After a pandemic hiatus, the Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble is a little bit rusty.
A few times a week, around two dozen semi-professional dancers …
After a pandemic hiatus, the Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble is a little bit rusty. A few times a week, around two dozen semi-professional dancers run through choreography in the basement of the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center in suburban Philadelphia. Among their ranks are engineers, designers and students, brought together by common heritage. One that is now under attack. «[Russia is] trying to rewrite our history and it’s our time to say ‘no.’ We’re fighting back,» said dancer Maria Molyashcha. An estimated 57,000 people born in Ukraine and their descendants call the Philadelphia area home, making this the second largest Ukrainian community in the United States, according to Census data. Since the Russian invasion, this diaspora has kicked into high gear: collecting donations, lobbying the federal government to send arms, and educating an American public suddenly focused on their homeland. The Ensemble, which turns 50 this year, sees its role in combating Russian aggression as diplomacy through dance, teaching U.S. audiences about Ukrainian history and culture. Choreographer and executive director Taras Lewyckyj,59, has been studying Ukrainian dance since he was around 4-years-old. «It’s a very catchy way of dancing. It’s kind of like breakdancing,» he said, particularly the hopak, a folk dance said to have evolved from fighting moves performed by the Cossacks. Born in Philadelphia to Ukrainian parents, Lewyckyj grew up speaking Ukrainian and studying the history and culture of his ancestral homeland.
