A weekend in the Ukrainian East Village: culture and collaboration (04/11/04)

A weekend in the Ukrainian East Village: culture and collaboration

by Roksolana Luchkan

NEW YORK - Living in the East Village on Second Avenue and St. Marks can sometimes be very much like living in a "traditional village."

OK, so there are no cows in the pasture, there's no village square, there ain't any maidens fetching water at the well. There is, however, the support of living in a community with people of the same background, culture and influences. During the weekend of March 26-28 in particular I experienced the wonderful result of inspired artists who attend each other's shows, write together, rehearse together, inspire each other and bring a neighborhood and culture together through their art.

It is important to note that these artists have also attracted a following outside of the traditional Ukrainian community. They blend influences from other cultures that draw an ethnically diverse following, and in this sense they are true artistic ambassadors of Ukrainian music and art.

Over that weekend I attended four shows in three days, jumping Friday from a music recital at the Mayana Gallery to a lounge act at Joe's Pub, to a gypsy punk show at Irving Plaza on Saturday and on to a theater production at La Mama on Sunday night.

All performances were a few blocks from each other, all were unique, all were by young Ukrainian artists with ethnic roots, and all performances were by, with or from "the Ukrainian East Village."

Friday Night, 7:30, Mayana Gallery

Mayana Gallery is a very tiny gallery at 136 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. The gallery, which is located on the fourth floor, exhibits painting, sketches, photographs and other visual art. Mayana is run by ceramics artist Slava Gerulak and folklorist and East Village community chronicler Lavrentia Turkevych. Mayana is also the home of the Ukrainian Arts and Literary Club and on occasion a performance space.

On Friday night after a drink at Dibrova, the Ukrainian social club on the first floor of 136 Second Ave., I trotted up the steps to Mayana. The performance that evening was organized by Julian Kytasty and sponsored by the New York Bandura Ensemble as part of its "Bandura Downtown" series. "Jules," as he's known among his fellow artists and peers, has been keeping alive the ancient art of bandura playing in our community. He's the baroque troubadour of the East Village, revitalizing Ukrainian music which otherwise could be lost in the flood of time.

When he's not in Poland or Ukraine, or London, or Canada, he's often found here performing in the "Bandura Downtown Series" or playing free improvisation sets with New York musicians at venues like Tonic and ABC NoRio. Coming from a long line of bandura players, Julian often incorporates historical details in his program as he talks about his family, the Kyievo-Mohylianska Academia in Ukraine and the tradition of blind bandura players. In between picking on his bandura, he'll take out a sopilka (wooden flute) or sing a few old Kozak verses.

This evening, ominously titled "Strashnyi Sud' (Judgment Day), was a special performance of a rarely heard repertoire: the penitential songs of Great Lent. Julian was accompanied by baroque lute player Roman Turovsky and vocalist Natalia Honcharenko. The concert was based on Ukrainian compositions (kanty) from the 17th and 18th centuries, counterpointed with similar songs collected a hundred years ago from the blind lirnyky and kobzari. A baroque evocation, sounds which took you to Ukrainian villages, traveling musicians, stopping from "selo" (village) to selo with their beautiful wooden string instruments - pied pipers of a sort enchanting villagers with incantations inspired from religious epics passed on from land to land.

Friday Night, 9:30, at Joe's Pub

After a quick wine and cheese reception at Mayana, it was time to duck out onto Second Avenue, a few blocks west to Lafayette Street and through the doors of Joe's Pub for a 9:30 p.m. performance. Mariana Sadovska was in town from Germany, where she currently resides.

Mariana has spent approximately the last 10 years traveling around Ukraine, collecting songs from grandmothers in villages from Chernihiv to Dnipropetrovsk, interpreting them and performing them from Poland, to Germany, to Canada, to here in New York.

I first met Mariana when I attended her singing workshop at the Ukrainian Institute of America. I took my mother along as mama is a bit of a songbird herself. Mama turned to me during one of the songs and said "Your grandmother, my mama, used to sing this very song herself. She used to gather with other women in a valley, filling it with song." That was how women in my grandmother's village entertained themselves and passed on stories. "This Mariana is the real thing," she said.

Mariana's love for her craft is unmistakable. She tells her stories with a strong and soulful voice. Mariana uses open-throated sounds from an old technique in Ukraine known as "white voice" (bilyi holos). Ornamentations that quiver on the endnotes of her singing emphasize the rural richness of her tales. Mariana is powerful, yet has a bird like gentle quality. If you could compare her to anyone, perhaps it would be to the Icelandic Bjork, whose childlike face sometimes contradicts the enormity of her voice and lyrics.

Using her voice to tell the story Mariana explains in her melodic accent one folk tale about a young boy in the woods with his grandfather, or "didus." The young boy is separated from his grandfather and in calling out to him he changes himself into a bird. The boy's calling sounds turn into the sounds of a bird: "didusiu, didusiu, kuku-uy, kuku-uy." Fittingly, the songbird voice within her resonates the sounds of birds in the forest. She manipulates her voice to capture the sounds of nature and a magical night when plants come to life and spirits mix with young peasant girls in search of a lover to celebrate the pagan holiday of Kupalo.

In her performance Mariana was accompanied by the Jorgi Quartet (Kwartet Jorgi), from Poland. Their funky jazz blended with ecstatic piping of various forms of the sopilka added to the energy of the sets. Mariana also included singer Victoria Hanna from Jerusalem, as well as musicians Anthony Coleman and Doug Wieselman from New York.

Saturday night, 9, at Irving Plaza

Saturday night and Gogol Bordello are playing at Irving Plaza in Union Square. I am now on the periphery of the East Village. My friends and I bought tickets to the show in advance because last year this happening band sold out!

This "Ukrainian Gypsy Punk Cabaret," as they are often described, is an experience not to be compared. Their underground popularity has soared in New York City. Beginning with the Bulgarian Bar to performances at West End Theater, Bowery Ballroom, North Six in Brooklyn to tours across Europe and the U.S., Gogol Bordello has made an impact on the NYC hipster crowd and way beyond. The group takes inspiration from writers such as Nikolai Gogol as well as Mikhail Bulgakov, particularly Bulgakov's novel "Master and Margerita" - the devil has certainly come to town!

This unique band is paving the way in incorporating global sounds and mixing up mayhem from all corners of the globe. Frontman Euguene Hutz, a Ukrainian refugee cum-reluctant model, cum-poet, cum-writer, dj, elusive icon - spins a whirlwind of underdog tales. Hutz is joined by a Russian fiddler, Jewish guitarist, Israeli saxophonist and American-born drummer. Knee-slapping, beat-happening, colorful antics, ballerinas and gypsy dancers, unmistakable ethnic sounds, stage-diving, mike-climbing, vodka-swilling, passport villain - it's all part of the experience.

Opening for Gogol were the Buryat throat singers Uragsha. Sound familiar? Yes these are the same Buryats that have performed with Yara Arts Group, whose founder Virlana Tkacz, introduced Buryat to Gypsy in past Yara productions such as "The Circle." The Buryats opened the show to a screaming crowd full of energy and anticipation. The evening continued with colorful costumes, musical acrobats and surprise guests. Was that Victoria Hanna from Jerusalem on stage with Hutz? A flashback to Mariana's show on Friday night!

Sunday night, 8, La Mama Theater

The La Mama Theater, Fourth Street between Second and Third avenues, was the venue on Sunday night for "The Warrior's Sister" by Virlana Tkacz of the Yara Arts Group. Yara Arts has been the theater company in residence at La Mama for over 10 years now. During her residence at La Mama, Virlana has produced 14 unique shows incorporating themes from many cultures. "The Warrior's Sister" was created in collaboration with Buryat artists Sayan and Erzhena Zhambalov. Yes, the same Buryats performing with Gogol the night before.

Their enchanting program begins in what appears to be a modern-day disco. Quickly the set changes to a Buryat land, where a warrior is being sent to battle. The warrior puts on his armor and ominously says good-bye to his sister. The saga continues when the warrior is found dead and his sister puts on his armor and departs on a journey down "The Khan's Great White Road" to seek a legendary maiden with the hope of bringing her dead brother back to life.

The piece is complemented by Buryat throat singing with instrumentals, fantastic lighting and brilliant set design by Watoku Ueno.

I can't help but wish that this play had a longer run, unfortunately I saw the closing performance and the troupe will be off to Canada, among other places, to take their show on the road.

Sunday Night, 10, at home

After a whirlwind weekend I'm back in my Second Avenue/St. Mark's Place apartment with a chance to sit down and reflect. Life in the East Village - where else can I get this type of experience, where else can you see this type of collaboration? After Julian played his show on Friday, he attended and performed with Mariana at another show at the Europa Club in Brooklyn on Saturday. Virlana sent out e-mails through Yara advertising Mariana and Gogol shows. Saturday Virlana attended Mr. Hutz's show, and on Sunday night I sat next to Julian and waved hello to Mr. Hutz to the right of us in the audience at Virlana's show.

Culture, collaboration, energy, art, sound, color, light, community - all here, all in one weekend, all in the Ukrainian East Village.

| Home Page |