Ukrainian Folk Dance
Master Artist: Andrij Volodymyr Dobriansky
Apprentice Artist: Paula A. Duda Holoviak

Description of the Art Form

Ukrainian dance is a very old and diverse art. The Ukraine has a unique array of many distinct regions, all with unique styles of dress, music and dance. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, the diverse Ukrainian community is brought together through its dance traditions. Through Kakza, a Ukrainian dance ensemble, Ukrainian dance culture is preserved. The immigrants who came to the anthracite coal regions include the Lemko, Transcarpathian, Hutsul, Bukovyna, and Boyko peoples who immigrated to Pennsylvania from the Austrio-Hungarian Empire at the turn of the last century. While Ukrainian folk dance is a traditional art, there are also modern elements.

Andrij Volodymyr Dobriansky

Current Place of Residence: Brooklyn, NY

Artist Statement

I am a Ukrainian-American, and have studied music and dance for many, many years. My studies of Ukrainian liturgical traditions such as canting have allowed for me to perform ceremonies at countless weddings and funerary services. I am most proud of moments when my knowledge of these ancient customs has enabled members of my own community to celebrate or mourn in a manner they might not have been able to re-create otherwise, thereby strengthening their bonds with the past.

I believe myself to have benefited from the generosity of the Ukrianian community and oftentimes have worked hard to, in a sense, “repay” that generosity in kind. While oftentimes the financial viability of such endeavors makes it difficult, it is my belief that whatever can be done for one’s community should be done, for one of those moments will surely inspire the community leaders of tomorrow.

Accomplishments/milestones

Andrij Dobriansky began his dance instruction as a child with Roma Pryma Bohachevsky, an important contributor to modern Ukrainian folk dance. While in high school, Mr. Dobriansky joined her performing company, Syzokryli, and continued to perform with the group while in college. He has danced at the Lincoln Center and on Broadway, choreographed for the Vassar College dance company in residence, Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre (VRDT), performed as a guest artist for several dance companies, such as Capitol Ballet and Transcendance, and put on workshops for community groups about Ukrainian Dance. He has also studied with, performed for, and staged productions with Lydia Krushelnytsky, a renowned Ukrainian dramatist. He is currently re-staging choreography originally conceived by Roma Pryma Bohachevsky for a production which Ms. Krushelnytsky’s dramatic troupe will be taking to Ukraine this November, by invitation of Ukraine’s Cultural Ministry. He began to teach dance professionally after college and continues to do so.

In addition to dance, Mr. Dobriansky began voice training at an early age, and his expertise in this field centers upon Ukrainian liturgical music. He conducted his first Mass on Christmas Eve, in front of a visiting Bishop, at the age of 14. He studied music with the Ukrainian Music Institute, and continues to study at St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York City, and occasionally serves as choirmaster, assist in the liturgy by reading and canting, and arranges and produces music for the church choir. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, and in his community at wedding and funeral ceremonies.

Paula A. Duda Holoviak

Current Place of Residence: Sugarloaf, PA

Artist Statement

There is nothing more satisfying than learning new choreography, nothing more thrilling than dancing in front of a live audience. Ukrainian dance and song are also my connection to those who came before me and my gift to the next generation. I truly seek to honor the sacrifices made by my great-grandparents and grandparents in leaving behind everything, traveling to a foreign land and toiling in the mines and factories of the anthracite region. Because of their sacrifice, I have had freedom and opportunity for economic and personal success. I also feel strongly about preserving and passing on this culture to my son and to the other children in our community. I feel a responsibility to pass on the gift of song and dance given to me by my family and teachers. Probably none of my dancers will ever make their living as a folk artist but I truly believe all of our lives have been immensely enriched by our ethnic culture as expressed in song and dance.

Accomplishments/milestones

• 1992 Ph.D., Political Science, State University of New York at Binghamton
• 1987 M.A., Public Administration, Pennsylvania State University
• 1985 B.A., Government and Politics, and French, King’s College

Paula Duda Holoviak learned Ukrainian folk dancing in her parish children’s group at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in McAdoo, PA. She began ballet and folk training when she was very young, and this is her thirty-seventh year of Ukrainian folk dancing. She has been teaching folk dance since her college days, and is now the dance director for her own ensemble, KAZKA, which is now a twenty member song and dance troupe, and the only adult Ukrainian dance ensemble in Northeastern Pennsylvania. She has studied with many choreographers and folk dance teachers including Mykola Bojczuk, Helena Kozak, David Woznak, Ken Rylance, and Andrij Dobriansky.