PAM’YATATY FILMS INTRODUCTION: MAIDA WITHERS  Click INTRODUCTION to view Maida Withers at Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park in Washington, DC –  remarks presented dance at Ukraine dance site film showings June 4, 2025, Lviv, Ukraine, and June 22, 2025, Kyiv, Ukraine.

PAMYA’TAYTA is the title of a project proposed by Anton Ovchinnikov, Ukraine, with Maida R. Withers, USA, in 2024-25, during the earliest period of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.  The project is funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding with presentation by the Ukraine Contemporary Dance Platform.   Funding supports the following:
<  call for Ukraine choreographers to apply
<  selection of four Ukraine female choreographers/dancers to each create  and perform a solo
<  dancer selects and negotiates for a site for rehearsal & performance
<  research on self (Ukrainian) as subject with the topic
<  creation of a site specific dance
<  collaborate with Oleksiy Shmurak, composer/musician
<  “live” public presentation of solo choreography “on site”
<  collaborate  with video/filmmaker
<  public presentation of dance films in Lviv or Kyiv, Ukraine.

PROGRAM – Lviv, Ukraine – Thursday, June 4, 2025

EXIT
Nina Bulgakova – Choreography/Dancer
Oleksiy Shmurak – Composer/Musician
Dramaturg – Yuliia Hudosnyk
Anton Ovchinnikov and Maida Withers – Curators
Photo/Video – Oleksandr Dolovov
Performance – Helsinki, Finland
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15XBSdUjbIFm4KAYq8jiImFZwBxW1otv-/view/ (does not work here)

DROWSINESS
Kateryna Kuznetsova – Choreographer/Dancer
Oleksiy Shmurak – Composer/Musician
Yuliia Hudosnyk -Dramaturg
Anton Ovchinnikov and Maida Withers – Curators
Sasha Pletenetska –  Videographer/Film
Performance – Dnipro River, Kyiv, Ukraine

PROGRAM – Kyiv, Ukraine – Sunday, June 22, 2025

IN A FRAGILE CIRCLE
Olena Chuchko – Choreographer/Dancer
Oleksiy Shmurak – Composer/Musician
Yuliia Hudosnyk – Dramaturg
Anton Ovchinnikov and Maida Withers – Curators
Oleksandr Dolovov – Videographer / Filmmaker
Performance:  Piazza Santa Cecilia, Savona, Italy

THE WARMTH OF COLD WALLS
Yuliia Hryshyna – Choreographer/Dancer
Oleksiy Shmurak – Composer/Musician
Yuliia Hudosnyk – Dramaturg
Anton Ovchinnikov and Maida Withers – Curators
Oleksandr Osipov – Videographer / Filmmaker
Performance – Kharkiv Media Hub and Yermilov Center, Kharkiv

DATA : 4 UKRAINE CHOREOGRAPHERS / SOLO SITE PROJECTS / 2025
INFORMATION:  ANTON OVCHINNIKOV, UKRAINE  MAY 2025

PROJECT:  OLENA CHUCHKO

“In a Fragile Circle” by choreographer Olena Chuchko
The premiere of this site-specific performance took place on April 23 in Savona, Italy.

At Piazza Santa Cecilia, the audience witnessed a story that resonates with anyone who has been forced to start a new life in a new place. With anyone who felt small and lost when they were expected to be strong and self-assured.

“The concrete circle with its solid borders is open to all — and that means to me, and to you.” — Olena Chuchko

Olena joined the project to reflect on her experience of forced migration and the impact of war on her life.
For the performance, she chose a circular concrete platform in Piazza Santa Cecilia — a space commonly used for biking, rollerblading, and skateboarding.

“The fact that this is not a historical site resonates with me: here, as a foreigner who has only lived in this city for a short time, I feel I have a moral right to speak out.” — Olena

Duration: 30 minutes
Team:

• Dancer & Choreographer: Olena Chuchko
• Music: Oleksii Shmurak
• Dramaturgy: Yuliia Hudosnyk
• Curators: Anton Ovchinnikov & Maida Withers
• Photo/Video: Oleksandr Dolovov

Olena Chuchko is a dancer, performer, choreographer, and teacher from Kyiv, who, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has been living and working in Savona, Italy.

The presentation of the Ukrainian choreographer’s work in Italy was supported by the Pokrova Association and the Municipality of Savona.

PROJECT:  NINA BULHAKOVA

“EXIT” by choreographer Nina Bulhakova
The performance took place on April 28 in Helsinki, Finland.

Nina chose the stairway of the Cable Factory—a former industrial site transformed into a cultural center in the late 1980s—as the location for her site-specific piece. These stairs lead to the dance studio where Nina holds her rehearsals and training sessions.

“The stairs to the studio are my place of strength, a source of inspiration to continue my work and remain in the profession. Symbolically, the spiral shape of the staircase suggests both a beginning and an end—an exit. Through this path, through tangled stairs, pain, and struggle, I will search for my own EXIT.”

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Nina and the dancers of her company Ethno Contemporary Ballet have been living and working in Helsinki.

“I recently read an article comparing forced migration to the grief and stress of losing a loved one. The title of my solo, ‘EXIT,’ refers to the way out we all search for when trapped in difficult circumstances.” — Nina Bulhakova

Together with composer Oleksii Shmurak, Nina developed a unique spatial-musical approach: she carries a speaker in a backpack during the performance, allowing the sound to move with her as she ascends and descends the stairs.

Creative team for the performance “EXIT”:

• Dancer & Choreographer: Nina Bulhakova
• Music: Oleksii Shmurak
• Dramaturgy: Yuliia Hudosnyk
• Curators: Anton Ovchinnikov & Maida Withers
• Photo/Video: Darina Rodionova

Nina Bulhakova is a choreographer, teacher, and co-founder of Ethno Contemporary Ballet, originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15XBSdUjbIFm4KAYq8jiImFZwBxW1otv-/view?usp=drivesdk/

PROJECT:  YULIIA HRYSHYNA

“The Warmth of Cold Walls” by choreographer Yuliia Hryshyna
The performance took place on May 7 inside the Derzhprom building in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Derzhprom, or the House of State Industry, is the first Soviet 13-story skyscraper, a Constructivist architectural monument, and one of Kharkiv’s three historic high-rises, built between 1925–1928.

“When I moved to Kharkiv for my studies, I felt like a stranger in the city—until I looked up and saw its buildings. Over time, my fascination grew and found like-minded souls. Now I can translate my sense of architecture into an artistic project,” says choreographer and performer Yuliia Hryshyna.

The audience witnesses a story that resonates with anyone who has ever fallen in love with Kharkiv—its unique history and architecture—and for whom the city has become a place of belonging.

“I’m in love with Kharkiv’s buildings. Slightly neglected but full of atmosphere, they inspire movement with their lines and rhythm. I want to draw the community’s attention to them—maybe this will be a step toward their renewal and restoration,” says Yuliia.

Supported by the Kharkiv Media Hub and Yermilov Center, the performance was part of the parallel program to the exhibition “Modernism in Ukraine: The Present and Legacy of Kharkiv and Lviv.”

Yuliia Hryshyna is a dancer, performer, choreographer, and lecturer at the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture. She also organizes educational and artistic events and programs. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, she has continued to live and work in Kharkiv.

Creative team:

• Dancer & Choreographer: Yuliia Hryshyna
• Music: Oleksii Shmurak
• Dramaturgy: Yuliia Hudosnyk
• Curators: Anton Ovchinnikov & Maida Withers
• Costume Design: Anna Matkova
• Photo/Video: Oleksandr Osipov

About the performance: https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-culture/3990885-u-budivli-derzpromu-v-harkovi-vidbuvsa-tancuvalnij-performans-teplo-holodnih-stin.html

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15XBSdUjbIFm4KAYq8jiImFZwBxW1otv-/view

PROJECT:  KATERYNA KUZNETSOVA

“Drowsiness” by choreographer Kateryna Kuznetsova
The performance took place on May 10 on the Dnipro River in the Kyiv region, Ukraine.

An abandoned restaurant-ship became the stage for dancer and choreographer Kateryna Kuznetsova’s premiere of the site-specific dance performance “Drowsiness.”  “Drimota”

“Drowsiness” explores the impossibility of motherhood during wartime—or more precisely, the self-imposed prohibition, the internalized belief that it’s not possible now. The work draws from the artist’s personal experience, which continues to evolve and transform.

“This rust-eaten, abandoned restaurant-ship tells the story of dreams and expectations that were never realized—of something that has become impossible,” says Kateryna.

Creative team:

• Dancer & Choreographer: Kateryna Kuznetsova
• Music: Oleksii Shmurak
• Dramaturgy: Yuliia Hudosnyk
• Curators: Anton Ovchinnikov & Maida Withers
• Photo/Video: Sasha Pletenetska

Kateryna Kuznetsova is a choreographer, dancer, and performer. She graduated from Taras Shevchenko Luhansk National University in 2015. From 2016 to 2022, she performed with Kyiv Modern Ballet. In 2022, she co-founded INSHA Dance Company with her husband Illia Miroshnychenko.

About the performance:   https://espreso.tv/kultura-narodzhuvati-chi-ni-tantsyuvalniy-performans-drimota-pro-vidkladene-materinstvo-pid-chas-viyni

Maida Withers Text, only presented at film showings June 4, 2025 in LVIV, UKRAINE and June 22, 2025 in KYIV, UKRAINE.
Greetings!
*I join you today from the Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park in Washington, DC. It is a beautiful day in a busy neighborhood in the US capitol city.

*As you know, Taras Shevchenko was a brilliant Ukranian poet and artist revered for his literary works and self-sacrificing contributions to the people of Ukraine and much more!  This is a beautiful monument supported by people with strong association with Ukraine, and beloved by those who live in Washington, DC.

*In 2018, I was invited by Anton Ovchinnikov, Ukranian Association Contemporary Dance Platform, to co-create a work in Kyiv, ”60 moves for Future Gaze…scattering the ruins of the past for the sake of the future…” That began a seven-year association with Ukraine that is very important to me.  Thank you, Anton.

*It is and has been a great honor for me as a dance artist to part of the PAM YA TA TY project that brings us together today to celebrate and share NEW WORKS, strong and meaningful works of dance, of music, and of film by Ukrainian artists…..NOW, BUT MORE….FOR OUR FUTURE!”

*From 48 proposals, four brilliant and adventurous Ukranian contemporary dance choreographers/artists were chosen to identify and select a public “site” that could have meaning for them and for us, to create a new original solo about her life now…maybe the future, to collaborate with a NOTED Ukrainian composer, and filmmaker, to create strong/powerful personal statements, that capture our imagination FOR THESE TIMES – truly, a celebration of life that spreads JOY and STRENGTHENS OUR PASSION , COURAGE, HOPE, and LOVE as WE navigate life.

BRAVO! TO ALL INVOLVED, and all of you who are here today….

With DEEP RESPECT!

Maida Withers
June 1, 2025