Let's dance
Amal Choucri Catta is airborne
The National Virski Dance Company of Ukraine: Cairo Opera House, Main Hall, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29 January, 8pm, 28 and 29 January 11am
They all did. Dance, I mean. On stage, back stage, behind the scenes, some of them even rocking in their seats. It was one of those nights when audience knew what they were coming for, and got what they expected: the house was full, the mood bright, smiles were abundant and hands never stopped clapping. Since Sunday last, Pavlo Virski's dances have been talked about everywhere. Their spectacular performances at Cairo Opera's Main Hall have captivated the old and the young, sending large numbers of spectators to one or other of their impressive performances.
The programme starts with an eloquent salute to the public, solemnly performed by the entire ensemble of over 50 Ukrainian dancers, in national costume, with three women dancers presenting bread, a tradition signifying friendship, similar to the Egyptian expression "we have shared bread and salt," meaning we have shared good and bad days, we are old friends.
As the music -- played by an orchestra of some 25 excellent musicians -- came to a close bread and maidens disappeared and the scene was ready for Ukraine, my Ukraine, a panoramic vision of what was going to be performed in detail: lots of solo acrobatics, lots of somersaults, of pirouettes, of leaps and high jumps and unbelievable feats demonstrating the dancers' skills.
Nobody knows how they do it, but the National Virski Dance Company of the Ukraine never let audiences wait between one dance and the next. Once a dance is over and the performers have shouted their last "hey" yet more dancers rush onstage to present the next dance. This time it was the turn of Povzunetz, a comic Cossack dance routine performed by 10 acrobats doing their utmost to astound their entourage, showing courage, strength and joie de vivre. They got the applause and the bravos they deserved as the audience went wild, begging for more. Then everything turned red: the colours, the lights, the music, the entire atmosphere on stage, all converted into a vermilion hue: even the tune was dreamlike. But the scarlet charm soon vanished, leaving a fabulous vision of 13 young women in extraordinary costumes, marrying green to lilac, orange and yellow, twisting and turning, whirling around and joining the young men in performing the wildest gypsy dance.
Nereznianka, a Ukrainian wedding dance, was next. Inspired by traditional movements, including the Khorovod chain dances that formed the basis of many choreographic patterns and designs, these dances presented a profile of the Ukrainian people, their history, their life and their relationship to nature. And even if there was a certain repetition in some of the dancing skills the audience loved every somersault and every step the dancers took, every leap in the air and all the brilliance that went with it. They loved the Tamburine Dance with the handsome young men in white, and they loved the breathtaking formation of the 22 young girls in long white dresses, elegantly gliding in and out of the scene, to a slow, meditative tune. Their finale was thrilling, and to round up the first part of this glittering show we were given the Russian Suite, a vibrant, dynamic expression of the Russian character with 12 of the youngest dancers appearing on stage to join their elders. This was not just plain folklore any more -- it had moved faraway from that. This was dancing at its best.
Part two opened with The Carpathians, a choreographic suite with three trembita mountain horns blowing their dreamy tune into the winds, calling the young to song and dance: this dance evokes three different regions of the Carpathian mountains, characterised by individual costumes, songs and dances. The three main parts of the choreography are the song of the mountains, the song of the well and the song of the sun, all three inspired by ancient tales, the source of much of Virski's research work.
The National Virski Dance Company of the Ukraine was originally founded by Pavlo Virski in 1937; by 1940 it was already recognised as Ukraine's official song and dance company. During World War II the company performed for soldiers at the front and as both choreographer and dancer Pavlo Virski created a number of the dances on the programme. Among them, the Gopak was awarded a number of prizes prior to Virski's death in 1975.
In 1980 Myroslav Vantukh became artistic director of the company, and the two-year choreographic training course, founded by Pavlo Virski was in 1992 turned into a choreographic school for children, becoming the Ballet School of the Ukrainian National Dance Company. The Pavlo Virski ensemble made its American debut at the old Metropolitan Opera in 1958, returning several times, most recently in 1998. They have also toured Europe and Asia, and were applauded in Cairo some seven years ago. Then the audience loved their brilliance, their discipline, their lyricism and their comedy. They love them still.
In the second part of the show we were given Under the Cherry Tree, a choreographic picture from an old Ukrainian puppet show, inspired by a folk song mocking an old man's attempts to seduce a young girl. The two are sitting on a wall: he comes closer, she pushes him away; she leaves the wall while he comes running after her, ridiculous in his green-striped pants, she pretty as a picture in a very short skirt. He tries to embrace her when a second man appears on the wall: he is young and strong, with an impressive black mustache. She happily rushes to him; the old man doesn't like it and tries to win her again. This the young man resents, and so it goes on, to and fro, until the old man is sent overboard and the young couple are happily alone. Not for long, though. Everyone was amused, everyone was clapping and hoping for more.
The comedy was over and we got the Needle Women, a dance that is not really a dance but rather a complicated assortment of patterns and figures, created by a number of thick threads entwined and intertwined by subtly choreographed movements. The needle women, 26 in all, twist and turn on stage, finally producing a lovely piece of embroidery at which point the dance ends.
Time came for the boys again, who, in this dance, appeared as sailors returning to their fascinating acrobatics and leading the way to Gopak, the celebrated Ukrainian folk dance performed by the entire company, including the children of the ballet school. This dance is a feast of colours, with as many whites, reds and blues as greens and lilacs, and not forgetting the red and black boots, nor the flying ribbons or the embroidered aprons the girls wear. They all danced, they all clapped, they were all happily enthused about their success. The audience was impressed: the show had been perfect, the discipline extraordinary, the costumes superb and the music, particularly the accordion sequences, sensational. The colour combinations, the hues and shades, together with the extravagant attire, were wildly successful.
One member of the audience behind me was not quite sure whether Ukraine was Russian or not. Today's Ukraine appeared on the map as an independent state in 1991. Its history, however, dates back to the ninth century, when one of the largest and most powerful states of mediaeval Europe was founded. It is the second largest country in Eastern Europe, with 51 million inhabitants. All of them, you might be forgiven for believing after tonight, love to dance and sing. And so they should. They do it exceptionally. Catch them if you can.
