Studios Stand For Ukraine
by Annie Lu (Editor)
Spectators of recent dance competitions may notice an unusual decoration against the dark black of leads’ shirts or encircling the golden tan of followers’ arms. Bands of blue stacked upon yellow, representing the colours of the Ukrainian flag, are the powerful symbolic adornments now gracing floors of competitions and performances all over the world. For many in the Ballroom Dance community, the accessory is personal.
Bearing Ukrainian colours on the competition floor is just one way dancers have been publicly expressing their support for Ukraine and their fellow Ukrainian dancers. The devastating war has profoundly affected Ballroom due to the undeniably prolific presence of Eastern Europeans within the community. It is these people who are our teachers, friends, colleagues, idols, and influences. Not everyone may have been intimately impacted, but everyone most certainly knows someone who has.
On social media, dancers have been keeping their audiences updated and aware by sharing posts covering the war as it unfolds. Some have even assisted in efforts to aid Ukranians fleeing their home country by advertising available lodging or transportation. Others have opted for giving financial assistance and there has been no shortage of instructors offering charity classes where proceeds are to be donated to nonprofits and humanitarian organizations helping those in Ukraine. Establishments too, have contributed by running charity events and performance shows.
Waltz Tango Foxtrot Magazine has spoken to two such dance studios on the U.S. East Coast: Arlington Ballroom in Virginia and Queens Ballroom Dance in New York. Both have arranged fundraising events to aid a crisis which is occuring thousands of miles away, but feels as if its atrocities are right next door.
Group photos from Arlington Ballroom’s Spring Showcase
Dmitri Dolgopolov, owner of Arlington Ballroom, made the decision to donate 100% of the proceeds from their March 6th Spring Showcase to Save The Children’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, after watching the devolving conditions of the conflict reported online.
Along with much of the Ballroom community, Dolgopolov was struck by how close the conflict touched home.“My whole Facebook feed is flooded with dancers who I didn’t even know were Ukranians. And personally, I have family in both Russia and Ukraine,” Dolgopolov said. “I can for sure say that there are a lot of East European dancers who got affected directly and who have immediate family [in Ukraine]...I have some friends who lost relatives in Ukraine, I have some friends who lost relatives on the Russian side.”
Dolgopolov and his fellow dancers’ unease grew as the invasion overseas escalated; however, the Showcase was already in the works. “Seeing a lot of friends and people affected…it felt weird to dance and celebrate”, he explained. Thus, just a week before the scheduled date, Dolgopolov announced his intention to turn Arlington Ballroom’s Showcase into a fundraiser for children in Ukraine. It seemed the appropriate course of action to render dancing and performing meaningful during the difficult time. “Because as dance studios or instructors,” Dolgopolov said, the best option was to continue using their talents “and to do it for the correct reasons.”
The advertisement of the Showcase as a charity event was warmly welcomed and certainly provided an avenue for the community’s general desire to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. Several showcase goers purchased multiple tickets, while others who were not able to attend still bought tickets in order to contribute towards the event’s donation effort. Participating professional teachers/dancers were also glad for the opportunity to perform for a good cause.
Having served the Washington D.C. Metropolitan for over a decade, Dolgopolov is familiar with the typically affluent demographics drawn to Ballroom in the area. He commented that many of the studio’s students were appreciative of being able to contribute philanthropically through their love of dance.
“It’s nice for once, especially living in D.C. and seeing some students being polar opposites on a lot of political issues, to see that people found some common ground,” Dolgopolov said. “Overall, everyone agrees that war is not a solution.”
Left Photo: Yuriy Nartov and and Queens Ballroom Dance fundraiser event attendees
Right Photo: Andrey & Yuliya Klinchik serving food to guests
Farther North along the coast, a similar fundraising event was being hosted at Queens Ballroom Dance in New York.
On March 10th, Yuriy Nartov and Andrey & Yuliya Klinchik brought their NYC dance community together for a soirée of social dancing and raffle in support of Ukraine.
The event was swiftly organized in two weeks after Nartov pitched the idea of running a fundraiser to his friends Andrey & Yuliya Klinchik. Like many anxiously following news of the conflict, Nartov was driven by a sense of urgency - “Every week felt very unpredictable, no one knew how long this war would last, no one knew what to do,” Nartov said. “For a dance community where a lot of immigrants came from Ukraine or have family over there, they were looking for a way to do something and feel that they could actually help out.”
As one of the studio owners of Queens Ballroom Dance, Nartov was able to furnish the necessary venue space. Catering for the evening was generously provided by Varenyk House and Veselka, two local Ukrainian restaurants, as well as cooking from Yuliya Klinchik and Andrey Klinchik’s mother.
They were immediately met with their community’s positive reaction and the night turned out to be an immense success. About 150 people reserved tickets ahead of time, along with several guests making large donations towards the raffle. Sponsors of the raffle included Freed of London USA, CraftedByLenka, Spotlight Ballroom NYC, prizes of private lessons by the organizers, and a top prize of a custom dress by Ivon Reyes. Total proceeds raised from the event came to over $12,000.
The funds were evenly divided between ICRC Ukraine, Razom For Ukraine, and Revived Soldiers Ukraine. Nartov stated that the choice of charities was carefully considered; “we were looking at those where the majority of the money would actually go to people on the ground… ones that had extended history or already had networks in place,” he said. In particular, Revived Soldiers - dedicated to rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers and veterans - is a non-profit Andrey and Yuliya have worked with closely for the past couple of years.
Nartov acknowledges the sense of helplessness that he and those in his circle have experienced whilst watching the days pass with little sign of amelioration in Ukraine’s situation. “I have friends who have families in Kyiv or Kharkiv, and some of them were able to escape, some of them are still there. There is definitely an exhaustion…” Nartov said. Despite the unceasing conflict abroad, they have refused to abandon hope of finding ways to assist from the U.S. “Andrey and Yuliya have been volunteering pretty much every weekend to aid their local Ukrainian church in getting supplies.” Nartov adds. “I talked to another friend who has been helping connect people in Ukraine to provide rides to get them out.”
Furthermore, Queens Ballroom Dance was not alone in its efforts amongst the local dance scene. Immediately after Nartov’s event, there was another “Dance For Ukraine'' fundraiser organized by Mechyslav Pavlyuk on March 12th at Rogers Dance Center in Fairfield, New Jersey. Several Manhattan studios were also running a marathon of floor fees where anything earned that day would be donated towards the cause.
These numerous events occuring along the East Coast and across the nation are benevolent testaments to the ballroom community’s rapid unification and mobilization in response to the war in Ukraine. Though the past few weeks have taken heavy emotional toll on countless dancers, a source of strength and solace may be found from their community’s endeavors to provide aid in any way it can. “There were so many competition organizers that donated, and a lot of them are making certain events just to help Ukraine,” Nartov said.
“All across America, from dance professionals to competition organizers to even dance federations, there is an overwhelming support.”
Social Media posts advertising the respective charity events
Waltz Tango Foxtrot Magazine thanks both Arlington Ballroom and Queens Ballroom Dance for speaking with us and sharing their experiences. To continue the compassionate spirit of these studios’ efforts, we kindly ask our readers to consider donating to the aforementioned non-profits & humanitarian organizations. We include the links to their websites below:
