Cheremosh celebrates 50 years of Ukrainian dance with Mriya: Life In Rhythm

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At a time when the people’s culture faces a serious threat in Ukraine, Edmonton’s Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance has never approached its art with greater devotion.

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“We have questioned exactly why we’re doing this right now,” explains Lisa Dolinsky, president of the company. “Many of us have friends or family in Ukraine. Keeping this culture alive is an act of resistance in itself. Russia wants to eradicate Ukrainian culture, but it’s here and it’s proud. Edmonton is incredibly Ukrainian.”

Keeping this culture alive is an act of resistance in itself.

Lisa Dolinsky

Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance is one of Canada’s and Edmonton’s most vibrant companies to merge folk dance traditions with ballet. Celebrations are a couple of years late thanks to the pandemic but the ensemble is finally marking its 50th anniversary this weekend with a special touring program, Mriya: Life In Rhythm.

Dolinsky is still a dancer with Cheremosh too, now into her 14th season with the ensemble. Like so many members, she started out in the Cheremosh School as a kid around age nine before she joined the main ensemble in her mid-teens. Since then she’s been party to highlights in the group’s history including a trip to Ukraine nine years ago (Ukrainian dancers have also visited here to mentor Cheremosh.)

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Mriya: Life In Rhythm involves a wide array of 12 works from the company’s long history of original repertoire. Brand new pieces too. For instance, the Edmonton Hopak, which closes Act 1 of the show, brings together elements of traditional Ukrainian dance like the famous high-kicking hopak with other influences of Canadian culture.

Certain pieces draw from dance styles specific to parts of Ukraine such as the Hutsulka, or Lemko Dance and the Karichka, both tied to the Lemko region of Western Ukraine and Northern Poland. Once Upon A Time In Old Kyiv tells the story of a young man who likes to keep his dating calendar busy until he accidentally double-books himself, much to the distaste of the ladies. There’s even a cooking lesson of sorts in the amusing number How The Kozaky Cook Kulish.

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Humor plays a key role in storytelling aspects of the show, especially in Act 2, devoted to a popular longer work that has been remounted from Cheremosh’s 1999 season called How The Women Sold Their Husbands. Set in a small Ukrainian village, it tells a good-natured tale about how wives try to instill a new work ethic in their husbands.

Many of these pieces were created for Cheremosh by the company’s resident choreographer and expert on Ukrainian dance and ballet for 31 years now, artistic director Mykola Kanevets. Born and educated in Ukraine, he was chief of the choreography department at Kyiv College of Culture when he left Ukraine to work for Cheremosh after the breakup of the Soviet Union. He’s become an essential figure in Ukrainian-Canadian culture since.

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“One of the greatest strengths of the Ukrainian people is their spirit. No matter where in the world Ukrainians have lived, they have always cared about their culture and spirituality. Ukrainian dance has become an integral part of the magnificent mosaic of Canadian culture, ”Kanevets says shared in a statement on his feelings about creating dance during the Russian invasion of his native country. “We must show the world that Ukrainian dance is also a weapon against the invaders. It is impossible to defeat a nation that loves its culture and its dance this much.”

For years now Cheremosh has enjoyed another direct connection to Ukraine in the music that everyone dances to. It’s all original music for Cheremosh from various composers, all recorded for the company in Ukraine by the orchestra attached to the nation’s premiere dance organization, Virsky National State Ensemble. Cheremosh releases most of the music afterward so other groups can use the recordings.

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Cheremosh shrunk a little during the pandemic but its main ensemble still numbers 42 dancers between the ages of 16 and 32, rehearsing twice weekly. Another 150 youngsters, age three and older, attend the company’s school. Two separate studio spaces are used between all those dancers. Add set and costume creators, teachers, tour staff and alumni volunteers — people from all walks of life participate in this cultural celebration.

“The last three months have been really busy,” admits Dolinsky. “Everyone wants us to come out to dance and it has helped us validate why we do this. It feels like Edmonton is really the epicenter of Ukrainian dance outside of Ukraine.”

Cheremosh was founded in 1969 by Chester and Luba Kuc, who named it after a river in the Carpathian Mountains of Western Ukraine. Now one of the most acclaimed Ukrainian dance outfits outside of Ukraine, the company has taken its shows abroad to Britain, the US, Mexico, Australia and China on top of touring across Canada.

Cheremosh continues to help raise funds for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

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PREVIEW

Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance presents Mriya: Life In Rhythm

Where: Jubilee Auditorium

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday or 2 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: Starting at $32 from http://ticketmaster.caTicketmaster.ca or 1-855-985-5000