Spirit of the Dance
2024 Year in Review
This Year in Review provides a summary of professional activity undertaken during 2024.
New Works / Choreography
Original Works
MACBETH
Dramatic Ballet in One Act based on the work by W. Shakespeare
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Richard Strauss
Premiere: February 23, 2024
Performed by The Ballet Theatre of Maryland at the
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Annapolis, MD
This ballet reimagines Shakespeare’s Macbeth as a psycho-spiritual descent, where ambition, guilt, and the supernatural unfold through movement rather than realism. Emphasizing fate and inner darkness, the Weird Sisters and Hecate emerge as archetypal forces—fatalism, desire, and the unrestrained id—guiding Macbeth and his wife toward self-made captivity. Richard Strauss’s music drives the work’s haunting intensity, giving visceral form to a tragedy shaped as much by inner corruption as by external action.
NOCTURNE
Excerpt from A Midsummer Night's Dream
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
Premiere: June 22, 2024
Performed by the Misako Ballet Company
with guest artists from the Ballet Theatre of Maryland
at the Jim Rouse Theater, Columbia, MD
Nocturne depicts the moment Titania awakens and is reunited with Oberon, as harmony is restored to the fairy realm. Set to the luminous music of Mendelssohn and Weber, their reconciliation unfolds in a tender pas de deux, supported by the gentle presence of four ladies from Titania’s court. Bathed in nocturnal calm, the excerpt lingers on forgiveness, balance, and the quiet renewal of love.
TARAS BULBA
(Тарас Бульба)
Choreographic Miniature
Tribute to Ukrainian Literary Artist Mykola Hohol (Nikolai Gogol)
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Franz Waxman
Premiere: July 6, 2025
Performed by the Kazka Ukrainian Folk Ensemble and campers
at the 35th Ukrainian American Heritage Foundation (UAHF) Dance Camp at the Ukrainian Homestead of ODWU, Inc, Lehighton, PA
Inspired by the 1962 film adaptation of Gogol’s Taras Bulba, this choreography reflects the epic spirit and heroic imagery of the story. Drawing on Waxman’s dramatic score, the work evokes themes of courage, legacy, and national identity. The miniature distills cinematic grandeur into a concentrated theatrical moment.
FRIENDS
(Подруги)
Choreographic Miniature
based on works of Mykola Hohol (Nikolai Gogol) and Ivan Kotliarevsky
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Traditional, arranged by Ron Cahute
Premiere: September 15, 2024
Performed by Spirit of the Dance - Дух Tанцю Ukrainian Folk Ballet
at the 2024 Washington DC Ukrainian Festival, Silver Spring, MD
Friends brings the leading ladies of Ukrainian literature to life on stage, as Hohol’s Oksana (Christmas Eve) and Hanna (May Night) lift the spirits of their distressed friend, Kotliarevsky’s Natalka Poltavka. Through playful and supportive movement, the trio expresses camaraderie, loyalty, and the resilience of friendship. The miniature captures the humor, warmth, and emotional heart of these beloved characters in a brief, vivid vignette.
Original Adaptations for Educational & School Productions
THE NUTCRACKER (Abridged)
Ballet Adaptation
Original adaptation and staging: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Context: Staged for The Berwyn Ballet School, theatrical production (2024)
An original abridged adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, structured as a cohesive 90-minute, no-intermission production and staged for a large, multilevel cast of approximately 60 student dancers. The adaptation balances narrative clarity, character development, and age-appropriate technical demands while preserving the dramatic arc and theatrical richness of the full-length work. I appeared onstage as Drosselmeyer, supporting narrative continuity and audience engagement within a fully realized theatrical setting.
Re-Stagings / Adaptations of Original Work
MACBETH - Original Choreography 2024
Ballet Theatre of Maryland — Maryland Renaissance Festival (Labor Day 2024)
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Richard Strauss
Premiere: Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts (2024)
Originally premiered in February 2024 with Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Macbeth was re-staged in August 2024 for the Maryland Renaissance Festival.
This outdoor remount adapted the work for a nontraditional stage environment, exploring how the ballet’s dark psychological narrative could resonate within an immersive, open-air setting.
Performed by Ballet Theatre of Maryland.
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS - Original Choreography 2022
Misako Ballet Company — Ballet Bouquet (2024)
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: George Gershwin
Premiere: Players on Air Inc, Coppermine Pantherplex (2022)
Premiered in 2022 with Players on Air, An American in Paris was re-staged in June 2024 with Misako Ballet Company for Ballet Bouquet, the company's annual showcase event presented at the Jim Rouse Theatre in Columbia, MD.
This re-staging revisited the full one-act structure, refining musical phrasing, pacing, and ensemble relationships, allowing the work to deepen within the proscenium theatre form.
AMERICAN IN PARIS - ADAGIO (EXCERPT)
Ballet Theatre of Maryland — Ballet in the Garden (2024)
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: George Gershwin
Premiere: Players on Air Inc, Coppermine Pantherplex (2022)
An excerpted Adagio from An American in Paris was re-staged in September 2024 for Ballet Theatre of Maryland as part of Ballet in the Garden, a mixed-repertoire program presented in the gardens of the historic Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis, MD.
Presented outdoors, the excerpt emphasized intimacy and lyricism while adapting partnering and spacing for an open-air performance context.
CAPRICCIO ESPAGNOL - PAS DE DEUX and PAS DE TROIS (EXCERPTS)
Ballet Theatre of Maryland — Ballet in the Garden (2024)
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Premiere: Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Prince George’s Community College Arts Center, Largo, MD (2023)
Originally premiered in 2023 as a one-act ballet with Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Capriccio Espagnol returned in September 2024 in excerpted form.
The Pas de Deux and Pas de Trois were re-staged for Ballet in the Garden, re-imagined for an outdoor stage while preserving the work’s virtuosic classical language and Spanish-inflected character.
NOCTURNE - Original Choreography 2024
Ballet Theatre of Maryland — Ballet in the Garden (2024)
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
Premiere: Misako Ballet Company, Jim Rouse Theater (2024)
Derived from an original educational adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream created in 2023, Nocturne was premiered as a professional excerpt in June 2024 with Misako Ballet Company for Ballet Bouquet.
The piece depicts Titania’s awakening and reunion with Oberon, restoring harmony to the fairy realm.
The excerpt was subsequently re-staged in September 2024 for Ballet Theatre of Maryland as part of Ballet in the Garden, adapted for an outdoor setting.
ON ST JOHN'S EVE - Original Choreography 2023
Montgomery College - Parilla Performing Arts Center (2024)
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Ivan Zakharzhevskyj
Premiere: Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Hammond Harwood House (2023)
Premiered in September 2023 for Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s Ballet in the Garden, On St. John’s Eve was re-staged in April 2024 for the Montgomery College Dance Program Spring Concert.
This indoor presentation offered a new theatrical frame for the miniature’s ritualistic and folkloric themes.
SPRING OF FATE - Original Choreography 2023
Misako Ballet Company (2024)
Choreography: Roman Mykyta
Composer: Volodomyr Ivasiuk
Premiere: Spirit of the Dance-Дух Tанцю Ukrainian Folk Ballet, Ukrainian Homestead of ODWU (2023)
Originally premiered in August 2023 with Spirit of the Dance Ukrainian Folk Ballet, Spring of Fate was re-staged throughout 2024 with Misako Ballet Company.
Presented in multiple indoor venues, the work was performed by the same cast across the season, allowing the choreography to deepen while retaining its symbolic and seasonal core.
Stagings
WE ARE FROM UKRAINE (Ми з України) - Pavlo Virsky
Staged for Ukrainian American Heritage Foundation (UAHF) (2025)
Adapted for a multigenerational Ukrainian ensemble, this staging centers cultural transmission while introducing the stylistic breadth and movement vocabulary of Ukrainian folk-stage dance.
WE ARE FROM UKRAINE (Ми з України) - Pavlo Virsky
Staged for the Ballet Theatre of Maryland (2025)
Introduced into a Western professional ballet repertory, this staging integrates Ukrainian folk-stage style and ceremonial movement vocabulary within a classical company framework.
Recognitions and Professional Highlights
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
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Pilates Instructor Certification — served as principal artist, instructor, and choreographer for UAHF Dance Camp programming supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; original choreography and repertory stagings developed and taught as part of the funded initiative.
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Grant-supported artistic leadership — served as principal artist, instructor, and choreographer for UAHF Dance Camp programming supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; original choreography and repertory stagings developed and taught as part of the funded initiative.
Performances
Spirit of the Dance - Дух Танцю - Ukrainian Folk Ballet
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Repertory performances and festival appearances
Ballet Theatre of Maryland
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Performer in original and staged works
Kazka Ukrainian Folk Ensemble
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Repertory performances and festival appearances
Ukrainian American Heritage Foundation
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Performer in original and staged works
Carroll County Dance Center and Conservatory
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Faculty and performance appearances
Misako Ballet Studio
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Guest performer and instructor appearances
The Berwyn Ballet School
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Guest performer and instructor appearances
Teaching and Professional Development
Intensives & Masterclasses
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Ukrainian American Heritage Foundation (UAHF) Ukrainian Dance Camp - Weeklong intensive serving approximately 100 students (ages 6–adult); principal instructor and choreographer in Ukrainian folk-stage and character dance.
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Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) Dance Festival - Conducted masterclasses in Ukrainian Dance and Character Dance for approximately 70 Baltimore County dance students
Dance Schools
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Central City Dance Center (CCDC) - Ongoing instruction in pre-professional ballet, boys’ class, and summer character dance.
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DC Music Academy School of Ukrainian Dance
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Misako Ballet Studio - Faculty for summer character dance program and ballet instruction.
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The Berwyn Ballet School
Pilates / Movement Conditioning
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Club Pilates (Maryland) - Instructor at three studios, providing movement conditioning that supports dancer health, longevity, and technical sustainability.