Gerdan Theatre from Chernivtsi, Ukraine, toured Canada in February and March of 2024. We sat down with two of their performers to hear about what this tour means to them.
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Andriy Michalchyshyn from Zrada joined us to talk about the Winnipeg-based band’s latest release, The Old Ways. He shared with us the inspiration behind the music and what motivates the band to continue celebrating Ukrainian culture.
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The National Ballet of Ukraine is touring their show Nadiya (Hope) through Canada. Starting in Quebec City on January 15 and ending in Calgary on February 11, the tour is raising money for aid in Ukraine, thanks to a partnership between Humanite Peace Collective and the Olena Zelenska Foundation.
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Vsi co-host Hannah got married in September and learned a lot about various Ukrainian wedding traditions, and she wants to share them with you! Here’s your guide to the Ukrainian culture-inspired wedding of your dreams.
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On September 9 and 16, Saskatoon’s Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble (PFE) and Edmonton’s Volya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble are putting on a joint production, Душа Народу (Dusha Narodu) — The Spirit of a Nation.
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Ukraine is our “why” — we never want to stop learning and sharing about her. She is the reason our hearts bubble over with passion and is a constant source of energy for us. We wanted to remind Ukraine why we love her and believe in her. A love letter felt fitting.
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Superstitions are folk beliefs and ancient customs that people still practise today. Ukrainians have many superstitions that vary from region to region and family to family. Hannah and Kaitlin list and tell stories about some of their favourite Ukrainian superstitions.
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Kaitlin updated and reprinted her book Planted: Stories From Manitoba’s Natural World, with proceeds supporting humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Learn the inspiration behind the book and how a main influence is Kaitlin’s Ukrainian heritage.
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Canada’s Ukrainian Shumka dancers are touring across Canada with a two-act show, which includes the lively Mosquito’s Wedding. Find out from dancer Caitlin Kaminsky and Senior Creative Director Les Sereda what it’s like dancing through the pandemic, the creation of this production, and what it means to be touring while Ukraine is defending itself against russia’s full-scale war.
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Shortly after russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine started Maarit Tymchyshyn, a Ukrainian-Canadian artist in Winnipeg, posted a personal essay called “Too Foreign For Home”. It’s a really powerful piece that resonated with us, so we wanted to share it with our audience.
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Here’s how you can support Ukraine through donations and actions. We talk with Vince Rees of Cobblestone Freeway and Zoya Kostetsky of Prairie Clay to hear about their fundraising efforts.
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What does it mean to be Ukrainian Canadian? As we all know, there’s no right answer. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress knows that, too. But they still want to hear what makes you feel Ukrainian Canadian. The UCC was kind enough to do a Q+A with us about their survey of Ukrainian Canadians.
In this inspiring conversation, Lana Nicole Niland, a Canadian living in Ukraine, shares about her experience dancing with Virsky and her many Ukrainian-culture-themed projects. Prepare to be inspired to nurture and follow your dreams!
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It’s about time we give you the overview of our last two cities — Lutsk (Volyn region) and Poltava (Central region). While we could just reminisce and bounce memories off of each other, it’s much more our style to cook everything into a grand metaphor and share it that way. Turns out making a pot of borsch and Ukrainian dancing aren’t all that different.
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For many dancers and instructors, the studio is our place to take a break from the world, to leave our stresses behind for a few hours. But heading to the studio isn’t an option for all of us right now. Thankfully, tools like meditation can help.
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Once upon a time, there were four girls who lived abroad, and they got matching tattoos. But not just any tattoos — Ukrainian tattoos that have meaning much deeper than the skin. In this post, we tie our tattoo design (we’re two of those girls, by the way) into Ukrainian symbolism and explain the meaning behind common shapes and colours.
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In Lviv and Chernivtsi, we had the opportunity to dance with a few different groups, including Yunist, the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, the Lviv College of Culture and Arts, and the Honoured Bukovyna State Ensemble of Song and Dance. While sharing our experiences dancing in these next two cities we wanted to figure out a way to tie it all together so we decided to share our “lessons learned” from each place.
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For many of us, starting to Ukrainian dance wasn’t really a choice — our parents put us in it when we were young, and that was it. But soon, we made the decision to stay in dance. So what makes this hobby so intriguing? What keeps people involved for decades on end?
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In this interview, hear from Natalya, a Virsky Company dancer, about what life is like in the studio, how she balances life with work, and what pushes her to keep dancing even on those days when she feels tired and unmotivated.
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In Kyiv, we trained with the Virsky Studio dancers. These dancers are in a two-year program that prepares them to audition for the Virsky company.
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