When Oksana Makarenko awoke on the morning of February 24 to the sound of explosions near her home in Kyiv, Ukraine, she knew she had to leave the life she had built behind her. “A friend of our family sent us a message that…”a town near Kyiv is being bombed. So pack your things, I’ll take you from Kyiv,” Makarenko said this week. “So we went to a small village near Kyiv and that place was safe.” Makarenko is one of millions of Ukrainians who fled their country after a Russian invasion that began in February. Her father, husband and in-laws remain in Ukraine. While CBC News reports that the country’s military has been retaking more territory from the Russians in recent weeks, it says the war’s impact will forever be felt. “They just decided to dust everything, destroy it… My close friends, their father was killed by the rocket. He fell in their yard and was on the balcony,” Makarenko said. “We couldn’t believe it was happening, then we thought maybe it will be over quickly. But then my father and my husband, they just said, ‘You have to take the kids and leave.’ Makarenko was able to retreat with her mother and children to western Ukraine and then Italy before deciding to move to Canada. She came across a Facebook group filled with people in Newfoundland and Labrador aimed at helping Ukrainians get back on their feet in the province, including Jill Dreaddy of Jill Dreaddy DanceCo. “I made some posts while I was in Italy, but people started writing to me and encouraging me [to come] THAT PERIOD. That was what I needed,” Makarenko said.
Dance for the soul
Makarenko is a professionally trained belly dancer in Ukraine. She and her husband, a ballroom dancer, operated a dance studio at home. “First I tried ballroom dancing, but it didn’t work out for me. I’m a star, I can’t dance [a] couple,” he laughed. It was her dancing experience that caught the attention of Dreaddy, whose studio she had previously taught belly dancing to. Jill Dreaddy, right, met Makarenko through a Facebook group and offered her the opportunity to teach a workshop at her dance studio. Months later, Makarenko joined the studio as an instructor. (Alex Kennedy/CBC) “There was a little bit of a hole, and I really missed having this level and this curriculum here… She’s a great performer, she’s got a lot of experience, what she teaches is really authentic,” Dreaddy said. Makarenko has been belly dancing since 2004, when she took it up as a hobby while studying law at university. She quickly realized, however, that she wanted to be a full-time dancer—and that belly dancing was good for her soul. “For me, it is an art form. You can express your emotions, it gives you freedom. You are not bound by rules, restrictions, there are no strict rules in this dance form,” said Makarenko. “The main thing is to express what you feel, so your body will be an instrument to show the music… You are free to create, to do whatever you like.” She’s also ready to return to the joy of teaching, bringing belly dancing to Dreaddy’s St. studio. John’s later this month. Makarenko sees belly dancing as an art form in which everyone can express their feelings. (Photo by Jaba Sarvora/Submitted by Oksana Makarenko) “The only big thing I like [about teaching] … the woman, begins to blossom. She starts to understand her femininity and you see how she starts to be more sure of herself. She understands that she is precious, she is wonderful,” he said. “My students are not just students to me, they are friends…Dance is something that brings people together.” The class is filled with new and experienced dancers, said Dreaddy, who hopes others will be given the opportunity to showcase their Newfoundland and Labrador culture. “I think we’re really blessed to have people like Oksana and her family,” he said. “What they bring in terms of their culture, their food, whether it’s dance or language, I think is really beautiful. It’s really what makes us grow as a province.” Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
