A Ukrainian Summer: where to go, what to do...
Voloshky ensemble launches Performing Dance Academy for aspiring dancers
JENKINTOWN, Pa. - The Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble is launching a unique and unprecedented learning experience for aspiring dancers this summer. The inaugural two-week session of the Voloshky Performing Dance Academy will feature premier dance masters from Ukraine.
This marks a new direction for Voloshky, which intends to offer a view of Ukrainian dance from the perspectives of top contemporary artists. The academy workshops will be held in Lehighton, Pa., at the Ukrainian Homestead from Sunday, August 8, through Saturday, August 21.
The resort is located in a beautiful, peaceful setting in the Pocono Mountains. Lehighton is a few hours' drive from both Philadelphia and New York City.
The academy has been organized and will be led by Artistic Director Taras Lewyckyj and Administrator Halia Wirstiuk. This year's intensive two-week workshop will be taught by master dance professionals from Kyiv and Kirovograd: national artist and soloist Natalka Yumasheva and Dance Master Victor Pochylenko.
Ms. Yumasheva has toured throughout the world and performed with the Virsky ensemble during its North American tour. Mr. Pochylenko runs the curriculum for 1,000 students at the Kirovograd Dance Complex and was the featured soloist of the Yatran Dance Company. The Kirovograd Dance Complex is the largest training facility in the world dedicated to Ukrainian dance and is regarded as having the finest curriculum.
Joining them will be professional accompanist Victor Guzeyev. Mr. Guzeyev not only specializes in Ukrainian music for character classes, but has also orchestrated and recorded music for Voloshky with the Virsky Symphony Orchestra.
According to Ms. Wirstiuk, "This is a phenomenal opportunity to be in the company of top Ukrainian performers - to study with the best that Ukrainian dance has to offer." These artists will be in North America for two weeks only for the sole purpose of imparting their knowledge and experience to young, talented dancers.
The academy is open to those with a love for Ukrainian dance. Dancers with at least two year's experience and who are at least 8 years old are eligible to apply. Space is limited; the deadline for all applications is July 31.
Classes will be held in character, ballet, general technique and choreography. While the main concentration is on the dance workshops, there will be evening activities that include a bonfire, talent show, masquerade party, as well as time for swimming and recreation during the day.
In addition to the dance classes, there will be a special session for directors/instructors. This session will take place on the weekend of August 14-15. These classes will be devoted to the methodology of teaching dance, as is done in professional dance schools in Ukraine.
The workshops will culminate, weather permitting, with a performance by the academy participants at the Lehighton Ukrainian Festival on Saturday, August 21. The festival is open to the public.
The Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, based in Jenkintown, Pa., is in the midst of several remarkably successful years. It was the first ethnic group to receive a grant simply on artistic merit from the National Endowment for the Arts.
As part of an ambitious schedule of some 60 performances per year, Voloshky were the featured guest ensemble at the Jacobs Pillow festival in Lee, Mass., where the "who's who of professional dance" are invited to perform, as well as at the prestigious Florida Dance Festival. Lisa Collins Vidnovic, a former principal dancer and ballet mistress of the Pennsylvania Ballet Company, has joined Voloshky as ballet mistress to help broaden and perfect the ensemble's dance technique.
Voloshky were recently awarded a grant to travel to Ukraine to study and observe teaching techniques of the premier Ukrainian dance centers. Voloshky Artistic Director Taras Lewyckyj, along with its ballet master, Oleg Goudimiak, and the director of the Voloshky School, Nina Prybolsky, traveled to Ukraine to work directly with the acclaimed Virsky Ukrainian Dance Company and the Kirovograd Dance Complex.
The trip culminated with the addition of new choreography to Voloshky's repertoire. It also directly led to the formation of the Voloshky Performing Dance Academy. The friendships and bonds formed during this exchange will make the Voloshky performing Dance Academy an exciting venue for bringing the finest in Ukrainian dance to North America.
Plans are in the works for scholarships, which would allow students to study abroad with these two professional institutions; funding possibilities are being explored to bring this project to fruition.
For information or to request an application for the Voloshky Performing Dance Academy and methodology seminars, contact Halia Wirstiuk at (215) 641-1829 or e-mail, [email protected].
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 2, 1999, No. 18, Vol. LXVII
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