[Ohio UZO News] Call for Action: HOPAK called a RUSSIAN dance in front of millions and millions of viewers!

[Andrew J. Futey]

FORWARDED FROM ORIGINAL MESSAGE BY MARKO STECH
 
> Dear All! 
> 
> I apologize for contacting you once again about the issue of the "So You 
> Think You Can Dance" program on FOX TV. 
> 
> Now you can protest the BLATANT ERROR of calling "Hopak" a "Russian dance" 
> by signing a petition prepared by the League of Ukrainian Canadians at: 
> http://www.lucorg.com/luc/petition.php?newlang=eng&id=21 
> 
> If you feel that promoting such disinformation is wrong and offensive to 
> Ukrainians, please SIGN RIGHT NOW. The e-mails MUST REACH Nigel Lythgoe 
> BEFORE the show finale TONIGHT. 
> 
> If we want to be heard, MORE E-MAILS must be sent to FOX TV. Not only from 
> organizations, but from individual members as well. Only with large > numbers 
> of e-mail responses we have a chance to be noticed and to correct this 
> blatant error. 
> 
> Marko Stech 
> 
> P.S. NOTE: there was an unfortunate typo in my earlier e-mail to you (but 
> NOT in my official letter to FOX). The name of the program's executive 
> producer should be spelled: Nigel Lythgoe. 
> 
> 
> 
> Dear All! 
> 
> Last night, the very popular FOX TV show "So You Think You Can Dance" 
> (watched by millions and millions of viewers) featured two of this year's 
> top male dancers wearing UKRAINIAN FOLK COSTUMES and dancing a HOPAK while 
> presenting it as a RUSSIAN dance "trepak." The lame excuse that such a 
> dance was used by Tchaikovsky in his ballet "The Nutcracker" does not 
> justify such a glaring misinformation on the part of the producers and, in 
> particular, a Russian choreographer who prepared this dance! 
> 
> I strongly encourage all who find such an irresponsible promotion of 
> Russian imperialistic stereotypes offensive to all Ukrainians to WRITE 
> IMMEDIATELY to FOX TV: 
> at 
> askfox at foxinc.com 
> This information affects millions of viewers world wide! 
> 
> WRITE RIGHT AWAY to the show's executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, so that 
> this ERROR may be publicly corrected on the final show of the season which 
> air TONIGHT! Such things will keep happening over and over again if we 
> remain passive! 
> 
> For example, see my e-mail below sent to FOX TV. 
> 
> Marko 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> To: Mr. Nigel Lythgoe 
> Executive Producer of 
> "So You Think You Can Dance" 
> FOX TV 
> 
> HOW CAN YOU CALL IT A RUSSIAN DANCE?!!!! 
> 
> Dear Mr. Lythgoe! 
> 
> I have been watching the 2008 season of "So You Think You Can Dance" with 
> particular pleasure and interest. I commend you on your efforts to 
> popularize various styles of dance among the broad masses of viewers in > the 
> US. I have admired the consistently high level of professionalism of the 
> choreographers and dancers on your show. I was also impressed by the fact 
> that this year you have been trying to bring the awareness of the dance 
> traditions of other cultures into the mainstream TV. 
> 
> It was thus with great surprise and disappointment that I watched the last 
> night's season's finale of your show during which you featured two of this 
> year's top male dancers wearing UKRAINIAN FOLK COSTUMES and dancing a 
> TRADITIONAL UKRAINIAN DANCE "TROPAK" or "HOPAK" while ERRONEOUSLY 
> presenting it as a RUSSIAN dance "trepak"! This is not only a very 
> uncharacteristic sign of ignorance and lack of professionalism on the part 
> of your staff, but a grave INSULT to all people of Ukrainian extraction! 
> 
> TROPAK or, more exactly, HOPAK was developed and danced by the UKRAINIAN 
> COSSACKS long before Ukraine was annexed by Russia. Neither the costumes 
> worn by your dancers, nor the dance itself have ANYTHING AT ALL to do with 
> Russian culture! The fact that the famous composer Petr Tchaikovsky, who 
> was partly of Ukrainian Cossack origin, used not only Ukrainian dances 
> (practically unchanged), but also numerous Ukrainian folk melodies in his 
> works, does NOT make automatically these dances and melodies Russian! 
> 
> If a British composer used French minuets or Scottish national dances in 
> his/her work, would you consider that these dances automatically become 
> English? I do not think so. Why then are you ready to promote such glaring 
> misinformation, based on Russian imperialistic prejudices, among the 
> millions of viewers of your show? 
> 
> The TROPAK or HOPAK are such distinctive features of the Ukrainian > national 
> tradition (which, as you should know, is very distinctive from the Russian 
> tradition in general) to such an degree that even the repressive Soviet 
> government never dared to suggest that they can be considered "Russian" 
> dances! It is truly regretful that it takes the ignorance of the British 
> and American consultants and the obvious lack of objectivity and 
> professionalism on the part of a Russian choreographer for such a 
> misleading information to be promoted among the millions of viewers all 
> over the world! 
> 
> Dear Mr. Lythgoe, I strongly believe in your professional ethics as a TV 
> producer and entertainer. I ardently request that you correct this GLARING 
> ERROR in your program and publicly explain that the dance that millions of 
> viewers watched on your yesterday's show was NOT RUSSIAN, BUT uniquely and 
> distinctively UKRAINIAN. 
> 
> With best regards, 
> 
> Dr. Marko R. Stech 
> 
> 
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
> Dr. Marko R. Stech 
> Managing Director, CIUS Press 
> Project Manager, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine 
> Project Manager, Hrushevsky Translation Project 
> 
> Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies 
> University of Toronto 
> 256 McCaul Street, Rm. 302 
> Toronto, ON, M5T 1W5 
> tel: (416) 946-7326; fax: (416) 978-2672 
> www.utoronto.ca/cius 
> www.encyclopediaofukraine.com 
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  


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