Dance School
Dance School
Barvinok Dance School
52 years ago, Barvinok Ukrainian Dance School, with just a handful of dedicated dancers, had its humble beginnings in the church basement of St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Mississauga. Just as Mississauga has grown into a major city, Barvinok has flourished.
Today, Barvinok provides instruction to over 400 students of different ages. The school is committed to teaching Ukrainian traditional dance. It is devoted to nurturing Ukrainian heritage through dance and dedicated to expand the cultural diversity and strengthen the Ukrainian identity within the community.
In 2014, Barvinok School of Ukrainian dance Celebrated 45th Anniversary. According to this, Barvinok had organized several Euro Tours to participate in different festivals on International Level.
In the summer of 2012 - Barvinok went to: CzechRepublic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine.
In the summer of 2013 - Barvinok went to: Portugal, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Germany. Both tours were very successful and memorable to all dancers and the people of Europe we performed for.
2013-2014 Year End Concert was dedicated to "Heros of Ukraine" and the entire program was vibrant and full of energy of celebration of the 45th Anniversary.
2014-2015 Year End Concert will be dedicated to "Ukrainian Soldiers" who fought and still fighting for the freedom of their land.
2016-2019 Barvinok with the groups of different ages had an opportinity to take part in many festivals in Ukraine, Europe, USA & Canada.
We performed in many cities in Ukraie, such as: in Uzhhorod, Lviv, Rivne, Kyiv, Rohatyn, and in the village of Pukiv where pan Fedir is from.
We did have an amazing opportunity to perfom in Budapest & Balatonfure - in Hungary, Ljubljana & many other cities in Slovenia.
Our dancers had floorished at the festivals in USA, such as in Rochester, Chicago, Yonkers, Disney World in florida and many other cities in Canada and USA.
As a member of the Mississauga Folk Arts Council, Barvinok has performed at various community functions through the years. Barvinok was invited to perform at the City of Mississauga's Millennium Eve Celebration, the New Year's Day Mayor's Levy and the Open House of the Living Arts Center.
Within the Metropolitan Toronto Area, Barvinok has danced at Ontario Place, Toronto City Hall, North York Civic Center, Toronto International Center, City T.V. Breakfast Television, Telelatino T.V. Station, Toronto Caravan, Italian Festival, as well as a numerous health care facilities. Not only have the performances brought joy to the audience, Barvinok has also been able to raise money for a variety of charitable causes, including the Christmas Wish Telethon.
In addition, Barvinok continues to take part in a multitude of Ukrainian functions within the Greater Toronto areas, such as the World Congress of Ukrainians, Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival, Ukrainian Independence Day Celebrations, Barrie Ukrainian Dance Festival and Oakville Ukrainian Festival.
Each year Barvinok has the privilege of performing at the Ukraine Pavilion of Carassauga.
The Barvinok Ensemble were the featured entertainment at St.Josaphat's Ukrainian Festival in Rochester, New York and the Ivana Kupala Ukrainian Festival in Cleveland, Ohio.
In the summer of 2004, Barvinok had the privilege of being invited by Ukraine's Ministry of Culture to take part in celebrating Kharkiv's 350th Anniversary and Ukraine's 13th Anniversary of Independence. Prior to these engagements, the 40 Barvinok dancers toured several cities in Western Ukraine (Lviv, Yaremcze, Ivano Frankivsk, Nadvirna, Kalush) and had a triumphant concert in Kolomaya, where they won first place in an international dance competition. Throughout the 18 days, our dancers had opportunities to bond with Ukrainian and other youth from several different countries. The tour concluded with a performance in the capital city of Ukraine, Kiev.
Under the direction of their truly gifted Artistic Director, Fedir Danylak, Barvinok has gained a reputation as an exciting and dynamic performing group. The variety of regional styles, the ornate costumes of brilliant colours, but more importantly, the energy and passion of the performers create a vibrant spectacle on stage.