YARA SERIES OF VIRTUAL EVENTS
UKRAINIAN CULTURE IN AMERICA
Pawlo Humeniuk, folk fiddler 1920s, program | video link
Vasile Avramenko, folks dancer 1930s program | video link
Zinoviy Shtokalko, bandurist 1950s program | video link
Oleh Lysheha, poet 1990s program | video link
Pawlo Humeniuk who was born in 1883 in the town of Pidvolochysk and emigrated in 1908. Humeniuk worked in New York as a violin maker and played fiddle at weddings and similar occasions for the Ukrainian diaspora. In 1925, he signed with OKey Records and started recording folk-dance tunes. His “Ukrainske Wesilia” (Ukrainian Wedding) is said to have sold over 100,000 copies. “Folk Fiddler: Pawlo Humeniuk,” includes samples of Humeniuk’s recordings, a discussion of his work with folklorist Iryna Voloshyna and an appearance by the US Orchestra from Kyiv, inspired by the Humeniuk. Watch video
Vasile Avramenko was an immigrant from Stebliv who brought Ukrainian dance to New York in 1929. Virlana Tkacz tells his story, while archivist Mike Andrec shares recording of music used in his dance classes and film historian Yuri Shevchuk discusses Avramenko’s hand in the making of the first Ukrainian talking pictures. “Yara’s Traditional Arts: Folk Dancer Vasile Avramenko” Watch video
“Bandurist: Zinoviy Shtokalko,” was an immigrant from Berezhany, and a virtuoso bandura player who brought the Ukrainian epic song tradition to New York in the 1950s and developed it in the 1960s. Yara’s Virlana Tkacz tells his story, while Julian Kytasty, a master bandura player, shares recordings and plays work influenced by Shtokalko. Watch video
Poet Oleh Lysheha was born in Tysmenytsia near the Carpathian Mountains in 1949. He was expelled from Lviv University during a purge in the 1970s for his interest in American poetry and sent to do military duty in the Buryat Republic of Siberia. When he returned to Ukraine, Lysheha was banned from official Soviet literary activities. His first collection of poetry, “The Great Bridge” (1989), was like nothing else printed then. Yara started translating his work in 1990. “Poetry as Theatre: Oleh Lysheha’s 'Swan,'” includes a recording of the poet reading the poem in Ukrainian, video clips from Yara’s theatre shows, “Virtual Souls” (1997) and “Flight of the White Bird” (1999), which used sections of the poem and a discussion with the artists who participated in Yara’s “Swan” (2003). Watch video | More on Yara's "Swan"
These Virtual Events are made possible by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts,the Ukrainian Community Foundation and Selfreliance Ukrainian FCU.
YARA' 30: YARA THEATRE PROJECTS:
Oleh Lysheha's Swan (2003) watch 2020 virtual event | more on 2003 show
Oleh Lysheha's Raven (2011) watch 2020 virtual event | more on 2011 show
Er Toshtuk, based on Kyrgyz epic watch 2020 virtual event | more on 2009 show
Koliada Winter Shows at LaMaMa watch 2020 virtual event | more on shows below
In addition to Yara's "Swan," (2003) based on a poem by Oleh Lysheha, Yara also created "Raven" (2011) also based on a Lyseha poem. Director Virlana Tkacz talks with participants and shows photos and video clips from performances at La MaMa, in Kyiv and Lviv. Bi-Lingual (Ukrainian & English) virtual event.
Yara created several theatre pieces based on Kyrgyz epics including: “Er Toshtuk” (2009). Director Virlana Tkacz talks with participants and shows video clips. Bi-lingual (Kyrgyz & English) virtual event.
Yara also created Koliada Winter Shows at La MaMa from 2008 to 2019, based on the Hutsul Koliada and an18th century Nativiry Puppet Play. The Koliadnyky from Kryvorvnia, who took part in the La MaMa shows, talk about them from their homes in the high Carpatian Mountains. More on: Still the River Flows (2008), WInter Sun (2010), Midwinter Night (2012), Winter Light (2014), and Winter Songs on Mars (2019).
Yara's Theatre Virtual Events are made possible by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and friends of Yara Arts Group.
