such as World's Fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
s, and the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. He once even gathered over 500 dancers to appear on stage with him in a lavish evening of Ukrainian dance performed at New York's Metropolitan Opera House
Metropolitan Opera House (39th St)
The Metropolitan Opera House was an opera house located at 1411 Broadway in New York City. Opened in 1883 and demolished in 1967, it was the first home of the Metropolitan Opera Company.-History:...
, in 1931. Avramenko eventually moved into film production in the United States, producing film versions of the Ukrainian opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s Natalka Poltavka
Natalka Poltavka (opera)
Natalka Poltavka is an opera in three acts by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko, based on the play Natalka Poltavka by Ivan Kotlyarevsky, first performed in 1889.-Background:...
and Cossacks in Exile, as well as other Ukrainian dramas, starring Ukrainian immigrants, and always featuring Ukrainian dancing.
In 1978, the Ukrainian Dance Workshop was started in New York by several leading teachers of Ukrainian dance in North America, including Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky
Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky
Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky was an internationally recognized dancer and choreographer, who instructed thousands of students in the art of ballet and Ukrainian dance.-Education:...
. Trained in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and later Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Pryma-Bohachevsky had toured the world before settling in the United States and becoming the country's most prolific teacher and choreographer of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance. For over twenty-five years, her direction of the Ukrainian Dance Workshop, and her Syzokryli Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, not only developed some of the finest Ukrainian dancers of North America, but also attracted already-established dancers. This combined pool of talent allowed Roma Pryma to try ever more innovative choreography, evoking modern Ukrainian themes such as the murder of outspoken musician Volodymyr Ivasiuk and the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
. After developing the next generation of Ukrainian folk-stage dance instructors, establishing numerous schools and instructional intensives, choreographing hundreds of dances, and teaching thousands of students, Pryma-Bohachevsky died in 2004.
Development in Australia
One of the leading figures in the instruction of Ukrainian dance in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
was Vladimir Kania, who organized his first adult dance ensemble in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
in 1951, and ran that ensemble and others for decades. Kania had been trained in Ukrainian dance in his hometown of Jarosław.
Another early innovator in Australia was Natalia Tyrawski, who founded the Ukrainian National Ballet (later renamed "Veselka") in 1952 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Tyrawski had studied and performed professionally in Ukraine, and continued to teach Ukrainian dance in Australia for almost fifty years.
In the 1960s, Vasyl Avramenko
Vasyl Avramenko
Vasyl Kyrylovych Avramenko was a Ukrainian actor, dancer, choreographer, balletmaster, director, and film producer, credited with spreading Ukrainian folk dance across the world...
visited Australia and experienced similar successes in developing dancers on yet another continent and promoting the Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance style which he and Vasyl Verkhovynets
Vasyl Verkhovynets
Vasyl' Mykolayovych Verkhovynets was an actor, conductor, voice teacher, amateur musicologist, balletmaster, choreographer and dance ethnographer He is credited for fundamentally altering the course of Ukrainian dance by devising a method of transcribing dance to paper, recording traditional...
had pioneered. Most of Avramenko's influence in Australia stemmed from his massive workshops, which were attended by students of various ages.
Marina Berezowsky moved to Perth, Australia with her husband in 1949, after having performed with numerous dance companies in Ukraine. After working extensively with the West Australian Ballet
West Australian Ballet
The West Australian Ballet is the premier ballet dance company of Western Australia and is based in Perth at His Majesty's Theatre, Western Australia. The company was founded in 1952 by Madame Kira Bousloff and is one of the oldest ballet companies in Australia. Artistic directors have included...
and the Australian Ballet School
Australian Ballet School
The Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for The Australian Ballet by Dame Margaret Scott. It is part of the Australian Ballet Centre, which is located in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, Southbank in Melbourne, Victoria...
, she founded and became artistic director and resident choreographer of the Kolobok Dance Company in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1970, in the wake of successful Australian tours by various international folk dance companies. Kolobok's goal was to give artistic expression to the varied dance traditions brought to Australia by Ukrainians and other immigrants.
The "Kuban Cossacks" dance troupe was formed in 1956 in Melbourne, and led by Wasyl and Lilly Kowalenko, achieved international success for their performances of Ukrainian cossack dances and songs. By 1989 the troupe had appeared in 13,000 live shows in 30 countries, and had appeared on 160 television shows.
Regional styles of dance
Ukrainian folk dance was fundamentally altered when it began to be performed onstage, as it was transformed into a new art form: Ukrainian folk-stage dance. Once dance masters such as Verkhovynets and Avramenko began gathering a repertoire of dances and touring Ukrainian lands with their troupes, teaching workshops in the villages as they went, the inherent regional variations which stemmed from the improvisational nature of pre-modern Ukrainian folk dances began to slowly fade. The types of dances one would see in one part of the country began to be performed in other parts of the country, and "Ukrainian dances" became a more homogeneous group.Ukraine has many ethnocultural regions, many with their own music, dialect, form of dress, and dance steps. The scholarship of Verkhovynets and Avramenko, however, was mostly limited to the villages of central Ukraine. Gradually, others began filling in the gaps of this research, by researching the dance forms of the various ethnic groups of western Ukraine, publishing this scholarship, and founding regional dance ensembles. Most of this research, however, occurred after Verkhovynets' and Avramenko had already toured Ukraine, which limited the available sources of "traditional dance" knowledge to isolated villages or the immigrant communities who left their native territories before Verkhovynets and Avramenko began touring.
Because of the spread and influence of Verkhovynets and Avramenko's early work, most of the dances representing these ethnocultural regions, as performed by modern-day Ukrainian folk-stage dance ensembles, still incorporate the basic steps of bihunets and tynok, although new variations between "regional" styles of dance have developed as a result of more and more advanced instruction and choreographies becoming prevalent. Story (character) dances, such as pantomimed fables, and staged ritual dances are not necessarily linked to particular regions.
The stage costumes adopted by modern-day Ukrainian dance ensembles are based on traditional dress, but represent an idealized image of village life, with dancers identically dressed in vibrant colors untarnished by time or nature. While the dance-steps, costumes, and music differ from dance to dance, it is important to realize that many of these variations are modern-day choreographic constructs, with changes having been made to advance the art more than to preserve cultural traditions.
The "regional dances" of Ukrainian dance include:
- Central Ukrainian or Kozak Dances, representing the culture and traditions of the Ukrainian Kozaks (Kozaky), PoltavaPoltavaPoltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
and other central Ukrainian lands surrounding the river Dnipro (Dnieper); these are the dances most commonly associated with Ukrainian dance. The culture of central and eastern Ukraine developed under many foreign influences, due to both trade and foreign invasion. The greatest indigenous cultural influence was the semi-military society of the Kozaks, whose love of social dances spawned the HopakHopakHopak , also referred to as Gopak or Cossack dance, is a Ukrainian dance. It is performed most often as a solitary concert dance by amateur and professional Ukrainian dance ensembles, as well as other performers of folk dances...
(youtube), the KozachokKozachokKozachok or kazachok is a folk dance from Ukraine. It is a fast, linear, couple-dance in 2/4, typically in a constantly increasing tempo and of an improvisatory character in a major key...
(youtube), the Povzunets (youtube), the Chumaky (youtube), and many others. The men's costumes for these dances are styled after Kozak dress, with boots, a comfortable shirt, a sash (poyas) tied around the waist, and loose, billowy riding trousers (sharovarySharovarySharovary - men's and women's pants are part of the national clothes of some people - are free to hips, often with assembly at the waist, collected at the bottom near the ankles.- History :...
); common accessories include overcoats, hats, and swords. The women's costumes have subtler variations, since the woman's blouse generally displays more embroideryUkrainian embroideryUkrainian embroidery occupies an important place among the various branches of Ukrainian decorative arts. Embroidery has a rich history in Ukraine, and has long appeared in Ukrainian folk dress as well as played a part in traditional Ukrainian weddings and other celebrations. Appearing all across...
than the men's shirt, the skirt (plakhta) is woven with various geometric and color patterns, and they wear a headpiece of flowers and ribbons (vinok). All of these pieces can vary from village to village, or even based on a family tradition, although most professional ensembles dress their performers with identical costumes, for aesthetic reasons. The style of these dances is acrobatic and physically demanding for the men, who are often showcased individually; women have traditionally played secondary roles, displaying grace and beauty while often dancing in technically demanding unison. - Hutsul Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Hutsulshchyna. While Vasyl Avramenko's Hutsul dances are notoriously inaccurate depictions of the dances of the HutsulsHutsulsHutsuls are an ethno-cultural group of Ukrainian highlanders who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian mountains, mainly in Ukraine, the northern extremity of Romania .-Etymology:...
, the highlanders who inhabit the Carpathian MountainsCarpathian MountainsThe Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
, the demand for additional research to fill in the gaps of Verkhovynets initial work eventually brought about a revived interest in Hutsul customs and traditions, and soon Hutsul and Carpathian dance ensembles had developed the second most-recognizable style of Ukrainian dance. The well known dances of the region of Pokuttia is the Kolomyika (youtube) which is named after the biggest city of the region, Kolomea; the HutsulkaHutsulkaThe Hutsulka is a popular Ukrainian folk dance from southwestern Ukraine. It is performed by amateurs, professional Ukrainian dance ensembles as well as other performers of folk dances....
(youtube 1, youtube 2). The mountainous Hutsul region of Ukraine, Hutsulshchyna, is adjacent to the Romanian regions of BukovinaBukovinaBukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
and MaramureşMaramuresMaramureș may refer to the following:*Maramureș, a geographical, historical, and ethno-cultural region in present-day Romania and Ukraine, that occupies the Maramureș Depression and Maramureș Mountains, a mountain range in North East Carpathians...
, and the regions are ethno-culturally linked. In depicting Hutsuls dances, dancers traditionally wear leather moccasins known as postoly, and decorated vests known as keptari. Men's pants are not as loose as the kozak dress, and women wear a skirt composed of front and back panels, tied at the waist. Hutsul costumes traditionally incorporate orange, brown, green, and yellow embroidery. Hutsul dances are well known for being lively and energetic, characterized by quick stamping and intricate footwork, combined with swift vertical movements. A well-known Hutsul dance is the arkan ('lasso', cf. Romanian arcan), in which men dance around a fire. - Transcarpathian Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Ukrainian ZakarpattiaZakarpattia OblastThe Zakarpattia Oblast is an administrative oblast located in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Uzhhorod...
. Dances from this region are known for their large sweeping movements and colourful costumes, with the general movement being "bouncy". A signature dance from this region is bereznianka. - Bukovynian Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Bukovyna, a transitional highland between UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, historically ruled by the Romanian Principality of Moldavia, as well as the HabsburgHabsburgThe House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
Empire and the TatarsTatarsTatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
. Ukrainian dances depicting Bukovynian music and dance is peppered with dichotomies and contrapuntal themes, perhaps reflecting the political histories of the region. In these dances, both men and women perform a variety of foot-stamps. Usually, the girls' headpieces are very distinctive, consisting of tall wheat stalks, ostrich feathers, or other unique protuberances. The embroidery on the blouses and shirts is typically stitched with darker and heavier threads, and women's skirts are sometimes open at the front, revealing an embroidered slip. - Volyn' Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Volyn'. This region is located in north-western Ukraine. The representative costumes worn by Ukrainian dancers are bright and vibrant, while the dance steps are characterized by energetic jumping, high legs, and lively arms. The dances representing this region have been influenced by the traditional dances of PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, due to Volyn's geographical proximity with Poland, and Poland's extended rule over the area. - Polissian Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Polissia. The steps of Polissian dance as depicted by Ukrainian dancers are characteristically very bouncy and with emphasis on high knee movement. The costumes often incorporate white, red, and beige as the main colors, and girls often wear aprons. A popular Polissian dance is called mazurochky.
- Lemko Dances, representing the culture and traditions of LemkivshchynaLemkivshchynaLemkivshchyna sometimes called Lemkovyna, Lemkivshchyna, Lemkovshchina or Łemkowszczyzna, is the region traditionally inhabited by the Lemkos. It forms an ethnographic peninsula 140 km long and 25–50 km wide from the Ukrainian border within Polish and Slovak territory...
. The ethnographic region of the LemkosLemkosLemkos , one of several quantitatively and territorially small ethnic groups who also call themselves Rusyns , are one of the ethnic groups inhabiting the Carpathian Mountains...
lays mainly in Poland, with a small part falling within current Ukrainian borders. Relatively isolated from ethnic Ukrainians, the Lemko people have a unique lifestyle and ethnography, like that of the HutsulsHutsulsHutsuls are an ethno-cultural group of Ukrainian highlanders who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian mountains, mainly in Ukraine, the northern extremity of Romania .-Etymology:...
, which Ukrainian dance choreographers enjoy depicting. The dance costumes typically depict the men and women with short vests, with the style of dance being light-hearted as well as lively. - Podillian Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Podillia.
- Boiko Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Boikivshchyna.
- Gypsy Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Ukrainian Tsyhany: The Roma people have lived in Ukraine for centuries. Those inhabiting the Carpathian Mountains have even developed their own dialect of the Rom language, as well as customs and traditional dances limited to their own villages. Many Ukrainian folk-stage dance ensembles have incorporated stylized Tsyhans'ky ("Gypsy") dances into their repertoire (youtube(1), youtube(2)).
External links
- Canada's National Ukrainian Festival
- Alberta Ukrainian Dance Association
- Ukrainian Dancing, at Dance.net forums
- Ukrainian Dance on LiveJournal
- Folk!, a documentary film about the U.S. Ukrainian Folk Dance community