Over the 75 years the ensemble has become a calling card of our state’s high culture, having acquired popularity among the admirers of folklore and modern choreography. The ensemble’s repertoire includes old and modern dances of various Ukrainian oblasts as well as the dances of other peoples, choreographic pictures from pre-revolutionary and modern life (Hopak, Zaporozhian Cossacks, Povzunets [The Crawler], Chumak’s Joy etc.). The ensemble’s tours are scheduled for several years ahead, but those are tours abroad, the Ukrainian masters do not perform in Ukraine too often. However, on June 22, our audience will have an opportunity to see them. The Ukraina Palace hosts the concert of the famed ensemble. Director-General and Artistic Director of the Pavlo Virsky National Academic Dancing Ensemble of Ukraine Myroslav VANTUKH shares with The Day what program the artistes have prepared for Kyivites and guests of the Euro-2012:
“Those will be the best of our best numbers: the dancing calling cards of the ensemble and new compositions. We decided to perform during the Euro-2012, although our ensemble has not been included in the official cultural program. You know, when I heard Markian Lubkivsky, the head of the UEFA tournament in Ukraine and head of the organizing committee of Euro-2012 Ukraine, saying in an interview that the performances of Oleh Skrypka and Sviatoslav Vakarchuk would be the treats of the cultural program, I decided to broaden the playbill. Skrypka and Vakarchuk are wonderful musicians. But in order to understand better the Ukrainian soul, one needs to see how dances and folk songs are performed in our country. We are not involved in the fan zones, but we decided not to wait until the officials do some good for us, we will give a solo concert on the main stage of our country, the Ukraina Palace. It is only a pity that academic art and national culture are not valued in our country. We have performed in 70 countries, and we went to many countries more than a couple of times, and we always receive very positive reviews of our tours in foreign mass media. So, we have gone on tours to the US 11 times. Not long ago we have returned from Brazil, where we were giving concerts in halls with the capacity of 11,000 people and all our programs enjoyed full houses. People rose to their feet and applauded after every performance, and ovations lasted for 10-15 minutes in the final. We have things to be proud of, because we have found the key to the audiences from different continents. We have recently given a triumphant performance in Moscow. The soiree was attended by members of the famous Russian Igor Moiseev Ensemble and it was gratifying for me to hear candid words of my colleagues about the high mastery of our artistes. For the next year we have been invited for a tour to Canada. We have things to show for the audience and I am sure, those who will come to the Kyiv concert will receive lots of positive emotions.”
“ONE CAN THINK THAT UKRAINIAN ARTISTES CAN DANCE WITH THEIR EYES CLOSED”
Mr. Vantukh, will the artistes perform such dancing hits as Povzunets; Chumak’s Joy; Podolianochka; Oh, under the Cherry Tree, etc.?
“We won’t perform Chumak’s Joy, because the costumes have not come back from Brazil, but we will show for sure Oh, under the Tree; Zaporozian Cossacks; Chumaks, and Sailors as well as other calling cards of our ensemble. It will be reminded that Pavlo Virsky, after whom the ensemble was named, created interesting concert programs, which included bright choreographic compositions, such as We are from Ukraine; Dolls; Sailors; Sisters; Chumak’s Joy; Oh, under the Cherry Tree; Povzunets; Podolianochka; What does the Willow cry about; Zaporozians; We Remember, etc. based on the people’s national traditions. We have preserved Virsky’s heritage and enriched it with modern compositions. We have added to the golden treasury The Ukrainian Dance with Tambourines, Hopak, Years of Youth, The Carpathians, Volyn Polka, A Hutsul Woman, etc., which not only have replenished the ensemble’s repertoire, but also enjoy great success among the audiences both in Ukraine, and far beyond. Our concert will take place on June 22, and this is a black date: 71 years ago the war started, therefore we included in the program the number Buchenwald (We Remember), dedicated to the topic of war.”
How do you form a repertoire and keep the ensemble in good creative form?
“Ballet is an art of huge efforts and to be a master you need to sweat your guts out at the rehearsals, and when you are 40 you won’t be able to dance as passionately as a young person. I have been working in the Virsky Ensemble for 31 years, being a dancer since 1956, therefore I know well the ballet cuisine. Currently we have a young team: a beautiful and talented team of artistes. I can quote the publications from such respectful periodicals as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Figaro, where the Virsky Ensemble is called ‘the best dancing ensemble of the world.’ One reviewer even writes that ‘During the dance artists just fly above the stage, creating a variety of pictures and ornaments. All motions brought to the absolute level of performance, despite a very dynamic music and the complexity of most movements, artists working as one. It seems that not dancing on stage 60, and one person, so everything in sync. You would think that they can dance with your eyes closed and make sure everything is perfect and neat.’ (The Washington Post, 8.11.2004.) The words weigh much. Many artistes have higher education diplomas. Twenty years ago my wife [Valentyna Vantukh, an ex-dancer, currently a pedagogue and director of the school. – Author] founded a Children’s Choreography School, using the facilities of the Virsky Ensemble, where we teach to girls and boys the classic and folk-scenic dance, theory and practice of Ukrainian folk dancing. Currently 280 children are studying in our school. The young dancers need to study for 10 years. Then our graduates (on a competition bases) enter the Choreography Studio of the Ensemble established by Pavlo Virsky and take a so-called master class, and only after this casting do they become artistes of our ensemble. All dancers know not only theory, they have also undergone the choreography and music practice, they are versed in various dancing genres. Their technique is very masterful and they reveal the essence of every composition or number as actors. Currently 30 musicians and 105 dancers are working in the ensemble, and on the whole the ensemble includes 174 persons (with concert masters, tutors, administration, etc).”
What are you planning to do after the concert?
“We are making a pause for rest for only 20 days, because further we will need to prepare for the tour. We will give 12 concerts. After coming back home, on September 3 we have a flight to Thailand, and on October 25 we are having a concert in Moscow’s Kremlin Palace. Four days after we come back home from Russia, our Chinese tour starts, and till December 29 we will perform in Chinese cities. As you can see, our schedule is very tight.”
“THESE DAYS EVERY ENSEMBLE IS ITS OWN PRODUCER”
It turns out that your Ukrainian admirers won’t see any of your concerts till the New Year.
“You know, many people reproach us for the fact that the Virsky Ensemble gives more performances abroad than in homeland. This is a very painful question for me. We have a large ensemble and it is very hard to hold concerts in Ukraine on our own. The state is not involved in the organization of tours, and sponsors and patrons are more likely to donate the money for foreign performers than the ensemble performing folklore compositions. It is a pity that we have no organization like Ukrkontsert which did not stand in anyone’s way, conversely, helped a lot, as it was involved in the organization of tours. And these days every ensemble is its own producer. To bring such ensemble as ours on a tour you need much money (order two buses for the artistes, a truck for costumes and decorations, pay day wages for people, order hotels, pay for the halls). We don’t have such money, and we cannot set the price of 2,000 hryvnias per ticket, because our admirers won’t buy such expensive tickets. This year our ensemble is celebrating its 75th anniversary. This is a respectful date and I appealed with a letter to Ukraine’s president to help the Virsky Ensemble organize a tour across our homeland, because presenting Ukrainian art over the world is good, but our main audience is in Ukraine. Hopefully, the all-Ukrainian tour of our ensemble will take place.”
