Ukrainian Dancers of Miami to celebrate 50th anniversary (12/27/98)

Ukrainian Dancers of Miami to celebrate 50th anniversary

MIAMI - In honor of their golden jubilee season, the Ukrainian Dancers of Miami will be holding a traditional Malanka celebration on January 15-17, 1999, at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel in Dania, Fla.

The Saturday night dinner-dance will feature the popular Canadian band Burya in its last public performance. The three-day event also includes a Friday evening cocktail reception and a Sunday brunch and comedy show with "Barabolya." For tickets and event information, visit the web at http://www.1phone.com/udofm/, call (305) 635-6374, or fax (954) 434-5105.

The Ukrainian Dancers of Miami is a group of youthful Ukrainians, ranging in age from 2 to 40+, who learn and perform traditional Ukrainian folk dance. They perform year-round across the state of Florida at festivals, cultural programs and many other shows.

Rooted in the dances and techniques of Vasyl Avramenko, the man who is credited with bringing Ukrainian folk dance to North America, the Ukrainian Dancers of Miami continue to perform many of his classic works, in addition to more updated pieces choreographed by current dancers and other contemporary Ukrainian dancers.

Like the corporation that oversees them, the dancers are dedicated to the promotion and perpetuation of the Ukrainian culture through its music, song and dance.

The Ukrainian Dancers of Miami was founded in the summer of 1949 by a group of young Ukrainians led by Taras Maksymowich, Kay Hodivsky and Olga Maksymowich.

By 1961, the group began sending dancers to cultural workshops at Soyuzivka, which eventually were strictly for dance, and those who participated returned after the summer with renewed enthusiasm, greater skill and fresh ideas. By the 1970s Mr. Maksymowich and Ms. Hodivsky began delegating instruction and choreography responsibilities to these dancers, most notably Taras Hodivsky, Yurko McKay, Hanya Lotocky (nee Maksymowich), and the group's current artistic director, Donna Maksymowich-Waskiewicz.

Today, the dancers include more classical dance elements in their work, while retaining the character of the traditional Ukrainian folk dance. The group's repertoire includes its eight-minute-long signature piece, Hopak. Since the birth of their annual concert, "A Ukrainian Montage," the group has presented several modern, more interpretive pieces, as well as reintroduced several traditional dances that had not been performed for many years.

The Ukrainian Dancers of Miami have performed at Epcot Center's World Showcase in Walt Disney World, nationally televised Junior and Senior Orange Bowl Parades, the Miami International Folk Festival, the Orlando Arts Fest, the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair and the 1992 UNICEF Tribute to Children. They perform at city-, county-and state-sponsored events, and can be seen at various events throughout the year in South Florida.

The Ukrainian Dancers of Miami Inc. is a not-for-profit organization, and all funding and services are achieved solely through donations and volunteer work.

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