Vasyl Avramenko
Encyclopedia
Vasyl Kyrylovych Avramenko (1895–1981) was a Ukrainian
actor, dancer, choreographer
, balletmaster, director, and film producer
, credited with spreading Ukrainian folk dance
across the world. For his unparalleled missionary zeal and his love of Ukrainian culture, he is considered by many to be the "Father of Ukrainian Dance".
, a townlet located on the Ros' River
approximately 100 km south of Kiev
, in present-day Ukraine
during the imperial reign of Russia. Orphaned at a young age, he was forced to wander homeless
as an adolescent
, until he eventually headed east, crossing the vast expanse of Russia towards Siberia
, and reunited with his older brothers in Vladivostok
, on the coast of the Sea of Japan
. There, Vasyl's eldest brother taught him how to read and write, which enabled Vasyl to gain employment at the naval base
. This position allowed Avramenko to visit several major Asian ports as a crewman aboard Russian naval
vessels
; such worldly exposure encouraged in him a greater love of learning, and he returned to study with his brother whenever possible, eventually earning the qualifications to become a primary school
teacher. It was during this time that Vasyl Avramenko saw a production of Ivan Kotliarevsky's
operetta
Natalka Poltavka
in Vladivostok, which Avramenko later recounted as having been the first experience of viewing his fellow Ukrainians on stage.
Avramenko's wandering soul
soon encouraged him to leave Vladivostok. As he was travelling south towards China, World War I broke out and he was pressed into service for the Empire. After receiving basic training
, he was sent off to fight at the Russian front
.
After the war, Avramenko returned to his homeland where he was surrounded by a revived sense of Ukrainian nationalism
, with many clamoring for an independent Ukraine
. Wanting to learn more about his Ukrainian culture, in 1918 he enrolled at the Kiev Conservatory
. There, he would find his calling in the classroom of Vasyl Verkhovynets
, a musicologist
and ethnologist
who had adapted Ukrainian folk dances for the stage. Verkhovynets' theories of Ukrainian dance, which he based on his theatrical training and his extensive research of the village dances of Central Ukraine, would inspire Avramenko to live the life of an artist: after graduating from the Institute, he began performing with Joseph Stadnyk's performers in Stanyslaviv (present-day Ivano-Frankivsk
), and later joined Verkhovynets as a member of the famed theatrical troupe of Mykola Sadovsky in the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi
. During this time, Avramenko took copious notes compiling a vocabulary of Ukrainian dances and dance steps, which he would later develop into his life's work. In his book, Ukrainian National Dances, Music, and Costumes, Avramenko acknowledged the work of Verkhovynets' and the Ukrainian theater in preserving and elevating the legacy of dance in Ukraine.
After a brief period of independence, Ukraine once again was overrun by foreign powers. Consequently, Vasyl Avramenko found himself in a Polish
internment camp in 1921.
and Ballet" on January 25, 1921, in a Polish internment camp near Kalisz
for veterans of the defunct Ukrainian People's Republic
. He began with 100 students (everyone from the guards to small children), teaching them the basic steps of Ukrainian dance, eventually teaching whole dances, and finally putting on a celebrated performance on May 24 of that year.
Avramenko soon became so successful and popular that he set out on tour with a group of his students through present-day western Ukraine, often presenting demonstrations and workshops in the towns he visited, encouraging others to perform his dances and pass them on to others. The tour passed through Lviv
several times between 1922 and 1924, while also visiting Rivne
, Lutsk
, Kremianets, Oleksandriia
, Mezhirich
, Kholm
, Brest-Litovsk, Stryi
, Stanyslaviv
, Kolomyia
, Przemyśl
, Deliatyn, Ternopil
, and Drohobych
in that time.
Eventually, for reasons as yet unknown, Avramenko would turn away from his Ukrainian homeland, and set out to visit Ukrainian enclaves in the rest of Poland, and further off to Podebrady
and Prague
in Czechoslovakia
as well as Delmenhorst
in Germany. In 1925, with the help of Captain John S. Atkinson, then the director of the Canadian Bureau for the Advancement of Music, Vasyl Avramenko, the patriot of the former Ukrainian People's Republic and therefore a "man without a country", was nonetheless granted permission to enter Canada.
The movie Natalka Poltavka
, directed by Vasyl Avramenko, was released on February 14, 1937 in the United States. This was the first Ukrainian language film produced in the United States.
.http://www.cheremosh.ca/dancecompany_history.html He taught these dances in North America, as well as in South America and Australia. During his lifetime, he created many Ukrainian dance studios, including one in New York
where he lived until his death in 1981. He staged performances across Canada and USA, including the Chicago World's Fair
of 1933 and a performance at the White House
. He also produced numerous Ukrainian language
films.http://www.ihrc.umn.edu/research/vitrage/all/am/ihrc265.html
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...
actor, dancer, choreographer
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" ...
, balletmaster, director, and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, credited with spreading Ukrainian folk dance
Ukrainian dance
Ukrainian dance refers to the traditional folk dances 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" , which are stylized representations of traditional dances and their...
across the world. For his unparalleled missionary zeal and his love of Ukrainian culture, he is considered by many to be the "Father of Ukrainian Dance".
Early days
Vasyl Avramenko was born on March 22, 1895 in SteblivStebliv
Stebliv is a townlet located in the Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi Raion of the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine. The townlet rests at a bend on the Ros' River, some 16 kilometres from Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, the district center....
, a townlet located on the Ros' River
Ros' River
Ros is a river in Ukraine, 346 km in length, a right tributary of the Dnieper river. The Ros river finds its source in the village of Ordyntsi in Pohrebyschenskyi Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast....
approximately 100 km south of 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....
, in present-day Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine 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...
during the imperial reign of Russia. Orphaned at a young age, he was forced to wander homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
as an adolescent
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, until he eventually headed east, crossing the vast expanse of Russia towards Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, and reunited with his older brothers in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
, on the coast of the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
. There, Vasyl's eldest brother taught him how to read and write, which enabled Vasyl to gain employment at the naval base
Naval base
A naval base is a military base, where warships and naval ships are deployed when they have no mission at sea or want to restock. Usually ships may also perform some minor repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usually stay on the ships but are undergoing maintenance while...
. This position allowed Avramenko to visit several major Asian ports as a crewman aboard Russian naval
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
vessels
Naval ship
A naval ship is a ship used for combat purposes, commonly by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose...
; such worldly exposure encouraged in him a greater love of learning, and he returned to study with his brother whenever possible, eventually earning the qualifications to become a primary school
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
teacher. It was during this time that Vasyl Avramenko saw a production of Ivan Kotliarevsky's
Ivan Kotlyarevsky
Ivan Petrovych Kotlyarevsky , was a Ukrainian writer, poet and playwright, regarded as the pioneer of modern Ukrainian literature. Kotliarevsky was a veteran of the Russo-Turkish War.- Biography :...
operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
Natalka Poltavka
Natalka Poltavka
Natalka Poltavka is a Ukrainian play written by Ivan Kotlyarevsky.-History:The play was written in 1819 in the Ukrainian language, first performed in 1821 in the city of Kharkiv, though it was not available in print until 1838...
in Vladivostok, which Avramenko later recounted as having been the first experience of viewing his fellow Ukrainians on stage.
Avramenko's wandering soul
Wanderlust
Wanderlust is a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.-Etymology:The loanword from German language became an English term in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering that may be traced back to German...
soon encouraged him to leave Vladivostok. As he was travelling south towards China, World War I broke out and he was pressed into service for the Empire. After receiving basic training
Recruit training
Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...
, he was sent off to fight at the Russian front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
.
After the war, Avramenko returned to his homeland where he was surrounded by a revived sense of Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism refers to the Ukrainian version of nationalism.Although the current Ukrainian state emerged fairly recently, some historians, such as Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Orest Subtelny and Paul Magosci have cited the medieval state of Kievan Rus' as an early precedents of specifically...
, with many clamoring for an independent Ukraine
Ukraine after the Russian Revolution
Ukrainian territory was fought over by various factions after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the First World War, which added the collapse of Austria-Hungary to that of the Imperial Russia. The crumbling of the empires had a great effect on the Ukrainian nationalist movement and in the short...
. Wanting to learn more about his Ukrainian culture, in 1918 he enrolled at the Kiev Conservatory
Kiev Conservatory
The Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music education. Its courses include postgraduate education.-History:...
. There, he would find his calling in the classroom of 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...
, a musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
and ethnologist
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
who had adapted Ukrainian folk dances for the stage. Verkhovynets' theories of Ukrainian dance, which he based on his theatrical training and his extensive research of the village dances of Central Ukraine, would inspire Avramenko to live the life of an artist: after graduating from the Institute, he began performing with Joseph Stadnyk's performers in Stanyslaviv (present-day Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....
), and later joined Verkhovynets as a member of the famed theatrical troupe of Mykola Sadovsky in the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamyanets-Podilsky or Kamienets-Podolsky is a city located on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi...
. During this time, Avramenko took copious notes compiling a vocabulary of Ukrainian dances and dance steps, which he would later develop into his life's work. In his book, Ukrainian National Dances, Music, and Costumes, Avramenko acknowledged the work of Verkhovynets' and the Ukrainian theater in preserving and elevating the legacy of dance in Ukraine.
After a brief period of independence, Ukraine once again was overrun by foreign powers. Consequently, Vasyl Avramenko found himself in a Polish
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...
internment camp in 1921.
Early career
Demonstrating his characteristic zeal, Avramenko began his first "School of Ukrainian DanceUkrainian dance
Ukrainian dance refers to the traditional folk dances 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" , which are stylized representations of traditional dances and their...
and Ballet" on January 25, 1921, in a Polish internment camp near Kalisz
Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
for veterans of the defunct Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic or Ukrainian National Republic was a republic that was declared in part of the territory of modern Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura.-Revolutionary Wave:...
. He began with 100 students (everyone from the guards to small children), teaching them the basic steps of Ukrainian dance, eventually teaching whole dances, and finally putting on a celebrated performance on May 24 of that year.
Avramenko soon became so successful and popular that he set out on tour with a group of his students through present-day western Ukraine, often presenting demonstrations and workshops in the towns he visited, encouraging others to perform his dances and pass them on to others. The tour passed through 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...
several times between 1922 and 1924, while also visiting Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
, Lutsk
Lutsk
Lutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
, Kremianets, Oleksandriia
Oleksandriia
Oleksandriia is a city located in the Kirovohrad Oblast in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Oleksandriiskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast....
, Mezhirich
Mezhirich
Mezhyrich is a village in central Ukraine. It is located in the Kanivskyi Raion of the Cherkasy Oblast , approximately 22 km from the region's administrative center, Kaniv, near the point where the Rosava River flows into the Ros'.-Pre-historic finds:In 1965, a farmer dug up the lower jawbone of...
, Kholm
Kholm
Kholm is a town and the administrative center of Kholmsky District of Novgorod Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Lovat and Kunya Rivers, north of Toropets, southwest of Staraya Russa, and south of Veliky Novgorod. Population:...
, Brest-Litovsk, Stryi
Stryi
Stryi is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine . Serving as the administrative center of the Stryi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. Thus, the city has two administrations - the city and the raion...
, Stanyslaviv
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....
, Kolomyia
Kolomyia
Kolomyia or Kolomyya, formerly known as Kolomea , is a city located on the Prut River in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , in western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative centre of the Kolomyia Raion , the city is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
, Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
, Deliatyn, Ternopil
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
, and Drohobych
Drohobych
Drohobych is a city located at the confluence of the Tysmenytsia River and Seret, a tributary of the former, in the Lviv Oblast , in western Ukraine...
in that time.
Eventually, for reasons as yet unknown, Avramenko would turn away from his Ukrainian homeland, and set out to visit Ukrainian enclaves in the rest of Poland, and further off to Podebrady
Podebrady
Poděbrady is a historical spa town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It lies on the river Labe 50 km east of Prague on the D11 highway. A historic milestone in the life of the town was the year 1905, when it was visited by the German estate owner Prince von Bülow...
and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in 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...
as well as Delmenhorst
Delmenhorst
Delmenhorst is an urban district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located 10 km/6 miles west of downtown Bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the city of Oldenburg is 25 km/15 miles to the northwest. The city has a total area of 62.36 km²...
in Germany. In 1925, with the help of Captain John S. Atkinson, then the director of the Canadian Bureau for the Advancement of Music, Vasyl Avramenko, the patriot of the former Ukrainian People's Republic and therefore a "man without a country", was nonetheless granted permission to enter Canada.
The movie Natalka Poltavka
Natalka Poltavka
Natalka Poltavka is a Ukrainian play written by Ivan Kotlyarevsky.-History:The play was written in 1819 in the Ukrainian language, first performed in 1821 in the city of Kharkiv, though it was not available in print until 1838...
, directed by Vasyl Avramenko, was released on February 14, 1937 in the United States. This was the first Ukrainian language film produced in the United States.
Spreading Ukrainian dance
Avramenko traveled from town to town, teaching the same dance to villagers. His first tours in Canada began in 1926, and ended in 1952.http://www.brama.com/news/press/2003/12/031203ukrainiandance_projectgrant.html When he was finished teaching in a town, he would assign a leader to continue teaching to the villagers. One of these leaders was Chester Kuc, who founded the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance CompanyCheremosh 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...
.http://www.cheremosh.ca/dancecompany_history.html He taught these dances in North America, as well as in South America and Australia. During his lifetime, he created many Ukrainian dance studios, including one in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where he lived until his death in 1981. He staged performances across Canada and USA, including the Chicago World's Fair
Century of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...
of 1933 and a performance at 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 also produced numerous Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
films.http://www.ihrc.umn.edu/research/vitrage/all/am/ihrc265.html