About the Hutsul Village Project:

Hutsul dancers The Hutsul Dance Project is a collaborative and artistic project dedicated to the study and preservation of authentic Hutsul dance.

Currently, we are working to produce both a new choreography of Hutsul song, music, and dance, as well as a feature documentary about traditional dance as done in the villages of Hutsulshchyna (the Hutsul-inhabited region of Ukraine) today.

The current project principals are Donald LaCourse, Stefan Iwaskewycz, and Daniel Palahniuk (click here or scroll down to read about us). We are always looking for more people to join us in our endeavours; please write here to enquire about getting involved!

Authentic

Authenticity is a vexing concept. Scholars have long debated its meaning and usefulness, and some have concluded that it is a jargon used merely to assert the validity of one's preferences over another's. We find the term useful in making an important, objective disctinction that has nothing to do with personal or subjective preference. There is an "authentic" style of performing folk music and dance that is distinct from the more rarified performance style that is common today. When it comes to folk dance, we are partisan to the notion that a distinction can be made between an authentic style and a character ballet style of presentation or performance. The predominating performance style of Ukrainian folk dance today, both in Ukraine and in the diaspora, is what we would call character ballet; and we feel that this style has become too far removed from what it was originally based upon, and therefore from what we would call "authentic."

It should be noted that by authentic, we mean a style of performing folk music and dance. A truly authentic song, music or dance is not part of a stage or performance piece; the truly authentic exists where there is no thought of "performing." There is a performance style that is closer to the ground of the real thing, and then there is a style that is more rarified, in which the material has been worked over, arranged and rearranged, often with a great deal of classical and/or ballet refinements added. The former is what we call an authentic performance style; it is a style that foregoes much of the refinement of the latter.

The notion of authenticity has a particularly well established usage in the world of folk song and music performance and within certain national folk dance traditions (namely, in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia).

For example, organizers of the Baltica folk festivals (that take place each summer in one of the Baltic countries) are adamant about admitting vocal/instrumental ensembles that perform in an "authentic" style. An excellent online store where one can purchase CDs and DVDs from Ukraine has "Authentic Performing" as a subcategory in its listings of folk music CDs (click here to visit that subcategory). The Riga-based vocal ensemble Ilinskaja Pjatnitsa, which is dedicated to performing Russian folk songs in an uncompromisingly authentic style, has the following statement on their website:

"The word 'authentic' designates the possibility of distinguishing the real tradition from its imitation. It is a gigantic work, but it's our life."

In Ukraine, there are a number of vocal and/or instrumental ensembles that are dedicated to presenting Ukrainian folk song and music traditions in an authentic manner; some of the better known of these are: the Bozhychi, Buttja, Drevo, Hurtopravci and Volodar ensembles, among others. However, the fever for greater authenticity has yet to catch on in the world of Ukrainian folk dance performance (scroll down or click here to read how a movement for greater authenticity transformed the way professional folk dance ensembles practiced their craft in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia). In short, we intend to contribute to efforts to do for Ukrainian folk dance performance what these vocal/instrumental ensembles have done for performance of Ukrainian folk song and music, in particular by working with Hutsul material.

Our concerns regarding authenticity were shared by a number of people we talked with in Ukraine. In particular, Mykola Savchuk adamantly agreed that much work needed to be done to change the way Hustul dance is performed in order to give Hutsul choreographies a more authentic feel. Read more about Mykola and see him dancing here.

Back to the Village, Back to Basics:

Beginning in the 1970s, the national folk music and dance performance traditions in a number of countries in Central and Southern Europe underwent a back-to-basics, back-to-the-village transformation. Much--but not all!--of the character ballet and classical music influences were thrown out in favor of a more authentic style of presenting folk dance and music on the stage. Academy students and ensemble members went "into the field" to learn how the dances were danced, the songs were sung, and the music was played outside of the academies and big ensembles. In essence, they went into the field to unlearn much of what they had learned; they then created a performance style that retained the best of what they experienced in the field mixed with the best aspects of their formal training. In particular, we are very impressed by the style of professional folk dance ensembles in Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia, and in the next section below provide some links to a few of our favorite examples that are on You Tube. These are samples of work that inspire our work with Hutsul material.

It is important to note that while there has been a back-to-basics movement among some excellent folk instrumental and vocal ensembles in Ukraine (such as those listed above), the world of Ukrainian folk dance performance, both in Ukraine and the diaspora, has not really been touched by this fever of authenticity.

Examples of authentic performance style on You Tube:

Authentic folk dance style on You Tube:

Muzicka Ensemble from Slovakia -- One of our favorite examples!
Magyar Állami Népi Együttes -- This is just one of the many samples on You Tube demonstrating the way that ensembles in Hungary masterfully execute the authentic performance style; there is little detectable ballet as you watch the performance!

Preservation

During the course of interviews with Hutsul musicians and folklorists in Ukraine, we were told names of dances that, allegedly, no one remembers how to dance anymore. We were told by one renowned Hutsul musician, Mykhajlo Tafijchuk, that there are names of dance tunes he remembers but the melodies for which he's forgotten, as no one ever requests them (read more about this and about Tafijchuk by clicking here). Furthermore, we are concerned that movements and footwork invented solely as part of the character-ballet style are becoming confused with authentic form.

These of our concerns regarding preservation were shared by others that we interviewed in Ukraine and more recently, in the Ukrainian diaspora. In particular, Mykola Savchuk (in Ukraine) and Evdokia Sorokhaniuk (a Hutsul immigrant to the US, who with her husband is renowned for her knowledge of Hutsul folk arts, costumes, music and dance) both adamantly agreed that much work needed to be done today to preserve what remains of authentic Hutsul dances and footwork (to read more about Mykola and to see him dancing Hutsulka, please click here).

Artistic

Current project principals are already working on two projects based on materials gathered this past summer in Ukraine.

New Choreography

Donald LaCourse is choreographing for the Minneapolis-based Ethnic Dance Theatre a new suite of Hutsul song, music and dance. Read more about Don and Ethnic Dance Theatre here.

Documentary Feature

Stefan Iwaskewycz and Daniel Palahniuk have begun the post-production phase of a documentary about traditional dance as done in the villages of Hutsulshchyna (the Hutsul-inhabited region of Ukraine). Click here to go to the video page and preview some clips, filmed this past summer in Ukraine, that may end up in the final documentary. Read more about our approach to making this documentary here.

Collaborative

Currently, this project is a collaboration between the Ethnic Dance Theatre of Minneapolis and two local, Minneapolis-based artists working on a film documentary about authentic Hutsul dance.

Read more about the current project principals and organizations they are associated with here.

We are always looking for others to join us in gathering material and information about authentic Hutsul dance; for this website to grow as an online archives of such information; and for more specific projects to emerge from the material gathered here. Please contact us here to get involved, or to let us know of any your projects that were inspired by material available on this website!

About Us:

Donald LaCourse is a co-founder of the Minneapolis-based Ethnic Dance Theatre and has been the company's Artistic Director for the past 35 years. Mr. LaCourse has completed a dozen international research trips in order to learn dance techniques, research costumes, and to better understand the cultural context of his work. Some of the countries and regions which he has visited include Poland, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia and The Autonomous Republic of Northern Ossetia, Spain, and Costa Rica. Nationally recognized for his choreography, Mr. LaCourse was commissioned to create work for the Chimera Theatre, the Radost Folk Ensemble of Seattle, and Avaz International Dance Theatre in Los Angeles. He has also appeared as a guest artist with the Minnesota Opera, the North Star Opera Company, Katha Dance Theatre and Dolina Polish Folk Dancers. Ethnic Dance Theatre is an award-winning semi-professional dance ensemble that has performed at festivals abroad and is renowned for its costume collection.

Stefan Iwaskewycz is a dancer with the Ethnic Dance Theatre and a perfomer with the Minneapolis-based Ukrainian Village Band. Stefan grew up in the Ukrainian community of Minneapolis, MN, and performed in the Cheremosh Ukrainian Folk Dance Ensemble. He studied Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of MN with an emphasis on Eastern European Studies, but currently works as a web and graphic designer. Stefan lived in Ukraine (in the town of Pidhajtsi in Western Ukraine) in 2004-2005, when he began his studies of Ukrainian folk music and dance culture. He purchased his first tsymbaly in the town of Kosmach and attended his first Hutsul wedding in August of 2004. Folklore studies were interupted by the Orange Revolution of Nov-Dec. 2004. Stefan has since then been back to Ukraine three times for a minimum of one month stay each time.

Stefan has also lived in Riga, Latvia (2006-2007) where he performed with the renowned Latvian folklore ensemble Skandinieki.

Daniel Palahniuk is a Minneapolis-based artist who works with moving and still images in traditional and digital formats. Daniel's work has been presented in a variety of galleries, and he has recently won second place for his cinematography at a film festival in New Mexico. Daniel is from Winnipeg, Canada and likewise has Ukrainian roots and performed Ukrainian dance as a child. Daniel currently is one of the organizers of Art of This, an art-space in Minneapolis with a growing national reputation.