Ukrainian Dance - Regional Styles of Dance

Regional Styles of Dance

Ukrainian folk dance was fundamentally altered when it began to be performed onstage, as it was transformed into a new art form: Ukrainian folk-stage dance. Once dance masters such as Verkhovynets and Avramenko began gathering a repertoire of dances and touring Ukrainian lands with their troupes, teaching workshops in the villages as they went, the inherent regional variations which stemmed from the improvisational nature of pre-modern Ukrainian folk dances began to slowly fade. The types of dances one would see in one part of the country began to be performed in other parts of the country, and "Ukrainian dances" became a more homogeneous group.

Ukraine has many ethnocultural regions, many with their own music, dialect, form of dress, and dance steps. The scholarship of Verkhovynets and Avramenko, however, was mostly limited to the villages of central Ukraine. Gradually, others began filling in the gaps of this research, by researching the dance forms of the various ethnic groups of western Ukraine, publishing this scholarship, and founding regional dance ensembles. Most of this research, however, occurred after Verkhovynets' and Avramenko had already toured Ukraine, which limited the available sources of "traditional dance" knowledge to isolated villages or the immigrant communities who left their native territories before Verkhovynets and Avramenko began touring.

Because of the spread and influence of Verkhovynets and Avramenko's early work, most of the dances representing these ethnocultural regions, as performed by modern-day Ukrainian folk-stage dance ensembles, still incorporate the basic steps of bihunets and tynok, although new variations between "regional" styles of dance have developed as a result of more and more advanced instruction and choreographies becoming prevalent. Story (character) dances, such as pantomimed fables, and staged ritual dances are not necessarily linked to particular regions.

The stage costumes adopted by modern-day Ukrainian dance ensembles are based on traditional dress, but represent an idealized image of village life, with dancers identically dressed in vibrant colors untarnished by time or nature. While the dance-steps, costumes, and music differ from dance to dance, it is important to realize that many of these variations are modern-day choreographic constructs, with changes having been made to advance the art more than to preserve cultural traditions.

The "regional dances" of Ukrainian dance include:

• Central Ukrainian or Kozak Dances, representing the culture and traditions of the Ukrainian Kozaks (Kozaky), Poltava and other central Ukrainian lands surrounding the river Dnipro (Dnieper); these are the dances most commonly associated with Ukrainian dance. The culture of central and eastern Ukraine developed under many foreign influences, due to both trade and foreign invasion. The greatest indigenous cultural influence was the semi-military society of the Kozaks, whose love of social dances spawned the Hopak (youtube), the Kozachok (youtube), the Povzunets (youtube), the Chumaky (youtube), and many others. The men's costumes for these dances are styled after Kozak dress, with boots, a comfortable shirt, a sash (poyas) tied around the waist, and loose, billowy riding trousers (sharovary); common accessories include overcoats, hats, and swords. The women's costumes have subtler variations, since the woman's blouse generally displays more embroidery than the men's shirt, the skirt (plakhta) is woven with various geometric and color patterns, and they wear a headpiece of flowers and ribbons (vinok). All of these pieces can vary from village to village, or even based on a family tradition, although most professional ensembles dress their performers with identical costumes, for aesthetic reasons. The style of these dances is acrobatic and physically demanding for the men, who are often showcased individually; women have traditionally played secondary roles, displaying grace and beauty while often dancing in technically demanding unison.
• Hutsul Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Hutsulshchyna. While Vasyl Avramenko's Hutsul dances are notoriously inaccurate depictions of the dances of the Hutsuls, the highlanders who inhabit the Carpathian Mountains, the demand for additional research to fill in the gaps of Verkhovynets initial work eventually brought about a revived interest in Hutsul customs and traditions, and soon Hutsul and Carpathian dance ensembles had developed the second most-recognizable style of Ukrainian dance. The well known dances of the region of Pokuttia is the Kolomyika (youtube) which is named after the biggest city of the region, Kolomea; the Hutsulka (youtube 1, youtube 2). The mountainous Hutsul region of Ukraine, Hutsulshchyna, is adjacent to the Romanian regions of Bukovina and Maramureş, and the regions are ethno-culturally linked. In depicting Hutsuls dances, dancers traditionally wear leather moccasins known as postoly, and decorated vests known as keptari. Men's pants are not as loose as the kozak dress, and women wear a skirt composed of front and back panels, tied at the waist. Hutsul costumes traditionally incorporate orange, brown, green, and yellow embroidery. Hutsul dances are well known for being lively and energetic, characterized by quick stamping and intricate footwork, combined with swift vertical movements. A well-known Hutsul dance is the arkan ('lasso', cf. Romanian arcan), in which men dance around a fire.
• Transcarpathian Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Ukrainian Zakarpattia. Dances from this region are known for their large sweeping movements and colourful costumes, with the general movement being "bouncy". A signature dance from this region is bereznianka.
• Bukovynian Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Bukovyna, a transitional highland between Ukraine and Romania, historically ruled by the Romanian Principality of Moldavia, as well as the Habsburg Empire and the Tatars. Ukrainian dances depicting Bukovynian music and dance is peppered with dichotomies and contrapuntal themes, perhaps reflecting the political histories of the region. In these dances, both men and women perform a variety of foot-stamps. Usually, the girls' headpieces are very distinctive, consisting of tall wheat stalks, ostrich feathers, or other unique protuberances. The embroidery on the blouses and shirts is typically stitched with darker and heavier threads, and women's skirts are sometimes open at the front, revealing an embroidered slip.
• Volyn' Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Volyn'. This region is located in north-western Ukraine. The representative costumes worn by Ukrainian dancers are bright and vibrant, while the dance steps are characterized by energetic jumping, high legs, and lively arms. The dances representing this region have been influenced by the traditional dances of Poland, due to Volyn's geographical proximity with Poland, and Poland's extended rule over the area.
• Polissian Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Polissia. The steps of Polissian dance as depicted by Ukrainian dancers are characteristically very bouncy and with emphasis on high knee movement. The costumes often incorporate white, red, and beige as the main colors, and girls often wear aprons. A popular Polissian dance is called mazurochky.
• Lemko Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Lemkivshchyna. The ethnographic region of the Lemkos lays mainly in Poland, with a small part falling within current Ukrainian borders. Relatively isolated from ethnic Ukrainians, the Lemko people have a unique lifestyle and ethnography, like that of the Hutsuls, which Ukrainian dance choreographers enjoy depicting. The dance costumes typically depict the men and women with short vests, with the style of dance being light-hearted as well as lively.
• Podillian Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Podillia.
• Boiko Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Boikivshchyna.
• Gypsy Dances, representing the culture and traditions of Ukrainian Tsyhany: The Roma people have lived in Ukraine for centuries. Those inhabiting the Carpathian Mountains have even developed their own dialect of the Rom language, as well as customs and traditional dances limited to their own villages. Many Ukrainian folk-stage dance ensembles have incorporated stylized Tsyhans'ky ("Gypsy") dances into their repertoire (youtube(1), youtube(2)).