Words from Ken Horechuk

Description

Words from Ken Horechuk about the Barvinok dance group “Our dance group is named Barvinok. The name was suggested by my Baba Mary Horechuk because barvinok is a plant often mentioned in Ukrainian folklore. Our group was privileged to be chosen to perform at the opening of the Canada Games in Sydney’s (then) new Centre 200 in February 1987. I found funding to bring a dance instructor, Danovia Stechishin, from Toronto to help us prepare for the event. She created new dance choreography for us: a three-part hopak suited to the bizarre stage that was ten feet off the ground and shaped like a large plus sign with staircases entering each of the four ends. We taped the dimensions of the stage on the floor in the hall and practised twice a week for about two months. As the time approached for the opening of the Games, a schedule was arranged for all performers to practise on the stage that was temporarily set up in the old Sydney Forum adjacent to Centre 200. We were only allotted two sessions to familiarize our group to the elevated stage where it was arranged for rehearsals in an unheated old wooden building. The dress rehearsal on Saturday before the opening was a long day for all performers, as the production crew tweaked the program in preparation for the next day’s live per- formance. The opening on Sunday was to be telecast live on television across Canada. Our group arrived early at Centre 200 on Sunday to get ready for the opening. After a short practise, it was time to get our costumes and makeup on. You would get a good chuckle watching the guys “putting their face on”. Did the girls ever give us a hard time! Show time! We are next on the program... I still remember the group lining up beneath the seating area of Centre 200, hands shaking anxiously as we waited for our call to perform. The Scottish group before us performed a slow dance,‘Dark Island’, to the eerie sound of the bagpipes. They finished...lights dimmed...we climbed the staircase and literally shook waiting for the hopak music to start. The athletes and guests roared to our upbeat performance from beginning to end. Little did they know that on this stage were three approximately 6-inch by 6-inch square plugs where micro- phones were raised to the stage floor for vocal performances. The bouncing of the dancers kept popping the plywood plugs to below the stage where technicians frantically tried to keep them in place. Luckily nobody stepped on any of the holes. The dance ended to a rousing standing ovation. The accolades for the performance came from across Canada. The Cape Breton Post published one from Winnipeg. A lasting memory." -Ken Horechuk, October 2011 This golden dome was part of an award-winning float from the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Church in Sydney’s 1985 parade. These costumes are from the Barvinok Ukrainian Dancers of the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church in Sydney, NS. The pair of costumes with blue pants and vest is representative of the central Poltava region. The pair in the vests with bright colours and geometric shapes are costumes representative of the mountainous Hutsul region of Ukraine. These costumes, and many others, have been used in performances and parade floats by Sydney’s Ukrainian dancers. A woman’s hat, part of a Ukrainian dance costume of the region of Zakarpatia, or Transcarpathia. This costume item is from the 1980s era dance group. Dome: Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church Costumes: Kenny Horechuk Except for the woman’s Poltava costume (blue vest): Darlene Baggio Hat: Pam Mahalik This is a photo, from an earlier era of the Ukrainian parish, of the float in a parade. This photo shows the award-winning parade in long view. The parade float that appears these photos is from 1935, the year they won First Prize in Sydney’s parade. The float also won Sydney’s parade award in 1985. The first Ukrainian dance group of Sydney, 1939 (date error on the photo); children assembled in the hall with the nuns and Fr. Zarsky, early 1940s. This is a photo of the Ukrainian choir, also taken in 1935. Black and white photos: Beaton Institute Collections The dolls in this photo appear in the exhibit on loan from Sister Rachel Tataryn, a descendent of Ukrainian immigrants who settled in the Whitney Pier areas of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Dolls: Sr. Rachel Tataryn

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Mnohaya lita! Exhibit Photographs

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Title: Words from Ken Horechuk
Name(s): Ken Horechuk
Description: Words from Ken Horechuk about the Barvinok dance group “Our dance group is named Barvinok. The name was suggested by my Baba Mary Horechuk because barvinok is a plant often mentioned in Ukrainian folklore. Our group was privileged to be chosen to perform at the opening of the Canada Games in Sydney’s (then) new Centre 200 in February 1987. I found funding to bring a dance instructor, Danovia Stechishin, from Toronto to help us prepare for the event. She created new dance choreography for us: a three-part hopak suited to the bizarre stage that was ten feet off the ground and shaped like a large plus sign with staircases entering each of the four ends. We taped the dimensions of the stage on the floor in the hall and practised twice a week for about two months. As the time approached for the opening of the Games, a schedule was arranged for all performers to practise on the stage that was temporarily set up in the old Sydney Forum adjacent to Centre 200. We were only allotted two sessions to familiarize our group to the elevated stage where it was arranged for rehearsals in an unheated old wooden building. The dress rehearsal on Saturday before the opening was a long day for all performers, as the production crew tweaked the program in preparation for the next day’s live per- formance. The opening on Sunday was to be telecast live on television across Canada. Our group arrived early at Centre 200 on Sunday to get ready for the opening. After a short practise, it was time to get our costumes and makeup on. You would get a good chuckle watching the guys “putting their face on”. Did the girls ever give us a hard time! Show time! We are next on the program... I still remember the group lining up beneath the seating area of Centre 200, hands shaking anxiously as we waited for our call to perform. The Scottish group before us performed a slow dance,‘Dark Island’, to the eerie sound of the bagpipes. They finished...lights dimmed...we climbed the staircase and literally shook waiting for the hopak music to start. The athletes and guests roared to our upbeat performance from beginning to end. Little did they know that on this stage were three approximately 6-inch by 6-inch square plugs where micro- phones were raised to the stage floor for vocal performances. The bouncing of the dancers kept popping the plywood plugs to below the stage where technicians frantically tried to keep them in place. Luckily nobody stepped on any of the holes. The dance ended to a rousing standing ovation. The accolades for the performance came from across Canada. The Cape Breton Post published one from Winnipeg. A lasting memory." -Ken Horechuk, October 2011 This golden dome was part of an award-winning float from the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Church in Sydney’s 1985 parade. These costumes are from the Barvinok Ukrainian Dancers of the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church in Sydney, NS. The pair of costumes with blue pants and vest is representative of the central Poltava region. The pair in the vests with bright colours and geometric shapes are costumes representative of the mountainous Hutsul region of Ukraine. These costumes, and many others, have been used in performances and parade floats by Sydney’s Ukrainian dancers. A woman’s hat, part of a Ukrainian dance costume of the region of Zakarpatia, or Transcarpathia. This costume item is from the 1980s era dance group. Dome: Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church Costumes: Kenny Horechuk Except for the woman’s Poltava costume (blue vest): Darlene Baggio Hat: Pam Mahalik This is a photo, from an earlier era of the Ukrainian parish, of the float in a parade. This photo shows the award-winning parade in long view. The parade float that appears these photos is from 1935, the year they won First Prize in Sydney’s parade. The float also won Sydney’s parade award in 1985. The first Ukrainian dance group of Sydney, 1939 (date error on the photo); children assembled in the hall with the nuns and Fr. Zarsky, early 1940s. This is a photo of the Ukrainian choir, also taken in 1935. Black and white photos: Beaton Institute Collections The dolls in this photo appear in the exhibit on loan from Sister Rachel Tataryn, a descendent of Ukrainian immigrants who settled in the Whitney Pier areas of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Dolls: Sr. Rachel Tataryn
Type of Resource: still image
Date: 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z
Continent: North America
Country: Canada
Province: Nova Scotia
City: Sydney
City Section: West Street