Modern Ukrainian dance in the early 20th century blended academic rigour, fluidity, athletic prowess, and rich folkloric themes, embodying the spirit of independence. Olena Zaklynska, a prominent Ukrainian choreographer, studied in Prague and achieved international renown, significantly shaping European fascination with Ukrainian dance. Her journey from Lviv to Canada left an enduring impact on the global evolution of Ukrainian dance.
Modern dance has incorporated the academic school, fluidity, athletic strength, and folkloric style. It’s no wonder that mastering Ukrainian dance in its modern form at the beginning of the 20th century enabled the expression of bold, freedom-loving ideas, nurturing both body and spirit for the subsequent struggle for independence.
A luminary of Ukrainian choreography, Olena Zaklynska, pursued her studies in Prague, attending the ballet school of Mařena Rzečycka Vajdová after graduating from the gymnasium in Przemyśl. She continued her education in Lviv at a private school using the Dalcroze method under Oksana Fedak-Drahomiretska and at Matilda Bronevska’s modern dance school using the Wigman system. In preparing stage costumes, she collaborated with the renowned artist Sviatoslav Hordynskyi and maintained friendships with famous artists Olga and Olena Kulchytska and Ulyana Kravchenko. In an interview, she confessed, “Dance, especially folk dance, is in our blood. Every Ukrainian child easily learns the steps of the kozachok, hopak, and kolomyika. This is even more true for ritual dances like hagyilky and obzhynky.”
She received the second prize at the 11th International Contemporary Dance Competition in Brussels. The press wrote: “Olena Zaklynska performed three of her own compositions: ‘Lullaby’ to the music of Barvinsky, ‘Road’ to the music of Lysko, and ‘Driabushka’ to the music of Mykola Kolessa. The audience met each of these three dances with abundant applause.” Following this performance, both the dancer and Ukrainian choreographic culture attracted the interest of Europe. She received a diploma and first prize for solo and duet dances at the First Festival of Ukrainian Dance and Music in Winnipeg, Canada.
In the early 1940s, she worked with the troupe of the Lviv Opera Theater. In exile, she continued to perfect her skills in Vienna (in the class of Rosalie Hliadek at the Higher School of Dance) and Innsbruck. In the late 1940s, she moved to Canada, where she founded her first school of Ukrainian dance. Her students won first prizes and received positive reviews, particularly for the compositions “Thoughts-Kolomyiky,” “Hopak,” and others.
This impressive lineup of innovators extends far beyond what’s been mentioned. In Odesa, choreographer Kasian Holeizovsky led bold experiments, breaking away from classical ballet techniques to explore new artistic forms. He famously declared Odesa as the “ballet Hollywood,” a modern epicentre for groundbreaking dance. Another luminary from Odesa, Pavel Virsky, transformed Ukrainian folk-stage dance, taking it to prestigious global stages through his visionary choreography.
Vasyl Verkhovynets played a crucial role in the development of heroic ballet. After graduating from the Odesa Music and Drama School in 1927, he further honed his skills in Moscow under Asaf Messerer, uncle of prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya. Collaborating with choreographer Vasyl Lytvynenko, they aimed to blend classical ballet structures with vibrant folkloric themes.
Even the iconic ballet tutu owes its existence to Varvara Karynska (Zhmudska) from Kharkiv. Evading the country under the guise of organizing a Soviet embroidery exhibition, she went on to collaborate with legends like Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, and Marc Chagall. Her costumes adorned Hollywood stars such as Marlene Dietrich and Ingrid Bergman and graced over 70 ballets for the New York City Ballet, under the guidance of choreographer George Balanchine. Karinska’s exceptional talent earned her an Oscar for costume design in films like “Joan of Arc” and “Hans Christian Andersen.”
We can also celebrate figures like Olga Khokhlova from Nizhyn, a prominent Ukrainian ballerina and the wife of Pablo Picasso, and Marina Berezovska, a Ukrainian classical dancer and choreographer, daughter of the renowned Ukrainian artist Heorhiy Narbut. Among the notable men are Serhiy Polunin, a prodigious ballet artist from Kherson who became the principal dancer of the British Royal Ballet at 19, and Denys Matvienko, an Honored Artist of Ukraine who has graced stages at prestigious venues worldwide, including the New National Theatre (Tokyo), La Scala (Milan), the Grand Opera (Paris), and the American Ballet Theatre (New York). Matvienko is esteemed as the only person in the world to hold four Grand Prix awards from international ballet competitions and has received numerous other accolades. Lastly, there’s Olesya Vorotnyuk, a ballerina from the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, who, after losing her husband in battle three years ago, took up arms to defend Ukraine.
These remarkable individuals from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Nizhyn, Kherson, and Galicia have made indelible contributions to the world of choreography. Reflecting on their achievements allows us to honor their legacies on national and international stages with pride.
