January 2008 - Voloshky wins Dance Advance grant to support next Steppes performance!

Out of 66 professional applicants, 22, including Voloshky, were awarded the prestigious Dance Advance grant. See attached press release!

In August of 2006, Voloshky produced STEPPES - A Ukrainian Dance Spectacular, held at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
(Select the image below for photos.)
Dedicated to Anatolij Kryvokhyzha, the first recipient of the STEPPES Toward Liberty Award, this gala performance also featured master violinist Vasyl Popadiuk, the 2007 Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Academy, Victor Guzeyev and Myroslav Nazaruk.

The Steppes performance was made possible by Dance Advance, an artistic initiative of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage funded byThe Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. Video and photos from the Steppes performance were partially supported by Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour a program developed and funded by Vira I. Heinz Endowment William Penn Foundation Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Additional support was provided by Dance Advance

October 2004

In October of 2004, Voloshky had the privilege to participate in Folk!, a full-length documentary on Ukrainian folk dancing in North America, directed and produced by filmmaker Roxy Toporowych. Roxy, a native of Ohio, currently resides in New York City where she graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Film and Television in 1998. A Ukrainian folk dancer herself, she began Folk! two years ago with the creative partnership of audio engineer and cinematographer Jeremy McCarter, resulting in the film production company KinoRox.

Folk! explores the unique underground world of traditional Ukrainian Folk Dance in North America, emphasizing the music, dance, costumes, and personalities of the Ukrainian people. Ensembles throughout the United States and Ukraine added to the project, granting full access to their rehearsals and performances. These troupes include Syzokryli of New York, Voloshky of Philadelphia, Kashtan of Cleveland, Obrij of New York/New Jersey, Virsky of Kiev (Ukraine), and Unist of Lviv (Ukraine).

KinoRox shot footage of Voloshky that included an intensive late night rehearsal and a full stage performance in Scranton, PA.

For more details on Folk!, KinoRox, how to donate, current updates, or Voloshky’s involvement in the project, please visit http://www.KinoRox.com

June 2003

P R E S S__ A N N O U N C M E N T

Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble
Announces Dancers to spend two weeks at the
Kirovograd Education Complex

June 6, 2003, Jenkintown, PA - Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble announces that ensemble members depart for Ukraine for two weeks of study with masters of Ukrainian dance at Ukraine’s premier dance training institution.

On June 27, twelve members of the Jenkintown-based 35 member ensemble, including Artistic Director, Taras Lewyckyj, will fly to Ukraine to study with Anatoly Kryvochyzha, living legend of Ukrainian dance, at the Kirovograd Education Complex.

While there, the Ensemble members will take training from the faculty in Ukrainian dance history, theory, technique, choreographic process and traditional costuming and music. According to Artistic Director Lewyckyj, the trip is of paramount importance in realizing the Ensemble’s goals. “Voloshky’s mission is to present Ukrainian dance as a living, and breathing art form, not one that is a preserved representation of the past. The project supports this mission in that it will enable a new generation of dedicated Voloshky dancers to develop their artistic skills and lead the company to the future.”

This project was made possible in part by a grant from Dance Advance, a program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by Drexel University