PROJECT DETAILS
CHOREOGRAPHER: Roman Mykyta
COMPOSER: Vittorio Monti and Traditional, arranged by Gerdan–Kaleidoscope of World Music
PREMIERE: Ukrainian Independence Day Observance, August 24, 2013 | Ukrainian Cultural Center, Somerset, NJ | Performed by Дух Танцю – Spirit of the Dance Ukrainian Folk Ballet and Gerdan–Kaleidoscope of World Music
CAST: 1 Woman, 1 Man
RUN TIME: 5 minutes
SYNOPSIS:
When My Draft Card Arrived / Czardas is a narrative duet created for Gerdan’s fusion of Vittorio Monti’s Czardas and the Lemko folk song When My Draft Card Arrived. Set in a tavern, the work follows a young man facing his call to service as he imagines one final dance before departing into an uncertain future.
Memories of his parents, his family, his beloved wife, and their unborn child surface through longing, fear, and tenderness. Against the backdrop of contemporary war in Ukraine, the piece carries renewed poignancy, echoing timeless moments of farewell, sacrifice, and fragile hope.
A LEMKO SONG
The work draws inspiration from the Lemko folk song When My Draft Card Arrived, which gives voice to a young man facing separation, duty, and an uncertain future.
BACKGROUND & INSPIRATION
CZARDAS AND MEMORY
Gerdan’s arrangement fuses the folk song with Monti’s Czardas, creating a musical landscape that shifts between lament, memory, and imagined dance.
FAREWELL AND SACRIFICE
In the context of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, the work resonates with the pain of family separations, soldiers’ departures, and acts of courage in defense of freedom.