Ukrainian dance

Ukrainian Dance most often to refers to "Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance" (as it is known by ethnographers and dance historians), a stylized form of a Folk Dance based in part on the movements contained in, and the actual traditional dances of the peoples of Ukraine (both modern and pre-modern). This stylized artform has so permeated the culture of Ukraine that today traditional forms of dance in Ukraine which have not been affected by the stylized form are virtually non-existent.

Ukrainian Dance is very energetic, fast-paced, and entertaining, and along with Pysanky, it is a unique aspect of Ukrainian culture instantly recognized and highly appreciated throughout the world.

Pre-Modern History

Judging by the figures depicted in motion on Trypillian clay vessels, dance has been performed in the lands of present-day Ukraine since the 3rd millenium b.c.e. (Considered a matriarchal society, the presumably female-centered Trypillian dances would have differed considerably from modern-day Ukrainian Folk Dance, which primarily focuses on the male dancer.) Up through the introduction of Christianity in Ukraine (becoming a state religion in 988 c.e.), dance served a very important ritual function. Pre-christian rituals combined dance with music, poetry, and song. A remnant of Ritual Dance (also known as Obryadovi dances, or Khorovody) which survives in limited form today are the Vesnianky ("Spring" dances), also referred to as Hahilky, Hayilky, Hayivky, Yahilky, and Rohulky. The pre-harvest festival of Kupalo had many ritual dances associated with it as well, and therefore remains a favorite theme of modern Ukrainian Folk-Stage choreographers. Ritual dances were so strongly ingrained into the culture of the people, that rather than being eliminated by Christianity, the accompanying songs and poetry were altered to incorporate christian themes, enabling millenia-old steps and choreographic forms to continue to be passed down from generation to generation.

At about the time of Ukraine's Kozak Uprising, Social Dances gained in popularity. Ukrainian Social Dances (Pobutovi dances) can be distinguished from Ukrainian Ritual Dances by 2 charactersitics: the prevalence of musical accompaniment without song, and the increased presence of improvisation by performers. The early Hopak and Kozachok developed as Social Dances, as well as the Hutsulka and Kolomeyka in the West. Later, social dances of foreign extraction such as the Polka and Quadrille also gained popularity, but developed distinct regional variations with the prevalence of improvistional dancers and musicians.

The third major type of folk dance which developed prior to the modern era, was the Thematic or Story Dance (Siuzhetny dances). 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 "the Shoemakers" (Shevchyky), "the Blacksmiths" (Kovali), and "the Reapers" (Kosari).

All of these traditional dances were began to be performed performed, or referenced to, by a blossoming theatrical trade beginning in the 18th century. While the Ukrainian people remained nationless and relegated to lower social classes in their own homelands, their foreign rulers lived lavishly in comparison, importing foreign entertainerment. It is within this context that the Thematic Dances, which depicted an agrarian society's ideals, gained even more popularity with the native population, further developing the theater into a thriving occupation.

Modern History

Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance began its path to international acclaim first and foremost with the work of Vasyl' Mykolayovych Verkhovynets' (b. 1880, original surname Kostiv), an actor, choir conductor and amateur musicologist, and his landmark book "Theory of Ukrainian Folk Dance." Verkhovynets' had acquired a professional level of training in the arts as part of Mykola Sadovs'kyy'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 the central area of present-day Ukraine, Vasyl' Verkhovynets' visited many villages surrounding the cites he performed in, in order to acquire as much information about the dance traditions of his people as possible. "Theory of Ukrainian Folk Dance" (first published in 1919) brought together for the first time the various steps and terminology now recognized by all students of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance. It also fundamentally altered the nature of Ukrainian Folk Dance by setting dances on a stage (with a rear, 2 wings, and the audience seated at the front), as well as laid out a method of transcribing folk dances on paper. It has since been reprinted 5 times and remains one of the basic texts of study of the Folk Dances of Ukraine.

The history of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance diverges at this stage of Vasyl' Verkhovynets' career: in Ukraine, Verkhovynets' remained involved in the training of the next generation of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance artists, and Vasyl Avramenko, building on Verkhovynets' work, developed the artform in the Ukrainian diaspora.

Development in North America

Vasyl Avramenko (1895-1981), whose name is synonymous with Ukrainian Dance in the Ukrainian diaspora, began his career as a dance instructor at an internment camp in Poland in 1921, having previously studied the theartical arts in Kyiv, and later with Mykola Sadovs'kyy's troupe, where he met and received training from Vasyl' Verkhovynets'. After the war, Avramenko toured the western area of present-day Ukraine, instructing where he could, but eventually setting out to spread Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance thoughout the world. After travelling through Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Germany, Avramenko came to Canada in 1925. Ukrainian immigrants had brought their native traditions to the lands that they settled, largely in Canada, Australia, USA, and South America. Even prior to Avramenko's arrival, 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.") Because of this, upon landing in Canada, Avramenko was able to create a dance troupe out of local immigrants almost immediately. His missionary zeal soon spread a series of dance schools throughout Canada, including the cities of Toronto, Oshawa, Hamilton, Fort William, Port Arthur, Kenora, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Yorkton, Regina, Vegreville, Canora, Dauphin, Windsor, and many others. Eventually, Avramenko would begin schools in the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Uttica, Yonkers, Buffalo, Boston, and others. Avramenko visited Australia and experienced a similar success in developing schools on yet another continent. When he left each town, Avramenko would appoint a leader to continue teaching the dances. Many of these appointed leaders later created Ukrainian dance groups in their areas. Avramenko created many Ukrainian dance groups in his lifetime. He is credited with spreading this art form across the world, and for this reason he is known in the diaspora as the "Father of Ukrainian Dance." Avramenko's students would tour North America, performing to tremendous acclaim even at important venues such as World's Fairs, and the White House. For one performance, at New York's Metropolitan Opera House in 1931, over 500 dancers appeared on stage. Vasyl' Avramenko eventually moved into film production in the United States, putting out film versions of the Ukrainian operas Natalka Poltavka and Cossacks in Exile, as well as other Ukrainian dramas, filmed in the U.S., starring Ukrainian immigrants, and always featuring Ukrainian dancing. Students of Avramenko, as well as other immigrant dancers, continued Avramenko's legacy, opening new schools and teaching generations of students to come.

In 1978, the Ukrainian Dance Workshop was started in New York by several leading teachers of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance in North America, including Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky. Trained in Lviv, Vienna, and later Winnipeg, Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky had toured the world before settling in the US, and becoming the most prolific teacher and choreographer of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance in the United States. For over 25 years, her guidance of the Ukrainian Dance Workshop, and her Syzokryli Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, not only developed the some of the finest Ukrainian dancers to come out of North America, but also attracted already established dancers; this combined pool of talent allowed Roma Pryma to try ever innovative choreographies, evoking modern Ukrainian themes such as the murder of outspoken musician Volodymyr Ivasiuk and the Chornobyl tragedy. 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, Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky passed away in 1994.

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 Virsky, Mykola Bolotov, Halyna Beryozova were choreographing with folk steps and forms. During this period (in between World Wars), the "3-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 artform. Although disbanded following the outbreak of World War II, Lydia Chereshnova (who had directed the Ukrainian Song & 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, in 1955 Pavlo Virsky returned as artistic director of the State Folk Dance Ensemble of the Ukrainian SSR until his death in 1975. During this 20-year period, Pavlo Virsky demonstrated tremendous creativity in his choreography and propelled Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance to a world-renowned level.

Other Ukrainian choreographers and companies of note include:

The Ukrainian Folk Choir under the direction of Hryhoriy Veryovka was founded in Kharkiv in 1943, and included a contingent of dancers under the initial direction of Oleksander Dmytrenko, and soon thereafter Leonid Kalinin, and later O. Homyn.
The Dnipro Dance Ensemble was founded in Dnipropetrovsk prior to the war, and flourished under Kim Vasylenko beginning in 1947. Vasylenko has written numerous times on the topic of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance, including the classic text "Lexicon of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance."
The Yatran Dance Ensemble was founded in Kirovohrad in 1949, and gained great renown beginning in 1957 under director Anatoliy Krivokhyzha

Development in Australia

Regional styles of dance

Ukrainian Folk Dance was fundamentally altered when it began to be performed onstage as an individual artform - Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance. Once masters such as Verkhovynets' and Avramenko began gathering a repertoire of dances and touring with their performance troupes, the inherent regional variations existing in Ukrainian pre-modern folk dances began to slowly fade into a more homogenous group. Also the scholarship of Verkhovynets' (and Vasyl' Avramenko, whose work is indebted to Verkhovynets' earlier scholarship) was mostly limited to the villages of central Ukraine. Gradually, others began filling in the gaps of the earlier research, by researching the dance forms of the various ethnicities 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, limiting the available sources of knowledge to isolated villages and immigrants who left their native territories before the touring began. Because of this, most of the "regional" dancing performed by Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance ensembles still rely on the basic triple-steps of Bihunets and Tynok, although with more and more advanced instruction becoming prevalent, greater variation has returned (regardless of its authenticity).

Ukraine has many cultural regions, which are based mostly on the various ethnicities which inhabit its lands. From region to region, one can hear different music, speak different dialects, see different forms of dress, and dance with a differing set of basic steps. The costume styles adopted by modern Ukrainian dance groups are based on traditional Ukrainian clothing, though changes have been made (such as shortening girls' skirts or alteration of materials) to meet the demand of the dance moves. In addition to Story (Character) Dances such as pantomimed fables or staged ritual dances which are not necessarily linked to particular regions, listed below are descriptions of a few Ukrainian cultural regions which are represented in Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance:

Poltava Region (Poltavshchyna): This central region is the one most commonly associated with Ukrainian dance. The culture of the central and eastern lands of Ukraine did not develop in isolation due to the many traders around Kyiv and those carried from the rivers running towards the Black Sea, as well as the area's propensity to be overrun by foregn invaders. The greatest remaining cultural influence in the central and eastern lands were the Kozaks, many of which were based out of central Ukraine, and whose love of social dances spawned the Hopak and the Kozachok. The costumes for the dances of this region include a blouse, a vinok (a flower and ribbon headpiece for girls), a plakhta (girls' skirt), a poyas (belt), sharyvary (loose mens' trousers), and red boots. Most commonly, the blouses are white with black and red embroidery. The Ukrainians believed that life should include both red (the colour of joy) and black (the colour of sorrow).[1] The dance style is crisp and acrobatic for men, and feminine and technical for girls.

Hutsul Region (Hutsulshchyna): The dances of the Hutsuls are well-known for being lively and energetic. The mountainous Hutsul region is adjacent to Bukovyna in south-western Ukraine, and the two clearly have shared similar influences. Hutsulshchyna is located in the highest parts of the remote Carpathian Mountains. Like Bukovynian dances, Hutsul dances are characterized by quick stamping and intricate footwork, combined with quick vertical movements. Hutsul costumes have orange, brown, green, and yellow embroidery. The common footwear is called postoly.[2]. A well-known Hutsul dance is the Arkan ('lasso'), in which men dance around a fire.

Transcarpathia (Zakarpattia): Dances from this region are known for their large sweeping movements and colourful costumes, with the general movement being "bouncy".[3]. A signature dance from this region is Bereznianka.

Bukovina (Bukovyna): a transitional land between Ukraine and Rumania, which has at times been also occupied by Hungary, Austria, Turkey, and the Tatars. Sustained by their woodworking in the Great Būk (beechtree) Forests of the Ukrainian Southwest, the native Ukrainians have developed a unique culture enriched in part through various immigrant influences on their secluded mountain lifestyle. Bukovynian music and dance is peppered with dichotomies and contrapuntal themes, reflecting both the personal and political histories of a stalwart people. In their 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 displayed on the blouses and shirts are typically stitched with darker and heavier threads, and women's skirts are sometimes open at the front, revealing an embroidered slip.[4]

Volhynia (Volyn’): This region is in north-western Ukraine. The costumes are bright and vibrant, while the dance steps are characterized by energetic jumping, high-carried legs, and lively arms. This region has been influenced heavily by Poland, due to both its close geographical position, as well as being previously held by that nation.[5]

Polesie (Polissia): The steps of Polissian dance are characteristically very bouncy and with emphasis on high knee movement. Costumes are white, red, and beige, and girls often wear aprons. A popular Polissian dance is called Mazurochky.

Lemko Region (Lemkivshchyna): The ethnic region of the Lemkos lays mainly in Poland, with a small part of the region falling within current Ukrainian borders. Separated from ethnic Ukrainians perhaps more than average among the ethnic groups, the Lemko people have a unique dialect and lifestyle that has been influenced by their neighbours in Poland, Ukraine, and Slovakia. Costumes typically depict the men and women with short vests, with the style of dance being light-hearted and lively.

Podolia (Podillia):

Boiko Region (Boikivshchyna):

Gypsy dance of the Roma people, or Tsyhany: Many Ukrainian stage folk dance ensembles incorporate Gypsy dances into their repertoire. Gypsies have lived in Ukraine for centuries and 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.

Ukrainian performing dance companies

In Ukraine:

In Russia:

Kuban Cossacks Chorus, heir of Zaporizhya Cossacks, Krasnodar

In Canada:

In the United States:

In Australia:

In Argentina:

Ukrainian Dance Ensemble Prosvita

References

Texts In Ukrainian

Vesnyanochka - by Vasyl' Verkhovynets'
Theory of Ukrainian Folk Dance - by Vasyl' Verkhovynets'
Ukrainian Folk Dance - by Andriy Humeniuk
Folk Choreographic Art of Ukraine - by Andriy Humeniuk
Lexicon of Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dance - by Kim Vasylenko
Fundamentals of Folk-Stage Dance (Books 1 & 2)- by Evhen Zaitsev
Ukrainian Folk Dances, Music, and Dress - by Vasyl' Avramenko
Hutsul Dances - by Roman Harasymchuk
Social Dances of Ukrainian-Canadians - Andriy Nahachevskyy
Choreographic Arts of Ivano-Frankivs'k - Bohdan Stas'ko
Folk Dances of Volyn' and Volyn'-Polissia - by Mykola Poliatykin

Texts In English

The Ukrainian Folk Dance - by Myron Shatulsky
Ukrainian Dance Resource Booklets, Series I-IV - By Bohdan Zerebecky
European Folk Dance - by Joan Lawson

Online references

External links