On Feb. 17 the Karnavalia masquerade ball, organized by the international charity foundation Art Treasury, will take place in the columned hall at Kyiv City Hall. A press conference in this connection took place on Jan. 25 at the UNIAN information agency. “At the peak of the popularity of dancing, we aim to establish a new cultural tradition — to acquaint Ukrainians with the dancing and carnival customs of different countries and demonstrate the similarity of Ukrainian folk costume balls to the European context,” explained the head of the organizational committee, Yurii Logush.
“The program of Karnavalia will consist of four parts. It will start, of course, with the Candlemas celebration (secular meaning: the meeting of winter and spring) which Ukrainians mark on Feb. 15. For centuries our spring songs have preserved that original folk style which is gradually being lost — under pressure of globalization — in once exclusively folk events, such as the Venetian and Cologne mystery plays.
“The second part will be a Venice Carnival, and a Viennese ball and Brazilian carnival, respectively, are the third and fourth parts (until 3 a.m.) The Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy, Austria, and Brazil to Ukraine will each open his country’s event.”
Master classes are taking place at the National University of Physical Training. They are led by the head of the department of sports dancing, Ihor Soronovych, who was responsible for training the contestants on the television show Dances with Stars.
But the masquerade ball is not just meant for entertainment, the organizers say. The money raised during the carnival will be used mainly to restock Ukrainian libraries and provide financial support to domestic publishing houses. The proceeds will come from the sale of tickets (from $50 to $150) and an auction. Many interesting items will be offered, including a painting by the artist Ivan Marchuk, ceramics by Nelli Yusupova, and an exclusive item from Ruslana. The entire sum raised from the auction will be handed over to Tezy Publishing House, which published the popular book by Maryna and Serhii Diachenko Dyka enerhiia lana (The Wild Energy of the Field).
“The rest of the funds will be used to restock Kyiv libraries with children’s books, fiction, historical books, particularly in the Holosiivka and Desna districts of the city,” explained Tetiana Logush, the head of Art Treasury. “The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Austria to Ukraine, Josef Markus Wuketich, recalled that when he was visiting one of Kharkiv’s libraries, he learned that the newest book was bought 20 years ago. If budget funds are allotted to libraries, they are usually used for renewing periodicals — for example, subscriptions.”
The Karnavalia masquerade ball will mark the start of the new ball season in Ukraine.
