PROJECT DETAILS
CHOREOGRAPHER: Roman Mykyta
COMPOSER: Ivan Zakharzhevskyj and Traditional Music
PREMIERE: September 16, 2023 | Ballet in the Garden, Historic Hammond Harwood House, Annapolis, MD | Performed by The Ballet Theatre of Maryland
CAST: 9 Women
RUN TIME: 3 minutes
SYNOPSIS:
On St. John’s Eve is a choreographic miniature inspired by the ancient celebration of Ivana Kupala, one of Eastern Europe’s most enduring midsummer traditions. Rooted in pre-Christian summer solstice customs and later intertwined with the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the work evokes a world where nature, ritual, and community exist in harmonious balance.
Through communal movement, the dancers embody the elements of fire, water, earth, and air as young maidens weave floral wreaths symbolizing love, destiny, and the promise of future union. Mystical yet joyful, the miniature celebrates the timeless relationship between humanity, the natural world, and the enduring hope carried through seasonal tradition.
IVANA KUPALA
Ivana Kupala is one of the oldest seasonal celebrations in Eastern Europe, emerging from pre-Christian midsummer traditions and later associated with the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
BACKGROUND & INSPIRATION
RITUAL AND SYMBOL
Bonfires, flowing water, woven wreaths, medicinal herbs, and the legendary flowering fern all play symbolic roles in the celebration, expressing purification, renewal, courtship, and nature.
THE MAIDEN’S WREATH
Young women traditionally weave flower wreaths and release them onto rivers, hoping they will be discovered by a future beloved. The choreography draws on this image as a symbol of hope and destiny.