Ukrainian vechornytsi on Montmartre

What do foreigners know about Ukraine, our traditions and culture? Mingling with residents of Western European countries, you bitterly conclude that Ukrainians are very often identified as Russians and Ukraine is still pictured, 18 years on, as part of Russia. At any rate, it will take a lot of time before the 1991 events, which radically changed Europe’s political map, leave an imprint on the mind of an ordinary European.

According to the French or Belgians, they began to perceive Ukraine as an independent state quite recently. The Orange Revolution and the first sprouts of genuine democracy in Ukraine graphically and convincingly showed to the world the young state’s aspiration to take a place it deserves among European countries.

Undoubtedly, the most effective and easy-to-understand way to furnish information and establish contacts is cultural cooperation. A song, a picture, or music requires no translators or lengthy political debates. A people’s soul is most fully revealed in its culture, traditions, and ethnic rites. This is why we can say without hesitation that the Ukrainian Vechornytsi on Montmartre, organized by Oleh Skrypka, a top Ukrainian rock musician and head of the Dream Country civic organization, in conjunction with Ukraine Art, the association of Ukrainians in France, is the beginning of the export of ethnic Ukrainian culture to the West. (‘Vechornytsi’ is traditional evening or night gatherings of young men and women in Ukraine – Ed.)

On January 17 Paris saw Malanka, a traditional Ukrainian feast on the Julian Calendar New Year’s eve (January 14), also known as St. Basil’s Day, Shchedryi Vechir (Generous Eve), and Shchedra Kutia (ritual dish made with wheat or barley grain and ground poppy seeds that is eaten with a honey sauce – Ed.). We know very well the joyous air that prevails during this Ukrainian Christmas-time folk celebration. It is Dream Country that brought the Andriivsky Uzviz—Montmartre—Cultural Twins art project to Paris.

Nearly 75,000 ethnic Ukrainians live in France. French citizens, they still consider themselves Ukrainians “by blood.” It is they who hit upon the idea of this project. Ms. Natalia Pasternak, chairperson of the Association of Ukrainians in France, and her husband often visit Lviv, Kyiv, and Drohobych, where their Ukrainian relatives reside. She takes interest in and values antiques and likes visiting antique galleries on Andriivsky Uzviz.

The Pasternak family lives in Paris’s Monmartre. Walking down Andriivsky Uzviz during her latest sojourn in Kyiv, Natalia reflected on why everybody speaks Ukrainian so well in Montmartre. The realities of Paris’s Monmartre and Kyiv’s Andriivsky Uzviz blended for a moment in her mind. Indeed, the present-day social purpose and the very atmosphere of both quarters look surprisingly similar: the city’s historical nook that appeals to tourists, a gathering place for artists, musicians, theatergoers, and high-society people. The majestic historical monuments – St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv and the Basilica of Sacre Coeur in Paris—proudly tower over the districts as architectural symbols of the two neighborhoods. If there are twin countries or twin towns, then why can’t there be cultural fraternity between the nooks of the two metropolitan cities that are so different in geography but so similar in their life style and “civic position”? Natalia shared her idea with Oleh Skrypka. This kick-started the implementation of the Andriivsky Uzviz—Montmartre—Cultural Twins art project, the first stone in the construction of a cultural bridge between Ukraine and the West.

We had an opportunity to interview Oleh Skrypka shortly before Vechornytsi on Monmartre began.

Why have you brought no other thing but Vechornytsi to Paris?

“The first vechornytsi outside Ukraine were held in Switzerland in January 2005. We, the artists who had come from Ukraine, got together with representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora in Geneva for a party. We played the guitar and danced. I can say it was the first attempt to ‘export’ Ukrainian vechornytsi to the West.

“Today, we have already gained wide experience in holding Ukrainian vechornytsi in Ukraine itself, where we feel very confident. So we decided to begin ‘exporting’ Ukrainian vechornytsi in order to unite the Ukrainians who live abroad. I spent seven years in Paris and know this city very well, so it is easier for me to choose a concert hall here and organize performances of Ukrainian artists.”

How are you going to put the essence of this Ukrainian feast across to French audiences?

“Today we are presenting the Ukrainian New Year, or Vechornytsi on Montmartre. There is still such thing as caroling in Ukraine. But our show is not a traditional presentation of vechornytsi: we have brought an original program adapted for French audiences. Vechornytsi is a folk amusement, when people mingle, dance, eat, and try on embroidered shirts. I am performing with an orchestra from Ukraine; there will also be the group Choboty z Buhaia and folk dances in the beginning. The Ukrainians will be inviting everybody to dance.

“According to our custom, we will be treating guests to vodka, fatback canap s, and pickled cucumbers. And I think we are the first in the history of Ukraine to export kutia. We cooked it yesterday here on Montmartre at a small restaurant which specializes in Ukrainian dishes. I was personally crushing poppy seeds in a mortar. We have brought all the ingredients from Ukraine. Today, we are acquainting French people not only with Ukrainian vechornytsi but also with our traditional Christmastide dishes because there can be no Malanka without kutia.”

What are you expecting from the “export” of Ukrainian vechornytsi to the West?

“There are a lot of Ukrainians in the West. There has been so much chat about Ukraine lately because of the gas bust-up. People should understand that Ukraine is a large independent state, not a part of Russia. We, artists, find it much easier to do this by means of our artistic skills.

“We are the first to bring over Ukrainian vechornytsi on such a large scale to a foreign country. We want to be a positive information center and show what Ukraine is and what our traditional feasts are. We possess a precious treasury — Ukrainian folk traditions — and we would like to show this to Europeans and share our national cultural wealth with them.

“I already know that today’s audience will include our friends and guests from Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora in France, as well as many people who have come with us from Ukraine. I think we, Ukrainians, are seriously lacking a strong rallying factor today. And I will be really proud if our vechornytsi can become this rallying factor. In that case we will be also performing in Spain, Madagascar, and Argentina. All we have to do is launch this kind of movement and make full use of our creative initiative. Our goal is to show that we occupy a place of our own in the European cultural space.”

A traditional question about your artistic plans...

“We are taking vechornytsi to Oslo, Norway, on February 6 and also getting ready for concerts in Germany. I have also contacted Portugal. We recently held vechornytsi in Italy, and, naturally, we are preparing for a new festival, Dream Country, scheduled for June 26-27 in Ukraine.”

Oleh Skrypka’s idea of a rallying factor is becoming more and more pressing. Various countries of the world are hosting descendants of the Ukrainians who once found themselves far away from their native land by decree of fate. There are large Ukrainian diasporas in the US, Argentina, and Canada, but Ukrainian associations are small and disunited in Western Europe, an increasingly popular destination for Ukrainian emigrants. This is why, by exporting Ukrainian culture, we not only acquaint Europeans with our country but also help the Ukrainians abroad to find one another. The more of us are there, the stronger we are.

IMPRESSIONS

Oleksandr PETRACHKOV, a guest from Geneva:

“It is a wonderful and joyful evening for us all—Ukrainians, French people, and visitors from other cities and countries. This makes me proud of our Ukraine and our original culture. Many thanks to Oleh for sharing his talent so generously and doing so much for spreading a positive image of Ukraine and for bringing us, Ukrainians, together. Wherever Ukraine is, there is a celebration!”

Yurii BILAK, a Frenchman of Ukrainian origin:

“I am very pleased that Oleh Skrypka has brought his musicians to Paris. It is nice to see so many people who have come to the vechornytsi in spite of a high ticket price. I was able to see my old friends who live in other cities of France. Besides, this feast is a meeting between the young and the old generations of French Ukrainians. Oleh is helping us to unite. I am so glad that everybody is dancing and having fun.”

Emilia NAZARENKO:

“The Ukrainian festival in Paris was a tremendous success. Long before the beginning, there was a crowd of those asking for a spare ticket near the theater entrance, although the price—40 euros—was not too small even by European standards. The 700-seat hall was filled to capacity. The atmosphere of a joyous and merry feast—dancing, singing, Ukrainian Christmastide dishes — fully captivated the audience. Even the guards at the doors were dancing a little. Dmytro, a Ukrainian-born Parisian, danced with such an inspiration in spite of his age of 75 that young ladies aged 20 were competing for the right to pair up with him.

“Kids were also having fun. They danced with each other and their parents and joined in singing. When the feast was over, a lady who represented City Hall’s culture department, thanked the Ukrainian artists, thus officially confirming cultural affinity between Montmartre and Andriivsky Uzviz. She also presented Oleh Skrypka with a bottle of a rare wine made from a Montmatre-grown variety of grapes. Only 800 liters of this wine are produced per year, so the city council presents it to the most honorable guests only.”

Manu MASKO, front man of the musical group Red Cardell, Brittany:

“I am utterly surprised that the show attracted a capacity audience. I could not even imagine that there are so many Ukrainians living in Paris. I often give concerts in Ukraine, but today it sometimes looked as if the feast were taking place right in Ukraine.

“My group plays ethno rock, and we have made a few songs in the style of Ukrainian folk music and will soon have the pleasure of presenting them to Ukrainians. Oleh is a star of the Ukrainian musical stage, and I am very glad that his songs are becoming more and more popular in France.”