Roma Pryma Bohachevsky Ukrainian Dance Workshop participants strut their stuff (08/06/06)

Roma Pryma Bohachevsky Ukrainian Dance Workshop participants strut their stuff

GLEN SPEY, N.Y. - The outdoor stage at the Verkhovyna Mountainview Resort shook with the thunder of red boots stamping in unison as, once again, the Roma Pryma Bohachevsky Ukrainian Dance Workshop showed the Ukrainian community why it is the premier training ground for young Ukrainian dancers in North America.

Since 1974 the workshop has functioned as an intensive training program for more accomplished dancers who want to improve their Ukrainian dancing skills. Taking over the reins of the workshop after her mother's death, Director Ania Bohachevsky Lonkevych, with the assistance of artistic directors Andrij Cybyk and Kristine Izak and teacher/choreographer Orlando Pagan, is faithfully carrying on Roma Pryma Bohachevsky's legacy of training the finest Ukrainian dancers in the United States.

This year, 49 dancers - 26 boys and 23 girls - ranging in age from 15 to 36, came from as far away as Chicago and Canada, as well as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, to participate in the program. Their level of skill ranged from high school students with some previous training to dancers with professional companies such as Stephan Calka, a member of the Sacramento Ballet Company. Additionally, there were young professionals, including engineer Lev Iwashko who appeared on the hit TV show "So You Think You Can Dance" and New York City police officer Markian Kopystiansky, a former dancer with the Atlanta Ballet.

No matter what their skill level, all of the dancers engage in a rigorous and grueling program, dancing more than eight hours every day, while taking classes in ballet, character or Ukrainian dancing and repertory. In just two weeks, they must learn the complex dances they perform at the annual Verkhovyna Youth Festival.

The pieces presented by the workshop's dancers at this year's festival included the traditional "Pryvit" and Hopak, choreographed by Ms. Pryma Bohachevsky; "Gypsy Suite" and "Hulianka" (a men's dance), both choreographed by Mr. Cybyk; "No Work/All Play," a comedic dance choreographed by Mr. Pagan; and "Litnyj Viter" (Summer Breeze) choreographed by Ms. Izak. Participants in the workshop also showed off their skills in "Hutsulka," an intricate, lively dance from the Hutsul region of Ukraine choreographed by Ms. Pryma Bohachevsky.

The workshop is supported by the Roma Pryma Bohachevsky Ukrainian Dance Foundation, which furthers the late prima ballerina's mission to train a new generation of dancers who will preserve this unique form of expression. To achieve this goal, the foundation provides scholarships to deserving students who wish to attend the workshop. This year scholarships were awarded to Sophie Panych, Yuriy Dobriansky and Mr. Iwashko.

The foundation also includes dance camps for children, dance schools in the New York/New Jersey area and the renowned Syzokryli Dance Ensemble.

This year, the two sessions of two-week children's summer dance camps for dancers aged 8 to 16 are being held at the Soyuzivka estate. These camps offer basic training in ballet and Ukrainian dance as well as provide recreational activities such as swimming; "clash days" when the children dress up in various costumes for class; and a masquerade. At the end of each session there is a performance to showcase the children's skills.

This year the camps will present a fairy tale in dance, "The Six Dancing Daughters." Performances will be held at Soyuzivka's Veselka Hall in the afternoon of Saturday, August 5, and in the evening of Saturday, August 19.

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