Johnny’s (long overdue) Ukraine Update

Hello Everyone!!!

I have just realized that it has quite literally been a century since I posted last and so many things have happened. I apologize to everyone for not being more on top of posting here, however, time just seemed to slip away from me as I was dancing nonstop. I seemed to be in hibernation like a groundhog, but the sun has brought me back to life here as there is no more snowfall and warmth has descended. Hopefully also many of you realized that you can follow mine and the boys trip on facebook as we post as much as time allows us to.

So to begin with I left everyone in the fact that I moved from Kyiv to Lviv where I danced with Yunist as well as the local college of choreography and culture. It was a fantastic 2 months there in Lviv, as I have told many, it was like a home away from home since I had been there so many times before. So without a doubt I enjoyed my time there tremendously and looking forward to bringing back some fun experiences.

I then went from Lviv on a Christmas tour with the company planning my current year abroad program in Ukraine. This is also a once in a lifetime experience that I was able to participate in. We started the tour in Chernivtsi for a few days and then quickly moved on to heading to Karpaty, which to let everyone know that the mountains are breathtaking during the winter months. However, in Karpaty I was able to kick back and relax for several days considering we just finished dance finals with the students at the college in Lviv and dancing anywhere from 7-9 hours a day depending. So this was a welcomed breath of fresh air without a doubt and what better place to take that breath than in Karpaty. So I spent time in Kosiv, Kytu and other smaller villages throughout these few days. Experiencing the widely diverse Carpathian and Hutsel cultures.

This all culminated with everyone on the tour heading to a small village in the mountains for Sviat Vechir with traditional caroling thorough an insane blizzard, along with a traditional Sviat Vechir meatless meal prepared by a wonderful family who welcomed the group into their home with open arms. The hospitality I have experienced everywhere has left me without words to describe.

Anyways, I digress from gushing about the Carpathian mountains to continue on. Before heading back to Chernivtsi at the end of the trip and following our mountain trek, we stayed for a few days in Bukovel. The widely known ski resort here in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. I will say it was fantastic to be there and experience, however, get ready for your eyes to bug out of your head as it was crazy expensive. Honestly, I was shocked at how everything there was either American pricing or above. Not sure how people do it and go there for extended periods of time, but they do.

That was a fantastic way to leave that portion of time with a mountain retreat and transition before coming back to Chernivtsi to start our time with the Bukovenian State Ensemble. They were an amazing group of people to work with and learn from. I loved every minute of working with them and trying to achieve their specific style of Bukovenian dancing, which I will say most groups have it all wrong in America. In meeting this group though I will say I met some fantastic people and contacts. I now have amazing people that I call friends in Chernivtsi and people that I will never forget. Hoping to introduce our world to them in time as I would love to bring in some guests for students to see just how different things are.

Anyways, this is probably enough food for thought currently. I will leave you here and check back in a few days to explain the next leg of the trip. Currently I’m in Lutsk and dancing with the Volyn State Ensemble. But thats for another time, and I promise I will check back soon to give you an update of my activities here.