Creativity of Vasyl Avramenko and his contribution to Ukrainian and world culture

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to establish the contribution of Ukrainian ballet master, choreographer, director and pedagogue Vasyl Kyrylovych Avramenko to the Ukrainian and world art. Avramenko’s native country has been silent about his work for a long time, although the artist has made the Ukrainian dance famous all over the world. He was one of the first to start shooting films on the Ukrainian topic in the USA. His activity was always aimed at developing the Ukrainian art, regardless of the country he lived in. The research methodology consists of a range of methods: historical, biographical, theoretical. The abovementioned methodological approach allows studying the question of historical data relating to the events in Ukraine that led to the emigration waves, find out certain biographical facts and analyze the artist’s creative activity. The scientific novelty of the thesis is in systemizing the artist’s biographical data, studying his contribution to developing the Ukrainian culture (Ukrainian dance and cinema) in Ukraine and abroad, seeking to define the special features of dramatic characters created by the artist. Conclusions: The artist had not lived in the native land for a long time (until 1924), as it was a hard time for our country, but it did not prevent V. Avramenko from engaging in creative activity. Setting an example of his personal performance of folk dances, the artist communicated the values of folklore art and its powerful educational potential. The performances of the choreographer and his students conveyed the love for the native land and symbolism of Ukrainian dance, which was reflected in artist’s other creative projects, particularly in cinema.