Dryg Community – Traditional Dances and Songs in Lviv.

Our goal is to create an environment and a community of people who love and are inspired by Ukrainian traditional music. For 5 years we have been holding dance evenings at various venues in Lviv. We teach people traditional Ukrainian dances. Inspired by the school of traditional music “Rys”, we started with dances from the center of Ukraine. Recently, we immersed ourselves in the study of the dances of our region – Opillya. At the beginning of the invasion, we were one of the first to start gathering and fundraising for our friends in the Armed Forces, and we continue these volunteer activities to this day. Brave Ukrainian soldiers inspire us, because often during their short vacations, they try to visit the community to NABUTYSIA (to fulfill themselves if you will – they say it’s a kind of therapeutic for them). We consider this joint NABUTOK (fulfillment) to be our greatest achievement. People come to us looking for self-identification, get to know each other, and start joint projects. They create an environment of cultural Lviv. Foreign volunteers and soldiers who protect us have repeatedly taught us their dances, and we are also inspired by trips abroad and participation in various projects. Thus, Danish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Austrian, and ancient dances of the Ukrainian nobility appeared in our repertoire. Community member Lyudmila Zborovska regularly conducts master classes in singing “Barvy Risnoholossya” (Colors of Polyphony), where she introduces those who wish to the rich manners of performing traditional songs, often taken from her own expeditions. We always support other projects of community members.

The older people in the villages remember these dances and we had the lucky opportunity to adopt them during the Opillya expedition. These dances are performed to an established composition of instruments – violin, basolia (folk cello), tambourines, etc. These are dances you do for fun and inspiration, simple but fiery, just right for both excitement and comfort.
We welcome both experienced dancers and beginners! Also for cooperation and participation in new projects related to the popularization of Ukrainian traditional music in Ukraine and abroad.

For almost 6 years, in addition to our own dance evenings, we attended a number of local festivals and also visited Poland, Austria, Lithuania and Norway.

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