Ukraine is a nation with a rich artistic tradition, whose world-renowned visual and performance arts have captivated audiences for centuries.
Now, artistic pursuits that have come to define the country are being used to help families recover from the devastating effects of war.
Ukrainian-Canadian Tryzub Dance Society has embarked on a national performance tour for its 50th anniversary to raise money to help families fleeing war resettle. It's stopping in Cranbrook on Jan. 25 to dance at Key City Theatre.
The group will be performing Dzvinka, a show based on the life of Ukrainian folk hero Oleksa Dovbush, renowned for his generosity towards the lower classes, and destitute and disadvantaged people.
Artistic director Shane Gibson said Dovbush was a real historical figure who lived in 18th century Ukraine, and reportedly died after being shot by his lover's husband. He was in love with his childhood friend named Dzvinka, and the two were engaged, but she broke their union and married another man. The show emphasizes the love triangle between the three characters.
Gibson said Dovbush is as much a figure of myth as he is real history. Historical details about his life are contested and it is unknown whether or not he actually died as a result of a lovers quarrel. Gibson said he may have been the inspiration for English character Robin Hood, as both the men were known for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
Gibson has a close connection to his mother's Ukrainian culture and he has a keen interest in Ukrainian folklore. He said the show is all about heroism and good triumphing over evil — exactly the kind of storyline needed to instill resiliency in the Ukrainian people.
The story is portrayed through traditional Ukrainian dance, performed by semi-professional volunteers.
Tryzub chair and board director John Stadnyk said proceeds from the tour will go towards supporting Ukrainian people. The dance society started a scholarship fund in 2023 to provide financial support to Ukrainian children who moved to Canada during the war, so they can gain access to arts programs that benefit their mental health. Part of this involves sending Ukrainian children to a free arts-based summer camp.
Stadnyk said many Ukrainian families who move here are so focused on finding jobs and making ends meet, that their children fall through the cracks and don't get the support they need to thrive after suffering from harmful psychological effects of war.
"Most Ukrainians are under-employed," he explained. "They're educated people. Many of them were doctors, engineers, computer programmers. They had professional jobs in Ukraine and they come here and they're working minimum wage in a hotel ... They're in their 40s and they're rebuilding from scratch."
"They struggle with things that we take for granted, like taking your kids to a dance class or taking your kids out to the movies," he added. "... Us providing some financial support allows their kids to participate. It frees up some money so they can buy a car to get to the grocery store."
Tryzub was awarded by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and Oxford University for being a world leader in supporting mental health and resiliency of youth displaced by war. It currently has 50 children from the Ukraine involved in its programs, but has supported over 200 since inception.
It partnered with Ukraine Nightingale Project in the South Okanagan, raising over $150,000 through four shows to support the settlement of Ukrainian families in B.C. It later premiered Dzvinka in the Okanagan as well.
Stadnyk said he became acutely aware of the war's impact on Ukrainian children while overseeing the dance society's arts summer camp in Alberta. While Canadian children were decorating t-shirts with happy positive images, Ukrainian children were creating much more disturbing images. Stadynk said he saw pictures of planes dropping bombs, fathers armed with guns and the Ukrainian flag decorated with red tears.
"They have serious mental health issues," said Stadnyk.
Tryzub also provides financial support to Ukrainian artists living overseas, hiring them to create costumes and compose music for their shows. Creating art gives them purpose and helps provide temporary distraction from the daily realities of war.
"Our composer and the musicians were often hiding in bunkers and recording music in school classrooms. Our composer was nearly killed by a bomb that hit his neighbouring condo," said Stadnyk.
"When they're not sewing costumes, they're sewing camo netting. That's where were at," he furthered, adding that the costumes had to be driven out of the country and shipped from outside of Ukraine in order to make it to Canada.
"It was quite a process and even a risky venture to have this stuff done in Ukraine, but we started before the full-scale invasion and we found ourselves right in it. There was no turning back," he said.
Dzvinka is a special production for Tryzub's 50th anniversary, with the dance troupe touring across Western Canada. Tryzub was formed by a group of teenagers who began practicing Ukrainian dance from the basement of a church in Calgary and it grew into an official dance school, teaching students of all ages, from toddlers to seniors.
Tryzub's troupe has performed extensively throughout Canada and the U.S, and abroad in Australia, Mexico, Turkey, Panama, Colombia and Ukraine. They performed at the Calgary Winter Olympic Games in 1988, the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show in 1992, 1997 and 2001, and the 1993 Canadian Football League Championship Grey Cup game.
Tryzub has partnered with Sagesse Domestic Violence Society to raise awareness of spousal and partner abuse and there will be a hotline for people in distress to call listed in its program at Dzvinka. This cause is unrelated to the war in Ukraine.
Stadnyk said that despite the struggles of war, Ukrainians are pulling through.
"Ukrainians have shown a resiliency like no other," he said.