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Brooke&Tyler Dance in УкраїнаBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
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We are travelling to Ukraine this summer with our dance group Tryzub to take part in dance workshops, perform in Ukraine, and experience the culture and homeland of our heritage! We'll be sharing our experiences and thoughts along the way. Read more
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  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна

    Last Rehearsal Before Departure

    July 24, 2019 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    This evening we had our last rehearsal before our trip to Ukraine! Our Artistic Director, Shane Gibson, had a hit list of final pieces to clean all throughout our show and we got through it quite efficiently. We even finished rehearsal early, so as not to overwork the dancers (a concept I am still getting used to). We've put in the time and effort and now the trip has finally come.

    At the end of rehearsal, the ladies had a trip gift for the guys (we regularly get them gifts, so this one was overdue). They got us each a small MEC travel backpack with our dance logo and our initials. Very cool! We also reciprocated and had a printed out coupon book for the ladies to use on the trip.

    Now it is time to finish everything up at work, get all of the laundry done, and pack up everything. This will be a once in a lifetime trip (unless your name is Brooke and this is her 2nd time) and we are getting really excited for it! Departure is on Sunday afternoon.

    Tyler and Brooke    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
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    Day 1

    YYC --> FRA

    July 28, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    And just like that we are en route to Ukraine. Tyler and I chose the Sunday flight way back when the trip was arranged which gets us there right when the tour starts. A few days ago I might have said I wished we left sooner in the weekend... but right now I’m feeling like we made a great choice!!!

    We spent much of the last two days organizing everything we need and being thoughtful about which clothes to bring. I think I managed not to overpack. We also stayed up until 3 AM both nights. The logic on whether this will help us with the time change is dicey, but watching “It” with Christine and Jordan on Friday and having a Stranger Things marathon last night sure was fun! Tyler was actually the first one nodding off during the show last night... a rarity!

    This morning we slept in and put the final touches on our packing. Kelly drove us to the airport which was lovely. There was no line at all for security and very quickly we were have a meal with a few of the other dancers travelling out on the same flight.

    Our first flight is Calgary to Frankfurt. We didn’t pay to select seats in advance and were a bit disheartened to see there were very few options for seats when we checked in last night and the only option to sit together was at the very back of the plane. But as it turns out we are in the back row where it’s just the two of us and some extra room by the window! Worked out better than we thought!

    Now the adventure begins.... the plane is about to start moving!

    Brooke    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
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    Day 2

    Germany Once Again

    July 29, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The plane departed from Calgary and we were immediately faced with the challenge of deciding what to do on the flight. Looking through the in-flight movie system showed that they had tons of selection. Or do I play some video games all flight long? We landed on watching The Crimes of Grindlewald together, which was a movie we had been meaning to see. Initially it wasn't captivating me that much, and then I look over to my right and I see Brooke sawing some logs. And we were barely an hour into the flight. So I pulled out my 3DS and got through some of a Pokemon game.

    Brooke woke up probably 45 minutes later, right before the dinner service. Since we were right at the back of the plane, they only had the pasta option for us. But since we just ate at Chili's we were ok with it. Finished watching the movie together, overall too many characters to follow but the over arching story was interesting.

    Afterwards, Brooke figured it was time to sleep some more, so she pulled out the sleep mask, travel neck pillow, and in-flight blanket. I played some more Pokemon. Brooke was kind of in and out of sleep, not being that restful. She blames the noisy babies in the back of the plane with us.

    I later turned on another movie, Venom, which was great! Hadn't seen it yet and found it really interesting. Brooke decided she wasn't sleeping that much and found one of her favorite movies, Singing in the Rain. She was giddy the whole time and bouncing along to the songs. So adorable!

    Eventually I pulled out my Nintendo Switch and started to make some levels in Mario Maker, an excellent way to pass the time and stay awake. Brooke watched part of the recent Dumbo movie. Pretty soon they brought out a light breakfast and then we were basically landing in Frankfurt. Didn't sleep a wink on the flight!

    My lower back was hurting from my seat cushion being in a weird position. Hopefully it calms down. We got off the plane and found our way to the next security check in. Poked around the terminal for a bit and found a great spot to have a German lunch with our friends Stephanie and Tom. Brooke was really excited to have German beer and food. We shared a sausage platter along with Paulaner beer. Reminded us of Octoberfest. Also order two pretzels and took one as a road pretzel.

    Waiting to board the next flight and then we will be in Kyiv!

    Tyler    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
    Day 2

    Made it to Kyiv!

    July 29, 2019 in Ukraine ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I’m really not the best person to recount the next part of the day as I wasn’t conscious during much of it. The way to our plane from the gate was by bus (which I managed to sleep on although it was likely less than 10 minutes) and then I also slept through the entire flight. Tyler did some last minute cramming with Ukrainian lessons on Duolingo (which included some LONG blinks as per Tyler) and then he made a new level on Mario Maker 2 (apparently with a very difficult ending).

    Cobblestone Freeway tour staff was right there after we made it through baggage claim (our luggage came) and escorted us to a small van to drive us to the Ibis hotel. I again slept for much of that drive. When we arrived, we had about 15 minutes to change and reapply deodorant and then had to be downstairs to go to dinner. Dinner was at Chicken Kyiv. A lovely green salad and the chicken Kyiv with mashed potatoes.

    I’m pretty sure everyone else is out exploring but we’ve turned in a bit early because tomorrow is a big day... Virsky!!

    Brooke    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
    Day 3

    Virsky!

    July 30, 2019 in Ukraine ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Wow! After staying up for 27 hours straight, boy did I sleep great. I don't think I even stirred once during the night. Apparently Brooke woke up 5:30 AM, wide awake and felt rested. She laid there for the next hour, trying not to disturb me, but was secretly willing me to wake up. I woke up around 6:45 AM (still an hour before the alarm I set) and we headed down to breakfast.

    Breakfast was a great European selection of breads, meats, cheeses, fresh fruit and hot selections. There was even hot cabbage rolls! European breakfasts are always so wonderful and fresh!

    After breakfast, Shane offered to take us for a quick walk to show us where to take money out and exchange CDN dollars. Took out 5,000 hryvni which was about $250 CDN. We also walked to the supermarket to buy a bunch of bottled water. Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the Virsky workshop! We actually went down to the lobby early so I could start stretching out the back since I'm a little tight from the day of being on an airplane.

    The Virsky studios is literally right across the street from our hotel, so everyone was dressed in dance gear and we walked over. The actual dance studio is on the 3rd floor with a main lobby area that we put our bags in. There was a bit of miscommunication where our group thought we were starting at 9:30, but the actual start time was 10:00 so we had extra time to get ready. Took some photos by the Virsky sign and also did a group message for an alumni wedding that we are missing.

    Going into the Virsky studio was quite the experience. The studio is massive, almost 3 times the size of ours and has a full wooden dance floor. The workshop was run by Halyna and Vova, alumni principle dancers in Virsky. We started with a ballet barre warm up. The exercises weren't the most complicated, but they were still intense because the instructors were quite critical. There were many times where they gave us corrections to the entire group for things to focus on.

    After a short break (pretty sure so the instructors could have a smoke) we went into center work and technique. I promptly put myself in the 4th line, not 1st but not last (Brooke was 2nd or 3rd line, much more confidence). The exercises were similar to what I have seen in the past, but I always find it tough to figure something out after being shown once (hence the 4th line). After the center work and some cross-floor, they split us into boys and girls and went through more jumping and spinning exercises.

    After another 10 minute (smoke) break, we went into combinations. This part the overall consensus was that they seemed to not have a real plan in mind for what to teach. They asked if we knew the Virsky Pryvit which some of us do and it turned into learning the different combinations from the opening of that dance. Brooke and I were able to keep up quite well, but that is because we have done it in big shows from the past few years. However it seemed that the two instructors didn't know the exact intricate details of each combination and I personally would have preferred to learn an excerpt from some other dance that we don't know.

    Final thoughts on the Virksky workshop:
    -very exciting to dance in the studio where they rehearse
    -great experience to learn from two people who performed with them years ago
    -it was incredibly hot and I was sweating like you wouldn't believe
    -A bit too short and it would have been cool to see part of an actual rehearsal
    -FYI they asked us not to post any photos from inside their studio so we will have some cool things to show when we get home

    After the workshop we were directed to head back to the hotel and be ready to go in 15 minutes. I don't know if we've mentioned it yet, but our tour is through Cobblestone Freeway so everything is pretty planned and arranged and there are 4 representatives with us as guides. What that means is that we have a schedule to keep and needed to be getting on our way to lunch. Brooke's opinion here was that more time could have been planned so we could have a moment to breathe. Anyways, we had the quickest shower of our life since we were soaked, changed clothes and headed downstairs.

    Lunch was at Salo Bar. The pre-arrangement of meals is excellent because we show up and they have everything ready. Lunch was a multi-course meal of a cabbage salad, borscht, meat cabbage rolls, potato pancakes (Dad you would have loved them), and perogies. It was all fabulous and delicious. Also ordered a round of beers with some dancers since we earned it this morning. Halfway through we were told that we were leaving in 5 minutes and we pretty much had a repeat of Nuremberg where I had to finish my beer plus some of the girls'.

    The afternoon consisted of memorial sight seeing. First up was the Holodomor Memorial museum. For those that don't know, the Holodomor was a series of famines in Ukraine that were implemented by the Soviet Union in 1921, 1932, 1933, and 1947. The Soviet Union forced Ukrainians to meet unreachable harvest quotas, which meant there was not enough food for the actual people of Ukraine, and millions died of starvation. I was aware of these events but what I didn't know was that the truth was censored for over 50 years. We watched a short 15 minute video and then had a tour of the rest of the museum. I really liked the main memorial called the Candle of Memory which was encased in a metal cross representing how Ukraine was like a prison.

    Next we were driven to the World War II memorial. Our guides gave us some background information on when Ukraine entered the war, their roles, and the battle that was fought around the Dnipro River. The main statue was a really tall monument called "Motherland" that was built in 1981. The statue is holding a sword and shield. Interesting facts were that the shield was embellished with a Soviet Union symbol and when Ukrainian government outlawed the symbol it was deemed too expensive to remove. And a myth around the sword was that the sword was cut off so that it would not be taller than the crosses on Valgra Church, who knows if that is true.

    We then headed back to the hotel. Brooke stopped off early to go body suit shopping with some girls and was very successful. I went and had a beer in the hotel bar with the guys. Then it was time to head for dinner.

    Dinner was a multi-course meal with a small group of dancers / singers performing for us. It was so nice to be performed to for once! The food was delicious and very abundant. Some of the highlights were the potato pancakes (Dad you must be so jealous), grilled beef, and the sour cherry perogies for dessert. The small performing group sang for us and also had everyone come up at different times throughout dinner and do folk dances with them.

    Another traditional part of a Ukrainian meal is vodka toasts. The tradition is to do 5 toasts throughout dinner and the toasts are to: 1. The Host, 2. Friends, 3. Love, 4. Parents / Grandparents, 5. Good Health. The restaurant had an incredible cherry vodka that was very easy to go down. The toasts went fairly quickly and then it was custom toasts afterwards. We also can't end on an even number so I think we finished at 13 in total (the pours started to be smaller as the night went on)

    Finishing off the night with a drink with the dancers at the hotel bar. Tomorrow is a city tour of Kyiv.

    Tyler    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
    Day 4

    Kyiv Sightseeing

    July 31, 2019 in Ukraine ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today is our main day for exploring Kyiv before we move on to our next destination. We had a slightly later start, breakfast at our hotel and then back to the bus for a city tour.

    Our tour guide Tanya, was a native of Kyiv and she was a really interesting and an informative guide. Fun fact: Kyiv was founded by three brothers, the oldest of which was named Kyi. This is where the city name Kyiv came from (Kyiv is the correct spelling, Kiev is the Russian version).

    Our tour was a series of short bus rides and stops at the main sights of Kyiv. The first was St. Volodymyr Cathedral (yellow church). This a church in the Byzantine style and is still an active church. We bought a candle to leave at one of the altars. In the process of buying it, I tried unknowingly to pay with a 0.10 hryvna coin (worth about half a penny). The lady of course shook her head and then I figured out how much that coin was actually worth and paid the 3 hryvni price (worth about 15 cents).

    The next stop was the golden gates which was the main entrance when Kyiv was a walled city. Here we learned a bit about Prince Yaroslav, who was instrumental in the history of Kyiv and built the oldest temple here which was started in 1011 AD. Apparently he lived to be 76 which was quite a feat in the 11th century. Our guide explained that the locals here joke that his statue is called “the man with a cake.” (see photo)

    Our next stop was St. Sophia. This is the oldest original church in Kyiv. We spent quite a lot of time in the main church. The exterior is now white with blue domes (in a Baroque style) but the original was with stone masonry. They have now uncovered parts of the walls to show the original stone. The interior mosaics were very interesting. Tanya was explaining that the frescoes on the walls were hidden with plaster and forgotten for 300 years, and were rediscovered by accident and then restored.

    Then within the church we got to see an artistic mosaic comprised of 1500 Easter eggs called “Looking into Eternity.”

    Another fun fact: the word hryvna comes from the Ukrainian word for the mane of a horse. Apparently this is because when the money was named, one single silver piece was enough to buy a horse.

    Next we walked to St. Andrew, the stunning church at the top of the hill. It has gorgeous deep blue/teal domes and the colors are just stunning! It is named after St. Andrew because in the 1st century he predicted that a large city would be built on that spot (where there wasn’t a settlement at that time). We were given about 20 minutes to walk around Andriyvski Uzviz, where there are many vendors set up along the road down the hill. Decided not to get anything here as we think there will be more interesting and unique options in Lviv.

    The next stop was the outside of St. Michael. This church was destroyed when Kyiv was under the USSR regime but has since been rebuilt. This site is also very important in regard to the revolution at Maidan in 2013-2014 as it was a refuge for people seeking safety. There is a memorial to the hundred heroes as well as a long wall with the soldiers lost in the ongoing war on the East side of Ukraine.

    Here we saw a monument of Cyril and Methodius, the brothers that created the Cyrillic alphabet (hence the name of the alphabet). Right beside this area, there is also a mural of Nigoyan, one of the first victims in Kyiv at Maidan in 2013/2014.

    Next stop, lunch! We walked through Maryinski Park to the restaurant. Another lovely four course meal (salad, soup, chicken shashlyky and potatoes, followed by crepes filled with apple). As with all of our meals, it was fresh, properly cooked, and very flavourful.

    The next group plan was to go back to the market streets at Andriyvski Uzviz. This would have meant walking around shopping at the vendors which we didn’t really need to do. Deciding to skip the group plan was not a difficult decision, especially since it’s our last day in Kyiv and we haven’t been to Maidan yet. So we headed off with a few other dancers that chose to forgo the street vendors. We walked in the direction of Maidan and decided to drop the boys off for a beer so that the girls could go shopping.

    Christine, Christina and I wanted to go to Всі. Свої, a very unique Ukrainian store that has only high quality products that were made in Ukraine ... Lovely selection of ceramics, furniture, and home decor. As we were shopping, we were talking about how we would have liked to buy some very impractical things to travel with - such as throw pillows, large soft blankets, or maybe a piece of furniture. We did spend quite a lot of time in there and turns out the boys were joking about us taking so long because we were buying a couch. We might have bought something like that if it would be possible to transport home! I landed on a couple notebooks with pretty patterns on them. A very inexpensive shopping trip given how much looking around we did.

    We eventually made it to Maidan, the main central square. In 2013/2014, peaceful protesters started to speak/collect due to the president declining to sign the agreement for Ukraine to join the EU. The president ordered the police to beat the protesters and for months there were barricades built right in the middle of this modern city square. Around the tall obelisk in the square, they have developed a memorial of what happened. A lot of the information posted highlighted the influence of social media in the events that occurred there. Approximately 100 people died during the conflict, many of whom were civilians involved only in peaceful protest. Tyler and I would recommend watching the documentary “Winter on Fire” to learn more about the events.

    Having been in Kyiv at this very place mere months before this began with Cheremosh in June 2013, I was really amazed at how much it has already been restored. If I didn’t know about the conflict, I wouldn’t have known anything had really changed this gorgeous square.

    We walked a couple blocks to find a non-touristy restaurant for dinner. Highlights were a yummy tomato, goat cheese and watermelon salad and Tyler had a cool dessert - strawberry soup. This was a vanilla panacotta served with a straw berry sauce/soup. I then headed to the hotel to exchange money with Shane and Tyler went with the others to see the deepest metro station in Europe (the escalator down does look very impressive).

    Another very full day! Tomorrow is one of our long bus travel days so it’s off to bed here!!

    Brooke

    PS Apologies for the errors in the original post... I was half asleep when I posted last night and missed some interesting autocorrects.    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
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    Day 5

    Taras Shevchenko Memorial

    August 1, 2019 in Ukraine ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The main stop on the bus ride today was an excursion to the Taras Shevchenko Memorial near Kaniv. Taras Shevchenko was a famous Ukrainian poet / artist from the 1800s. We were taken on a short tour of the museum and then got to see the memorial site / grave.

    The next bit is a description of what we learned during the tour, mostly so we can look back and recall what we were told. I apologize if I state anything historically / factually incorrect.

    Taras Shevchenko was born in 1814 in Ukraine. At a very young age he learned to read, which was a rare occurence in that time. He began to make extra money by doing drawings and started to get noticed. Eventually he was taken to an actual school where he further developed his artistic and literary skills.

    Throughout his life he made over 1200 artistic works. He was often wanting to earn more money to buy his brothers and sisters from serfdom. Eventually he was commissioned to examine national monuments in Ukraine and develop paintings of them.

    In 1847 Taras was arrested for being part of a secret political society. He was exiled to Kazhakstan to become a soldier there and was forbidden to write and draw (his pockets were even searched for pencil and paper). However he still was finding ways to write secretly for 3 years, but was eventually found out and arrested this time as a prisoner for 7 years. They thought he would die before the sentence was up.

    While in Kazhakstan the authorities needed someone to draw maps for them and chose Shevchenko. Apparently he made over 700 pictures of Kazakhstan. One interesting point was that while he was exiled he was still able to create paintings with no supplies by using squid ink and a needle. The museum had some of these paintings on display.

    After 10 years of exile, Taras Shevchenko was liberated and eventually came back to Ukraine. When he returned, he wanted to build a dream house. People recognized him as a poet / painter, but where he wanted to build was protested against because he didn't come from upper class. He was taken into custody again for this controversy and taken to Kiev. They decided to let him go but was heavily suggested to go back to St. Petersburg. While there he published a book with his own money and it was the first book published in Ukrainian, which was of course forbidden.

    Taras Shevchenko died in St. Petersburg shortly after his 47th birthday in 1861. The main reason of his death was heart attack, but it also due to the process used to make etchings (type of ink was harmful for the lungs).

    He was initially buried in St. Petersburg. But his friends remembered his last will and testament to be buried in Ukraine. There was a petition to move his body to Ukraine. Eventually his body was transported by horse and cart (10 day trip) to Kaniv, which is the location where he wanted to build his house.

    Initially his grave wasnt allowed to be very fancy. After some years, one local man found out and started to spread word, people donated money, and authorities gave permission to make a better grave. The museum dedicated to him was eventually built at his grave site and it was initially opened in 1939.

    The end of the tour involved more of the memorial pieces that have been done in his name. There was a wall of books of all of the different languages that his works have been published in. And then the coolest piece was a tapestry sized picture of him that was actually fully embroidered!

    We finished off the tour by getting some pictures in front if the main memorial statue that has been built over top of his grave site. Then it was back on the bus to carry on with the day.

    Tyler    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
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    Day 5

    Kyiv to Kropvnytskyi

    August 1, 2019 in Ukraine ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Travel Day! Today we travelled from Kyiv to Kropynytskyi and that meant pack everything up and load up the bus. We woke up, showered, and packed up our suitcases, then went down for a quick breakfast to make bus call for 9:00 AM. We were early by 10 minutes but the overall group was delayed. Partially because of the 3 small elevators bottlenecking everyone with their luggage but also because some people aren't making the largest effort to be on time for bus call. My overall opinion is that the call time needs to be taken a bit more seriously.

    The busses departed away and we got settled in. Played some bus games together and then it seemed like we were barely 45 minutes out and we made a stop at a gas station so the driver could have a smoke break. Gonna be a long day. Most people loaded off the bus to use the bathroom / grab a snack and it was probably a 20 minute wait. Then we were back on the road. Next the guys started up the traditional game of Kaiser on a dance bus trip. We made a makeshift table from a cardboard box from the hotel. Showed the game to one our of Ukrainian guides, Andrei, and he caught on quickly. However he couldn't believe how long it was taking which is the point since there is not much else to do. The game was up and down but Joren and I eventually beat Jordan and Alex!

    After another 1.5 hours, we stopped at the Taras Shevchenko memorial site. Check out our other post for a detailed description.

    After the excursion we boarded the bus and drove 10 minutes for our lunch stop. Our guides were hurrying us along because we were running late (hmmmmmm, I wonder why?). Lunch was at a restaurant and we had salad, borscht, and fish. I was still a bit peckish, but luckily was talking to the younger girls who had barely ate anything and was able to get another two bowls of borscht. Then it was time to head out, but had to let everyone have a bathroom break, through two stalls for 60 people. That takes a while. I passed some time with some of the guys by tossing a large bouncy ball around in the parking lot. Departed around 3:30pm.

    The next leg was probably going to take another 4 hours. Part of the reason for the long lengths is that the roads and highways in Ukraine are vary quite a bit in terms of quality. There are lots of potholes in the road and the bus has to slow down to a crawl sometimes to get through them. Some of the highways feel like backcountry dirt roads for what we are used to. To give you and idea, Google Maps says the entire length for today's trip was about 350km

    During the afternoon portion of the drive, the guys revved up our engines and busted out the Mario Kart 7, which is starting to become another dance bus trip tradition! It was a blast and we were having a hoot in the back of the bus. Probably played the entire rest of the drive. There was also another bathroom break at a gas station where we had to shuttle 60 people through 2 or 3 stalls. Oh and Brooke didn't have much to report from the afternoon trip since she was napping the whole way.

    We finally got to Kropvnytskyi around 8:00pm and unloaded the bus. Check in process took awhile and then we had the Great Costume Unpacking session. Opened up all of the costume suitcases and was distributing all of the costumes to everyone. I had a slight concern when I couldn't find a couple of pieces, but eventually they turned up.

    Brooke and I made the smart/but not smart decision to iron our costumes before going downstairs to the restaurant. Partially because there were a ton of people there already. Smart because we got the annoying work out of the way, not-smart because by the time we got downstairs we had issues with ordering food. Brooke had checked what time they were taking orders until and we were told we had 5 minutes. So quickly decided and then found out they weren't taking orders anymore and all we could have was a couple of cold clubhouse sandwiches that they had screwed up on someone elses order and a cup of soup (this was even with our friend Audrey helping to translate for us). Suffice to say we weren't too happy, but I guess things could always be worse.

    Anyways, it's been a long day and tomorrow is actually our first full show, so we need to get some rest.

    Tyler    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
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    Day 6

    World's Only Ukrainian Dance Museum

    August 2, 2019 in Ukraine ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    The first part of the morning has been fairly confusing. It was originally scheduled for us to have a workshop with Vasyl Bosyi in Khutir Nadia (somewhere a short distance away) and then come back to prepare for our show which is tonight. Tyler and I went to bed quite late by the time everything was organized. My wifi has not been able to connect and Tyler doesn’t have the Tryzub group chat configured on his. So we didn’t see the messages that the schedule has changed for today. Looks like the workshop is cancelled today/deferred to tomorrow and now we are having a sightseeing morning and then spending the rest of the day preparing for the show.

    We started with breakfast at the hotel where we learned of the schedule changes. Bus call was at 8:30 AM and we headed to the studios in Kropyvnytski where Prolisok Ensemble rehearses (and where Yatran ensemble used to rehearse). We had a tour with a man named Anatole who manages the studios. I’m not sure if that’s where the workshop will be tomorrow but there were about five studios there.

    Next we travelled to Khutir Nadia, about an hour away from Kropyvnytski. This is where the Ethnographic Choreographic Museum of Ukrainian Dance is, the main attraction of our visit here. We learned about the first dancers that brought Ukrainian dance to the stage in 1875. We learned that the hopak was awarded the best dance in the International Folk Dance Festival in 1935 in London. We had the opportunity to learn more about Virsky Ensemble and that many other regional professional ensembles were created after Virsky was the first. One of the rooms in the museum is dedicated to Ukrainian dance groups outside of Ukraine. Shane has worked closely with Vasyl Bosyi who created the museum and the poster for our show along with information about Tryzub is included there. There aren’t many Canadian groups featured there so this is a huge honour. I feel like there was much more to see and learn but we didn’t have much extra time.

    The bus ride back for me was spent mostly with hair braiding. Kristen braided my hair and then I braided the hair of two other girls.

    Now we are back in our room preparing our costumes for the show. A tiny breather before the hectic and stressful afternoon/evening ahead!

    Brooke    Read more

  • TravelerBrooke&Tyler Dance in Україна
    3
    1
    Day 6

    Heroiam Slava Performed in Ukraine

    August 2, 2019 in Ukraine ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Where to begin?? Our performance in Kropyvnytskyi was absolutely phenomenal.

    We arrived at the theatre around 2:30 pm and got our dressing rooms set up. The theatre was really beautiful and the change room were spacious. Our Cobblestone guides brought our lunch to the theatre - amazing how they can arrange a pretty excellent lunch in to go containers - we had vegetables, shishlyk and cherry perogies. Our technical rehearsal was quite efficient, mostly practicing transitions between dancing and choir. During this time we also set up our quick changes and did our makeup for the most part. We also got to hear the soloist for the song at the end of the storyline which was stunning... even just hearing her sing a few phrases made me emotional.

    Pretty quickly it was time for group warm up and getting ready for the stage. We were both more nervous than we typically are before a show. The audience was amazing... they really made us feel like they were enjoying the show. There was one point during Kokhannia the audience was clapping with the music at a point we wouldn’t have expected it! Definitely gave me extra energy! Everything really went quite well ... I made one strange mistake with my arms which is frustrating, but I hope that won’t happen again.

    After hopak, the applause, standing ovation, and ‘bravos’ felt amazing!!! We took some photos after the show with the theatre seats behind us! Seems like the feedback Shane was getting after the show has been very positive. The man in the sound/light room was the director of the theatre and he also danced with Virsky for decades. He told Shane that he was inspired by the show and rarely sees such passion in dancers.

    Next it was time for a quick stop at the hotel to air out our costumes. Tyler and I took everything apart and draped costumes literally all over our hotel room (especially the lamps). It worked! In the morning everything felt quite dry.

    It was back to the bus to go to the post-show Zabava. We were very hungry and arrived to see the tables covered with appetizers. Before we went in, we had to do a welcome shot (plain vodka, not the cherry kind from Kyiv). There were approximately 10 different appetizers including salads, eggplant with tomato sauce, fruit, cheese, meats and fish. There was a stuffed fish dish they handed out individually that I found I just couldn’t eat given the texture. This honestly would have been enough food. But then there were many other dishes they brought out (cabbage rolls, meat balls, ribs, and nalysnyky). I really just needed something to eat but then once I was nourished I was pretty near ready to fall asleep at the table.

    The hosts were playing a few zabava games - with ribbons and a perogy making contest. The perogies that were made were the ones that we ate. They had made a few “happy perogies” that were full of salt. It was said that whoever got that perogy would have good luck for a year. Tyler bit into his perogy and immediately was overwhelmed by salt. He won some candy because he got that perogy.

    A few other dancers were exhausted like me and we decided to leave a bit early. We left at 12:15. The car back to the hotel was 40 hryvni (so with four dancers it was 10 each... about 50 cents each). Tyler seems to function better than me with no quiet time... but I really needed a bit of down time. I organized some of my packing for the morning. I don’t think I had been in bed very long before Tyler made it back home but it sure was worth it!

    Tomorrow we have a workshop and then a long bus ride to Vinnitsya!

    Brooke    Read more

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