Ukrainian dancers share cultural ties with Australians in Adelaide

Australia Broadcast Center

17-07-2025

Three of Ukraine's most celebrated dancers have travelled from war-torn Kyiv to Australia to conduct a week-long traditional dance masterclass.
Participants from all over the country have made their way to Adelaide to take part in the first intensive workshop of its kind in Australia, which will culminate in a fundraiser concert on Saturday.
The trio are part of professional and prestigious dance company, Pavlo Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble, and travelled 49 hours to get out of Kyiv by train, and then onwards to Australia via Dubai.
Husband and wife duo, Maksym and Viktoriia Karpenko are Honoured Artists of Ukraine — a meritorious title awarded by the President of Ukraine to recognise professional mastery for citizens who have worked in their field for no less than 10 years.
"We're here to uphold that culture and push it forward," Viktoriia Karpenko said.
The pair are joined by Tetiana Okseniuk — a ballet artist and professional dancer with the Virsky Ensemble.
She said Ukrainian dance combines ballet and traditional folk styles and is the "cherry on top of Ukrainian culture".
"That's why it's important to share this culture in this perfect shape here, so people can be more professional and look really sophisticated," Ms Okseniuk said.
Juliana Moravski is the artistic director of Ukrainian community dance ensemble, Verchovyna in Melbourne and has travelled to South Australia to attend.
"To have the opportunity for Virsky to come out and teach us the proper way, the way it was intended, is actually a huge honour," she said.
The participants are dancing intensively from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
"I'm learning about muscles I didn't know I had," Ms Moravski said.
"I've been dancing for 40 years, but I'm putting my body through it just because I want to learn from the best."
She said she was looking forward to bringing her newly perfected intricate skills back to her dance studio in Melbourne.
"To know that the quality of Ukrainian dance and culture is going to be lifted in Australia and passing that legacy on to the future generations, it's going to be really exciting to see," she said.
But amid the excitement and joy of the week, the realities of life in Ukraine are not forgotten.
"It's very unsafe. Very dangerous. Every day there's sirens, many bombings that you can hear. A lot of people hide out at night, and a lot of people are fleeing," Ms Karpenko said.
"We hold our armed forces very dearly. The fact they keep us safe and that we're alive because of them."
She said while the trio have been in Adelaide, they've finally been able to sleep "peacefully".
Maksym Karpenko said they often awake to loud explosions back home in Kyiv — and that everyone had been personally affected by the war.
"There was a man who finished his career in our dance ensemble — he went to the front line — within three days he was dead," he said.
Despite the palpable grief, the Ukrainians say it is their responsibility to not shy away from what is happening in their country.
"If we go over the border, we have to talk about this," he said.
"Our nation will never die. It will always be alive."
Tetiana Okseniuk said it was a harsh reality to live not knowing when they would next "have to say goodbye" to someone they know.
"Life is so short, so you just have to be happy."
Ms Okseniuk said Ukrainians were focusing on the "positives" and that they are still here.
"You adjust. You always adjust and this is okay," she said.
"You need to fight to be alive, that's all.
"And of course this is about Ukraine and dance mostly. We did not come [here] to beg … we came here just to show how beautiful Ukrainian culture is and that it's worth attention."
For the Australian Ukrainian dancers — it is a shared pain.
"You cry with them and for them, without even really knowing even an inch of what they're going through," Ms Moravski said.
Michelle Gorgula is the facilitator of the workshop and artistic director for Adelaide's VOLYA Ukrainian Cossack Dancers.
"It's never far from the surface for our instructors [and] for members of our community … but as you can see, people are strong and they … try to be positive and try to keep moving forward and in some way make a difference or to help the situation that we're in," she said.
Ms Gorgula said the dancers were practising all day and rehearsing more at night in preparation for the concert.
"We're learning traditional choreography which is the work of the legendary Pavlo Virsky. He's the legend of Ukrainian dance … and has really shaped Ukrainian dance folk culture," she said.
"It's wonderful to see this up close … to really experience it and be immersed in that."
She said it had been a particularly important event in keeping cultural ties alive during challenging times.
"It's really been a very uniting process. We make friendships, we contribute to each other's growth and experiences and memories that people will have for a long time," she said.
The dancers will perform at the Association of Ukrainians in SA's community centre on Saturday afternoon.
Ms Gorgula said entry would be by donation, with an auction to help raise funds for Ukraine's defenders.
"The auction is some special items from Ukraine which have been signed by some of the people on the front line — some of our soldiers and defenders," she said.
The dancing instructors said what the concert itself would entail was a "surprise" but that it would be a very "special" event.