Pennsylvania's Kazka Folk Ensemble performs at Disney World

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Kazka Ukrainian Folk Ensemble of Pottsville, Pa., recently performed here at Walt Disney World on Saturday, January 10. The ensemble, based in the anthracite coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, was chosen through a competitive audition process to participate in the Disney Magic Music Days program.

After many months of preparation and fund-raising, the group arrived in sunny Florida, leaving behind the sub-zero temperatures of Eastern Pennsylvania. Although Saturday proved to be a bit chilly by Florida standards, the ensemble performed dances from the Poltava region of Ukraine to an enthusiastic crowd visiting Disney's Magic Kingdom, opening the program with the traditional Ukrainian welcome dance and concluding with a rousing Hopak. In all, 29 dancers filled the Disney stage.

Kazka has been singing, dancing and working to preserve Ukrainian culture in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1987. The group currently studies voice with Cora Gamelin-Osenbach of Pottsville and works with several choreographers, including David Woznak of Parma, Ohio, and Andrij Dobriansky of New York City.

The ensemble has received numerous performance and cultural preservation grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council.

For information on the Kazka Ukrainian Folk Ensemble readers may contact Dr. Paula Holoviak at (570) 708-1992 or [email protected].

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 1, 2004, No. 5, Vol. LXXII

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