‘We are the same blood’ : Russians and Ukrainians perform together–in Morristown

Video: Barynya performs on the Green

By Kevin Coughlin

Sixteen months after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a Russian ensemble performed Ukrainian dances and folk tunes on Tuesday to hearty applause from a lunchtime crowd on the historic Morristown Green.

A threatened protest by Ukrainian Americans was averted when organizers of the free Music Beyond Borders series re-worded promotional materials earlier this month to clarify that Barynya is a Russian group.

But like the war itself, it’s more complicated than that.

“Half of the company are Ukrainian, and half are Russian. I never know which we are, to tell the truth,” said Mikhail Smirnov, a Moscow-educated guitarist who founded Barynya in New York in 1991.

He conceded it was “difficult” for his band mates — all naturalized U.S. citizens, he said — when hostilities broke out in Crimea.

“We drink a lot of vodka and horilka and try to decide what’s right and what’s wrong,” said Smirnov, using the Ukrainian word for vodka.

Slideshow photos by Katharine Boyle:

Dancer Olga Chpitalnaia, who hails from near Odessa in Ukraine, led the crowd in light-hearted Ukrainian vocabulary lessons between songs,  assisted by her fellow Ukrainian, dancer Sergij Tsyganok.

After the hot, hour-long midday performance, Chpitalnaia acknowledged her displeasure with the international situation.

“We’re the same people, the same blood. The unfortunate thing is there still are people who want to kill,” Chpitalnaia said. “We Slavic people have the same blood. I hate everything that’s going on.”

Over its six summers, Music Beyond Borders has featured a broad sampling of world music, co-hosted by the Mayo Performing Arts Center and Morris Arts.

“The prime purpose of the series is to celebrate the diversity in our area and to share world cultures with our community,” said Dr. Lynn Siebert, communications director for Morris Arts.

She hailed Tuesday’s performance as “a joyous celebration of Ukrainian culture with Ukrainian performers. Isn’t it wonderful that we could bring such fine Ukrainian dancers to the Green?”

Barynya’s balalaika player, Elina Karokhina, who is Russian, soloed in January at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with the Mariinsky Orchestra, led by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev. 

Ukrainian Americans protested at that concert, as they did two weeks later when Gergiev came to Morristown for a 20th anniversary show at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Demonstrators were angered by Gergiev interviews expressing support for Putin.

Still, he is a famous conductor of a top orchestra, and Karokhina said it was a thrill to play the Brooklyn gig.

“But stressful,” she added.

Music Beyond Borders concludes on Aug. 4 with Korean Traditional Dance of Choomnori.

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