Joryj Ktoc....Best Ukrainian Rock Band

We booked it back to the hotel to get ready for our performance. We had left ourself a forty five minutes to finish makeup and get dressed. We had to be in our costumes already as we were walking to Rynok Square (one of the most iconic and picturesque parts of Lviv). It was about a fifteen minute walk to the outdoor performance. The stage was quite elevated compared to the audience and they had tent change rooms set up behind. Shortly after we arrived, I saw Marta in the crowd and beckoned to her. She came over and chatted (she speaks very quickly). Luckily Audrey was nearby and graciously helped to interpret. Marta wanted to take us to her house but we tried to explain it really won’t be possible... just about every minute is planned out until we leave.

This performance was the first opportunity for all the participating groups to dance together in one show. I particularly enjoyed watching Zabutny from Regina; they had lovely costumes, intricate choreography and beautiful technique. We performed Buko, Trans, and Hutsul. When I was on the stage, it struck me just how beautiful out surroundings were. The stage was pretty hot, much like other sunny performances we’ve done.

After the performance, we immediately had to go to our hotel to change clothes and go to the Zabava, the main party of the festival. It was held in an interesting setting - an old glass plant turned into a night club. There were hors d’oeuvres and vodka (which we decided to skip) and pretty shortly after we arrived, a band started playing. It was a bit too crowded (venue a bit too small for the number of people) but luckily there was a rooftop patio which was pretty cool. The patio wasn’t private to our group though. Tyler was definitely a bit of a papa bear, making sure no creepy men were hitting on our teenage dancers. The view was gorgeous but eventually we decided to go back to the main event.

The band changed over to a pop singer. His name was Nazar, and he was a cooler version of Ihor Bohdan. Not bad to listen to but not our dancing style.

Next was Joryj Ktoc and they were epic! Tyler came to grab me to show me that the band had a lira (Ukrainian instrument we mentioned in a previous post). It was amazing to watch and listen to! They were kind of a rock band but the sound was unique and I’m not sure it does it justice to just say rock band. It was so high energy (we were jumping up and down the whole time they played). It was so much fun! We bought their CD and got all four of the members to sign it. It’s made out to Broke and Tylir... close enough!

Euphoria from Edmonton was the last band of the night. They were fabulous and we were thrilled to have a couple last polkas. Kolomeyka was at around midnight which was a bit too late. Tyler participated a little bit but I just watched.

After kolomeyka, our contingent left for the bus. There were about ten of us that had stayed til the end of the party and I’m really glad we did.

It was such a fun and varied day between a workshop, a performance, and the zabava!

We are getting pretty exhausted but we have to keep the energy up to make the most of these last busy days in Lviv!

BrookeRead more