a brief history.
At the age of three and a half Olenka started Ukrainian folk dance lessons. She has not stopped dancing since. She toured Ukraine, the US and Canada with her folk dance ensemble and has had the great fortune of training with an incredibly diverse array of teachers. She has recently begun choreographing. She fell in love with ecstatic dance and contact improvisation in 2015 and has found movement liberation through these mediums. She currently teaches ecstatic dance.
Her most recent exploration is Butoh. She has been studying under Butoh master and founder of Butoh Cabaret, Yumi Umiumare.
the fire dance
"The Fire Dance" encompasses 9 minutes of story unravelling the enmeshed stigma around the feminine expression in social, cultural, religious & political structures. The end of an era-- this divine feminine perspective sparks curiosity, ignites sensuality & illuminates sisterhood. Witness the fire.
Vision: Olenka Toroshenko
Choreography: Olenka Toroshenko & Jessamyn Stewart
Dancers: Isabelle Desroches Stein, Jessamyn Stewart, Katie Marie Ingram, Kavita Sundar, Laryssa Toroshenko, Lisa Delwo, Olenka Toroshenko
Thank you to Kellen Frost of Atreon Productions for seeing the live performance and instigating story weaving with a camera. Thank you to each of the musicians whose music inspired the movement that became this piece. A notable mention to Geoff Anomaleye of SomniaHarmonic for his masterful music weaving.
Music By: SomniaHarmonic, Beats Antique, TroyBoi, Equador, Goopsteppa, Rising Appalachia, David Starfire, an-ten-nae
Inspired by my first encounters studying with Yumi Umiumare during ButohOUT! Festival's "Out of the Blue" series.
For bookings or collabs please use the contact page.
∆