Fedir Ivanovych Danylak () (born 1955) is a dancer,

balletmaster A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

and artistic director of the Barvinok Ukrainian School of Dance in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.

Early days, education

Danylak was born on September 2, 1955, in Pukiv, in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(today in the

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

of western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). Growing up in a large family during the Communist rule of Ukraine was not easy, yet from an early age Danylak always showed that he had a talent for entertaining. He loved to perform in front of crowds in his native village and after graduating from the high school, he was accepted into the Snyatyn College of Culture where he studied the art of Ukrainian dance and received training in ballet, choreography and dance. Upon his graduation, he was drafted into the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

, serving in the Long Range Missile Defence group in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

. The completion of his military assignment was followed by the acceptance into the Kyiv State Institute of Culture, where Danylak received further training in teaching, training of folk dance directors, and choreography in Ukrainian folk dance as well as other international dance styles, including Latin American dances (

chacha Cha-Cha, Cha Cha, ChaCha or Chacha may refer to: Music *Cha-cha-cha (dance), a dance of Cuban origin *Cha-cha-cha (music), a genre of Cuban music *Cha Cha (album), ''Cha Cha'' (album), a 1978 album by Herman Brood & His Wild Romance *Cha Cha (sou ...

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

, merengue,

rhumba Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and ballroom dance, dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cub ...

, etc.). Danylak also received extended training in ballroom dance styles such as

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal ...

, and

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

. After graduating from the

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Institute with a diploma in choreography, Danylak joined a professional Ukrainian dance ensemble in

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

, Ukraine. The Hutsul Ensemble of Song and Dance was an ideal place for Danylak to experience and learn about the culture and dances of the Western part of

. It was in Ivano-Frankivsk that he met his future wife Hrystyna, and it was in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast that he chose to settle and begin his professional career as a choreographer.

Choreographer

He accepted the position of professor of choreography at the Kalush College of Culture. Beginning his teaching career, Danylak aspired to create a broader awareness of Ukrainian Dance among his community and in Kalush as a whole. His love of Ukrainian folk traditions led him to found the first Ukrainian Folk Ensemble, Merezhyvo, as an extension of the Kalush College of Culture. Throughout its years, Merezhyvo served as a starting point for Fedir's students to gain professional dance and choreography experience in both Ukrainian and other International dances. Many of his students, after graduating from the College of Culture and the Merezhyvo Dance Ensemble, became professional dancers, choreographers, teachers, some founding and leading Ukrainian dance schools in Ukraine and abroad. While teaching at the college in Kalush, Danylak was recruited to perform in an amateur Ukrainian Dance Ensemble

Pokuttya Pokuttia, also known as Pokuttya or Pokutia, (; ; ) is an historical area of East-Central Europe, situated between the Dniester and Cheremosh rivers and Carpathian Mountains, in the southwestern part of modern Ukraine. Although the historic hear ...

, in the neighbouring city of

Kolomyia Kolomyia (, ), formerly known as Kolomea, is a city located on the Prut, Prut River in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in the west of Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Kolomyia Raion, hosting the administration of Kolomyia urban hromada ...

. Participation in the ensemble allowed Danylak to further expand his significant knowledge of the folk dance traditions of the Western Ukraine regions. Also, while working under the talented choreographer and artistic director Dana Demkiv helped Danylak gain experience in management of a professional dance school. Being part of the ensemble Pokuttya also gave Danylak the opportunity to perform on the international stage.

In Canada

In late 1996, Danylak and his family immigrated to Canada. The city of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, with its vibrant and sizable Ukrainian community offered Danylak plenty of opportunity to continue in his chosen career as a teacher and choreographer. In the first year, Danylak taught Ukrainian dance at a number of Ukrainian dance school in Toronto area. Vesnianka and Academy of Ukrainian Dance presented him with the experience of teaching dance at the Ukrainian community abroad.

Elmbank

The immigration and settling in Canada was not an easy path to follow. According to Canadian Education Standards, Fedir's university diploma from Ukraine was only equated to a simple bachelor's degree from University of Toronto. This, however, was not enough to prevent Danylak from following his chosen path as an educator. With help from his friends and family he got started as a substitute teacher at the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

, eventually earning an Ontario College of Teacher diploma, which allowed him to become a fully qualified teacher in Ontario. Hard work and perseverance pushed him to take on specialized course work and in time become a fully qualified Special Education Teacher. With support from Lesa Semsecen, then a Vice Principal at the Toronto's Elmbank Junior Middle Academy, he was hired as a special education teacher at the school.

Barvinok

The year 1997 began a new path for Danylak. He was introduced to Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble's executive committee by his friend Myroslava Cummings. During the trial period at the dance school, Danylak impressed the committee with his vast knowledge of Ukrainian Dance and his ability to impart his knowledge onto his students, from little five-year-olds to dancers in their early twenties. The decades of experience teaching Ukrainian Dance in Ukraine served as a starting point in his career as an artistic director of Barvinok. Soon after his hiring, Fedir's dedication to the school and his hard work earned him a position as an artistic director. This new role allowed him to take the school in the new direction, introduce his unique teaching methodology. As the years went on the people in the Ukrainian Community in Toronto began to notice the changes in Barvinok School of Dance. Improved quality of both dancers and dances wow the attendees of multiple multicultural dance festivals in Toronto. Dedication of the parents helped to increase the efficiency of how the school was run and allowed the freedom for Danylak to dedicate himself expand the school's dance repertoire and improve overall dance education quality. The results were earned with hard work of both Danylak and the dancer's parents. The first trip to Ukraine in 2000 culminated with a 1st place at the International Ukrainian Dance Competition in Yalta. Participation in numerous festivals and formal events helped spread the popularity of the school and its attendance group from over a hundred students, when Danylak began, to over four hundred dancers in 2009-2010 year. Still there was more to be done, and Danylak enthusiastically followed his chosen path. In 2004, the second trip was again successful, with performances in Kharkiv at the city's 350th anniversary and in front of the thousands of spectators for the Ukraine's Independence Day in 2004. Organized by Danylak, with the help of parental committee, third trip in 2008 was a commemorative 40th anniversary tour celebrating 40 years since the creation of Barvinok Ukrainian School of Dance. This tour featured performances in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, Pukiv,

Rohatyn Rohatyn (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city located on the Hnyla Lypa River in Ivano-Frankivsk Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Rohatyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Popula ...

Ternopil Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...

and

. Its most memorable presentation, choreographed and produced by Danylak was the

Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...

dance suite. Created as a commemorate the victims of the 1932-1933 genocide of Ukrainian people, it was performed at the annual Ukrainian World Congress in front of the then president Viktor Yuschenko and prime-minister

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...

of Ukraine. It gained further acclaim when it was performed at an event commemorating the Holodomor victims on November 29, 2008, in Toronto Canada.

List of dances

In his time as a Barvinok's artistic director he has choreographer dozens of unique dances from all

regions of Ukraine The administrative divisions of Ukraine ( ) are under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Ukraine, Ukrainian Constitution. Ukraine is a unitary state with three levels of administrative divisions: 27 regions (24 Oblasts of Ukraine, oblasts ...

for students of all ages. This is the partial list of Ukrainian Folk Dances choreographed by Danylak Danylak. The list also includes the Latin and Ballroom suites. 1. Hopak 2. Volyn 3.

Suite 4. Wedding Suites 5. Prykarpattya Suites 6. Hutsul Suites 7. Malanka Night 8. Wild Dances 9. Buko 10. Lemko Dance 11. Zakarpattya Dance 12. Vasylechky 13. Vyjdy Hryciu 14. Welcome Suites 15. Oj Na Hori Kalyna 16. Come Out Hryhorij 17. Gypsy 18. Vasylechky 19. Welcoming Dance And many more, with dozens of dances for dancers from ages 5 to 29

Community

Besides being a choreographer and an artistic director of Barvinok, Danylak also participates in the Ukrainian community as a producer and director of various festivals and community events. Recently, he was the producer of the entertainment program at the celebration of Ukrainian Independence at Centennial Park, in Toronto. He was one of the Organizers of the Ukrainian Dance Festival.

Personal life

Danylak lives in

. He is married to his lovely wife of 29 years Hrystyna. He has a son Taras. Danylak is also a cousin of Ukrainian Catholic Church bishop Roman Danylak.

References

Artistic Directors

;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Danylak, Fedir 1955 births Living people Dance teachers People from Mississauga Dancers from Toronto Ukrainian choreographers Ukrainian emigrants to Canada Ukrainian male dancers Ukrainian dancers