by Keith Hennessey, 2024
This is a serialized travel memoir from a well-intentioned yet ill-informed US/Canadian perspective that shares stories of fierce vulnerable Ukrainian dancers in the middle of a war/invasion. This isn’t well researched journalism. Yes you can share with friends —Keith
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Dear reader,
This is a 5-day collection of stories, observations, and experiences from my trip to Lviv, Ukraine in August 2024. 2024 was year 3 or 10 or 30 or 100 of the war between Russia and Ukraine, also known as, Ukraine’s righteous defense against Russia’s colonial invasion, depending on which historical date or “truth” you want to prioritize. Numbers of people killed and other data are based on what I could find online in summer 2024.
First, some historical dates to explain the above numbers, 3, 10, 30, 100:
1921-22: (100 years ago.) Russia, as part of Soviet expansion, invaded and annexed/occupied Ukraine, including a violent suppression of Ukrainian literature, culture, and language.
1932-33: In the violent take-over (forced nationalization) of Ukraine’s vast and fertile private farms, Stalin’s regime caused the Holodomar/Terror-Famine, an agricultural genocide that resulted in at least 4 million Ukrainian deaths. Followed by massive displacement, both internally and by emigration.
Nov 1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of dissolution of Russian-dominated Soviet Union.
Aug 1991: (30 years ago.) Ukrainian independence, and intensification of Russian efforts to control and/or destabilize Ukraine, to keep Ukraine within the Russian sphere of economic, military, and cultural influence. The US and Europe have been very active in this larger global competition, pulling Ukraine away from Russia towards Europe, maybe with promises to join Europe (and maybe even NATO?)
Feb 2014: Maidan Revolution / Revolution of Dignity, culmination of the Euromaidan protests (2013-14), which ousted Ukraine’s pro-Russian president.
2014: (10 years ago.) In response to the Maidan Revolution, Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine’s Donbas region and then annexed Crimea. There has been an ongoing war in Eastern Ukraine since then, which Russia escalated in 2022. Ukraine re-prioritized Ukrainian language education in and out of schools.
Feb 2022: (3 years ago.) The current Russian invasion of Ukraine, occupying significant areas of Eastern Ukraine, ongoing bombing of civilian infrastructure in several areas of the country including the capital Kyev. An unknown number of thousands of Ukrainian civilians dead, estimates of over 100,000 military dead, and over 8 million Ukrainians have fled the country from a population of 41 million. Russian military deaths have not been clearly reported but it seems that over 100,000 have died.
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Through a friend I reached out to a couple of Ukrainian contact improvisation dancer-organizers saying I’d heard that there was a desire for international teachers to come to Ukraine, to share skills, witness life during war, and soften some of the isolation they have felt since 2022. A small festival was organized around my visit which included a talk, 3 days of classes and dance jams, an informal performance, and a closing hang out at a semi-rural sauna/banya. Over 50 people participated, from several cities and towns around Ukraine including Lviv, Kyiv, Odessa, Dnipro and Kharkiv, with 25-40 people at each class, talk, jam, performance.
These notes are intended as both a curious travelog for my friends and as a small act of solidarity with Ukrainian dancers feeling isolated, abandoned, and hungry for connection, witness, and support. Writing helps to organize my memories and thoughts and also helps me process what has been a deeply emotional few days. You are witnessing my witnessing.
I do not name all of the people I met and whose stories I’m sharing here. They know I took a lot of notes and photos and consented to my sharing this report with friends and beyond. They also have access to the document and know that I welcome their comments, corrections, edits. Neither my notes nor memories are precise or complete. I heard almost everything through translation and gaps of cultural understanding. I selected what to share. Any historical info was grabbed from Wikipedia and quick internet searches simply to create a broader context for the stories I heard. Please do your own research and don’t quote me. Supportive corrections are welcome. All errors, misunderstanding, and omissions are mine. Apologies to all.
At least some of you reading this should consider going to Ukraine.
Centre of the Web 