Richka

08/04/2017

Hello from Vostok, the trio of singers who performed the music for Richka. We had such a wonderful time collaborating with all the fantastic dancers and sharing the music with our beautiful audience. If you would like to hear us in future and stay in the loop, like our page here.

www.facebook.com/eastvancouvervostok

Vostok is a Vancouver-based vocal trio singing music from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. "Vostok" means East - Eastern European music, from East Vancouver.

06/25/2017

Meet our 5th dancer: David Clennin! David graduated from the School for Contemporary Arts with a BFA in Dance at Simon Fraser University in 2015. He had the pleasure of working with great choreographers such as Rob Kitsos, Gioconda Barbuto, Kidd Pivot, and Daisy Thompson at SFU. He took part in The Response apprenticeship program in 2016, as well as apprenticed with Heather Laura Grey for the Tunnel in April this year. David performed with the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers for four years in Edmonton, AB, and is excited to go back to his roots and put a contemporay spin on Ukrainian Folk Dance.

06/22/2017

Rehearsal images for Richka: June 27th at the Firehall Arts Centre. All mages courtesy of Liam

06/21/2017

Less than a week!! Our performers are working so hard getting ready to perform for you so please don't miss it!

https://tickets.firehallartscentre.ca/TheatreManager/1/online?event=0

06/14/2017

Our second dancer bio is for Egor Terekhine! Russian born, now living in Canada. He has been involved with dance for a few years now, and loves it. He is excited to be working with Gina, and all these wonderful folks! See you on June 27th! Tickets are available at: https://tickets.firehallartscentre.ca/TheatreManager/1/online?event=0

06/13/2017

The Vostok singing ensemble is made up of three fantastic performers, introducing Emily Villavicencio, a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and music educator with a Master of Music Education from UBC. Current musical projects include arranging and singing Eastern European and Balkan music in more than ten languages and dialects with vocal group Vostok. She plays piano, guitar, and percussion, and is learning the banjo, accordion, and podorythmie - traditional French-Canadian foot percussion. See you at the show on June 27th!

06/12/2017

Meet VOSTOK Ensemble member Aliya Griffin! See you on the 27th!!! Aliya is a director, creator, performer, producer, and facilitator with a keen interest in political and socially engaged theatre. She is the founder and Artistic Director of The Troika Collective, a multi-disciplinary performance collective that uses Eastern European history and culture as a lens to explore universally resonant stories and themes. When not directing and creating, she performs with her own vocal group Vostok, specializing in music from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Aliya holds a BA in theatre performance and political science from SFU and is working towards her Masters in Arts for Social Change.

06/11/2017

Spent the day in the studio with an abundance of talent, hard work and open minds. Eager to share the work and collaborations with the audience on June 27!

06/08/2017

We're ONLY 20 days away!! Meet co-choreographer of Richka, Gina Alpen. A Ukrainian Dancer since 4 years old, and a graduate of SFU's contemporary dance program in 2014, Gina hopes to create a piece that joins her areas of expertise together in dance. RICHKA takes place on June 27th at the Firehall Arts Centre at 8pm! https://www.facebook.com/events/1898766293733745/

06/07/2017

RICHKA, a captivating new multidisciplinary work melding contemporary dance with Ukrainian traditions. June 27 at the Firehall.
We are so honoured to have received funding support from the following programs: Heritage Canada's InterAction, City of Vancouver's Community Arts, and Community Arts Council of Vancouver's DTES Community Arts Fund.

05/15/2017

Dancers & Singers spent the weekend in rehearsal for Richka.
The work will explore, among other themes, Ivana Kupala Night, a midsummer festival. People leap over the flames of the bonfire as it is believed that the act of jumping over it cleanses people of illness and bad luck. Couples hold hands while they jump - if they remain clasped, they will have a long future together, if they separate, the romance will not last.
Girls usually float wreaths of flowers (often lit with candles) on rivers and would attempt to gain foresight into their relationship fortunes from the flow patterns of the flowers on the river. Men attempt to capture the wreaths in the hope of getting attention of the woman who floated the wreath.