MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J. – The Iskra Ukrainian Dance Academy and the Iskra Ukrainian Dance Ensemble that emerged from it, celebrated 20 years of educating youngsters and audiences about the beauty and uniqueness of Ukrainian folk dance with a special presentation here at the College of St. Elizabeth on Sunday, October 16.
The event drew an audience of about 400 to the college’s Dolan Performance Hall, a state-of-the-art theater in the Convent Station section of Morris Township, N.J., that perfectly fit the bill for Iskra’s celebration of its milestone.
The show was performed by all five of Iskra Academy’s dance groups, which encompass 80 students age 6 to 18, and the Iskra Ensemble of advanced dancers.
Andrew Zwarych
“Pryvit”
Special musical guests were operatic bass Stefan Szkafarowsky, accompanied by pianist Oles Kuzyszyn, who performed songs by Jerome Kern and Cole Porter from American musicals, as well as Ukrainian favorites.
Presented as “A Celebration in Dance,” the program was a journey through Ukraine’s various regions, as well as a journey in the life of a young dancer – from neophyte to polished performer. The numbers were introduced in a narration written by Iskra’s artistic director, Andriy Cybyk, which was read by Michael Koziupa.
Nick Syzonenko
“Hutsul Designs”
The program began with the Iskra Ensemble’s signature “Pryvit,” or “Welcome Dance,” which took audience members to five of Ukraine’s distinct regions: Poltava, Zakarpattia, Bukovyna, Volyn and Hutsulschyna via a variety of costumes, music and dance steps.
Next came a performance by Iskra school’s youngest dancers (Group 1), who showed off what they’d learned as beginning dancers in a number called “Polkachok.” Group 2 appeared in “Hutsul Designs,” demonstrating their introduction to that style of dance. Having learned that dance can tell a story, Group 3 presented “Dolls,” exhibiting both dancing and acting skills.
The more experienced dancers of Groups 4 and 5 followed with their renditions of, respectively, “Kozachok,” a lively couples’ dance from central Ukraine; and “Bukovynian Circles,” showcasing that regional dance style’s characteristic speed and syncopations.
Andrew Zwarych
Stefan Szkafarowsky accompanied by Oles Kuzyszyn.
The Iskra Ensemble presented several dances, including “Bukovynian Holiday,” a story of love and courtship in that picturesque region of Ukraine; “Dance for Nine,” inspired by the choreography of the renowned Pavlo Virsky; “I Will Go to the Distant Hills,” a modern dance choreographed by Natalia Ejova as a tribute to the murdered songwriter Volodymyr Ivasiuk; and Gypsy Suite “Aj Romale,” presenting the Romani culture that transcends borders.
The ensemble’s young women performed “Laundresses by the Stream,” which depicts girls having fun as they do their chores; while the men presented “Hulianky, which manifests the sheer joy of dancing.
For the finale there was, of course, a Hopak. The 20th anniversary version brought all of Iskra’s dancers together in one grand number. What the audience saw was outright excitement about participating in, as the narration described it, this “quintessential Ukrainian dance” on the part of the youngest dancers, as well as genuine pride on the faces of the advanced dancers as they observed the younger students. The premiere of this dance number brought the audience members to their feet for a standing ovation.
Andrew Zwarych
Artistic Director Andrij Cybyk leads the dancers in a group bow.
At the conclusion of the concert, Christine Syzonenko, speaking for the Iskra board of directors, expressed thanks to all the performers and those attending this special jubilee celebration.
As noted in the narration accompanying the anniversary program, Iskra was founded in 1996 thanks to its “founding parents,” Olya Kuziw and Margaret Nycz, who “had great foresight in asking the legendary Roma Pryma Bohachevsky to be Iskra’s first artistic director.”
“Pani Roma, as she was known to us, brought with her not just choreographies, but a philosophy of teaching. The school was founded not on the idea of teaching dances, but of teaching dancing,” the narration continued. “The classical character style Pani Roma brought to the school, which was continued by the subsequent teachers and lives on today, is rooted in folk dance and shaped by ballet.”
Since 2004, when Ms. Bohachevsky passed away, the school has been under the artistic direction of Mr. Cybyk, a well-known dancer, teacher and choreographer. Iskra was incorporated as a non-profit in 2008 and is run by an elected board of directors. The Iskra Ensemble, which comprises the dance academy’s most advanced students and alumni, as well as former students taught by Mr. Cybyk, was founded in 2011. In addition to the Iskra Academy’s performing groups, the school has a pre-dance class for children age 3-5. The latest innovation to the Iskra program is a dance fitness class for adults that was initiated in March of this year. For more information about Iskra, readers may visit www.iskradance.weebly.com.
