UKRAINE

Folklore group SERPANOK
  Group leader Olena Gončarenko

 The youth folklore group “Serpanok” (English: mist) of the Sumy State Pedagogical University named after Anton Semenovich Makarenko, was founded in 1996. Sumy is the administrative centre of the Ukraine’s Sumy region located in the north of the state (bordering with Chernihiv, Poltava and Kharkiv regions, and the Russian Federation in the east). The group’s activity is based on research and dissemination of the village’s singing traditions and culture. Sumy region is special for its location on the crossroad of several historical-ethnographic regions of Ukraine (Central Dnieper, Severia, Sloboda regions), creating a multi-layer and unique folklore-ethnographic landscape. By learning local repertoire (mostly ritual folklore, but also lyric and humoristic songs, young singers try to preserve its genuity, recreate its dialectical character, the timbres and manners of local singing styles. One of the brightest elements of regional folklore is so called ritual hooting (Ukrainian: gukanje).

Since its foundation the group “Serpanok” actively participates in various Ukrainian and international folklore festivals. It has been the laureate of the national competitions “Autumn Colors-2010“, “Red Rue-2011”. The group organizes various projects connected with folklore, also thematic concerts, traditional weddings etc.