Fedir Danylak

Fedir Ivanovych Danylak
Федір Іванович Даниляк
Danylak in 2020
Born	(1955-09-02) 2 September 1955 Pukiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Education	Kyiv State Institute of Culture
Occupations	Dancer choreographer

Fedir Ivanovych Danylak (Ukrainian: Федір Іванович Даниляк; born 1955^[1]) is a Ukrainian-born Canadian dancer, balletmaster and choreographer. He also serves as the artistic director of the Barvinok Ukrainian School of Dance in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Danylak was born on 2 September 1955 in the village of Pukiv, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (part of today's Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, western Ukraine).^[1] As a child, Danylak showed an early interest in dance and choreography, performing shows in Pukiv for the entertainment of the local population.^[2][3] In 1972, he enrolled at the Kalush School of Culture (now Kalush College of Culture and Arts), to study dance professionally under the mentorship of Maria Lyashkevych, an experienced performer and instructor.^[2]

After graduating from the Kalush School in 1976,^[2] Danylak began his career as a choreographer by joining the Hutsul Ensemble of Song and Dance, a professional Ukrainian ensemble based at the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Philharmonic.^[1] He met his future wife, Hrystyna, in Ivano-Frankivsk.

Danylak decided to continue his studies in 1978 by enrolling at the Kyiv State Institute of Culture, where he earned a diploma in choreography and undertook advanced dance courses.^[1][2]

Upon completing his second period of higher education in 1982, Danylak was offered a position as a professor of choreography at his first alma mater, the Kalush School; he accepted. ^[1] His appointment coincided with a renewed interest in Ukrainian traditions as the Ukrainian independence movement gained momentum.^[1][2] Influenced by this activity and his mentor Lyashkevych's interest in traditional dance, Danylak began developing choreography based on traditional practices.^[2]

Danylak became the first teacher in Kalush to teach the discipline of "Ukrainian Dance," with a particular focus on the dances of ethnographic groups in the Carpathian region.^[1] His syllabus became a permanent fixture of the school's curriculum.^[1] Danylak also founded one of the first Ukrainian folk dance ensembles, "Merezhyvo," which served as an extension of the Kalush College.^[1] As of 2021, Merezhyvo remains active.^[4]

While teaching, Danylak was recruited to perform in an amateur ensemble, Pokuttya, in the nearby city of Kolomyia. Participation in the ensemble enabled him to expand his knowledge of the folk dance traditions of the Western Ukraine regions. While working under artistic director Dana Demkiv, Danylak gained experience in professional dance school management. Being part of the ensemble Pokuttya also allowed Danylak to perform on the international stage.

In late 1996, Danylak and his family immigrated to Canada. The city of Toronto, with its vibrant and sizable Ukrainian community, offered Danylak many opportunities to continue in his chosen career as a teacher and choreographer. In the first year, Danylak taught Ukrainian dance at several Ukrainian dance schools in the Toronto area. Vesnianka and the Academy of Ukrainian Dance presented him with the experience of teaching dance at the Ukrainian community abroad.

According to Canadian Education Standards, Danylak's university diploma from Ukraine only equated to a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto. This, however, was not enough to prevent Danylak from following his chosen path as an educator. With help from his friends and family, he got started as a substitute teacher at the Toronto District School Board, eventually earning an Ontario College of Teachers diploma, allowing him to become a fully qualified teacher in Ontario. Hard work and perseverance pushed him to take on specialized course work and in time become a fully qualified Special Education Teacher. With support from Lesa Semsecen, then a vice principal at Toronto's Elmbank Junior Middle Academy, he was hired as a special education teacher at the school.

The year 1997 began a new path for Danylak. He was introduced to the Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble's executive committee by his friend Myroslava Cummings. During the trial period at the dance school, Danylak impressed the committee with his vast knowledge of Ukrainian Dance and his ability to impart his knowledge onto his students, from little five-year-olds to dancers in their early twenties. The decades of experience teaching Ukrainian Dance in Ukraine served as a starting point in his career as an artistic director of Barvinok.

Soon after his hiring, Danylak's dedication to the school and his hard work earned him a position as an artistic director.^[5] This new role allowed him to take the school in a new direction and introduce his unique teaching methodology. As the years went on, the people in the Ukrainian community in Toronto began to notice the changes in Barvinok School of Dance. The improved quality of both dancers and dances impressed the attendees of multiple multicultural dance festivals in Toronto. The dedication of the parents helped to increase the efficiency of how the school was run and allowed Danylak the freedom to expand the school's dance repertoire and improve overall dance education quality.

The results were earned with hard work of both Danylak and the dancers' parents. The first trip to Ukraine in 2000 culminated with a 1st place at the International Ukrainian Dance Competition in Yalta. Participation in numerous festivals and formal events helped spread the popularity of the school and its attendance group from over a hundred students, when Danylak began, to over four hundred dancers in 2009-2010 year. Still there was more to be done, and Danylak enthusiastically followed his chosen path. In 2004, the second trip was again successful, with performances in Kharkiv at the city's 350th anniversary and in front of the thousands of spectators for the Ukraine's Independence Day in 2004.

Organized by Danylak, with the help of parental committee, third trip in 2008 was a commemorative 40th anniversary tour celebrating 40 years since the creation of Barvinok Ukrainian School of Dance. This tour featured performances in Lviv, Pukiv, Rohatyn, Ternopil and Kyiv. Its most memorable presentation, choreographed and produced by Danylak was the Holodomor dance suite. Created as a commemorate the victims of the 1932-1933 genocide of Ukrainian people, it was performed at the annual Ukrainian World Congress in front of the then president Viktor Yuschenko anP pri M-minister Yulia Tymoshenko of Ukraine. It gained further acclaim when it was performed at an event commemorating victims of the Holodomor on November 29, 2008, in Toronto, Canada.

In his time as a Barvinok's artistic director he has choreographed dozens of unique dances from all regions of Ukraine for students of all ages. This is the partial list of Ukrainian Folk Dances choreographed by Danylak Danylak. The list also includes the Latin and Ballroom suites.

And many more, with dozens of dances for dancers from ages 5 to 29.

Besides being a choreographer and an artistic director of Barvinok, Danylak also participates in the Ukrainian community as a producer and director of various festivals and community events. Recently, he was the producer of the entertainment program at the celebration of Ukrainian Independence at Centennial Park, in Toronto. He was one of the Organizers of the Ukrainian Dance Festival.

Danylak lives in Mississauga, Ontario. He has been married to his wife, Hrystyna, for 29 years. He has a son Taras. Danylak is also a cousin of Ukrainian Catholic Church bishop Roman Danylak.

• Artistic Directors
• Pokuttya Ensemble

Notes