The REAL_DFAM team after taking fourth place at the 2023 World of Dance Championship. (Photo courtesy REAL_DFAM)

Oakwood student, family raises $20K to support Ukraine dance team

By Kaylee Arca

In times of conflict, dance remains a universal language. Last summer, it connected a teenage Ukrainian dance team with Oakwood School student Gabriella Zelenyak, 15, who raised $20,000 in monetary and in-kind donations to send the 13 dancers to the 2023 World of Dance Championship in Anaheim.

Zelenyak and her mother Iryna Kulchytska saw the call for help from The Real Dance Studio’s REAL_DFAM team on Facebook. The team won first place in the 2022 World of Dance Championship Series in Poland, which qualified them to compete in the 2023 World of Dance Championships. But they needed money to travel to California and compete.

The Real Dance Studio is in Chortkiv, Ukraine, where daily life has drastically changed due to the Russian invasion. Despite the ongoing violent conditions, the resilient dancers adjusted and persisted. They trained in bomb shelters by candlelight and flashlight, wore warm sweaters during the freezing winter, and even continued practicing during air raid alerts. Nevertheless, REAL_DFAM earned a spot to compete against the best dance teams from 24 countries.

“There’s a deeper understanding now that we need to seize the opportunity to dance right here and now, no matter the circumstances,” said dancer Katia Petrenko, 15. “The fact that we can gather as a group, dance, and represent Ukraine in different countries is a treasure, one that, unfortunately, not everyone has at this moment.”

Zelenyak and Kulchytska instantly knew they had to support the team. Kulchytska grew up in the same town before she immigrated to the United States 20 years ago. Zelenyak’s father Mykola Zelenyak and younger sister Isabella Zelenyak also helped with organization, logistics, and supporting the girls.

“I moved here 20 years ago to the United States and a connection with Ukraine will always be there,” Kulchytska said. “It’s especially important now that for the past two years, there’s been a full-scale war invasion in Ukraine and as always, children and women suffer the most in those conditions.”

During the next eight months, Kulchytska had nightly phone calls with Coach Svitlana Mischenko to understand the team’s needs, provide updates on their fundraising efforts, and accommodate the 10-hour time difference between Ukraine and California.

“I thought that fundraising would be a piece of cake, you know, raising 10 to 20 thousand dollars amongst our Ukrainian community and the broader community,” Kulchytska said. “But unfortunately, because everybody was dealing with their own crisis, it was nearly impossible to raise that amount.”

A lot of arranging and coordinating took place ahead of the Championships in Anaheim. The dancers needed passports, visas, transportation, and hotel accommodations to travel from Eastern Europe.

This proved more difficult than expected. The Ukrainian skies are closed and airplanes are not flying into Ukraine, due to the war. The next best option, make 24 to 36 hour bus trips to Poland to fly out.

“My mom and I started producing a lot of emails and sending them out to organizations, businesses, statewide dance schools, you know, hotels, transportation agencies,” Zelenyak said.

A breakthrough came one day when the mother and daughter received a response from Anthony Brenneman, executive director at Orange County Sports Commission. Brenneman decided that this was such a worthy cause that OCSC provided free hotel rooms at Sheraton Anaheim and Hilton Anaheim and gifted Disneyland tickets for the team.

“I broke into tears when I read that email,” Kulchytska said.

OCSC is a nonprofit committed to pursuing and attracting amateur and professional sporting opportunities to improve the Orange County economy.

“For me, every donation from people represents deep gratitude for their belief in us and serves as inspiration to not let them down and to show everything we are capable of,” said dancer Valeriya Kalmuk, 13. “Their belief in us motivated us not to give up halfway, but to keep going despite all the challenges we faced.”

The group also received support from other organizations. The Ukrainian American Coordinating Council provided transportation funds to travel around Anaheim, the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, NorCal Branch 107 helped set up a Facebook fundraiser, and Lyna Couture donated San Francisco-themed T-shirts to the entire group.

Zelenyak and her family traveled to Los Angeles and welcomed the dancers at the airport with chocolates, balloons, and gifts.

Growing up, she took Ukrainian classes on Saturdays to learn the language and connect with her culture. She and the dancers became fast friends.

“They welcomed me like I was a part of their group,” she said. “I got to learn new funny phrases. I would go into their hotel rooms and play a bunch of board games and they taught me new games I’ve never played before. They had snacks from Ukraine I’d never tried. It was really a bonding moment.”

After months of planning and training, it finally came time for the dancers’ “most important competition of their lives.”

REAL_DFAM, made up of 13 girls ages 10-16, took to the stage to perform a lyrical dance titled “After” in the junior division of the 2023 World of Dance Championship against the top 24 teams from around the world.

“The dance was amazing, it was so breathtaking,” Zelenyak said.

From the moment the music started, the auditorium was silent as the captivating movement mixed with the gentle melody.

“The war split my dance team almost in half, with many talented children fleeing their homes,” Mishchenko said. “Many of our performances have never seen the light of day … but we began creating something new, and it came from the depths of our hearts and love for our homeland.”

“When the dance ended, I think for a few seconds, nobody even clapped because I could tell people were just in shock a little,” Kulchytska said.

The team’s resilience and determination shone as they competed against top international talent. Later, the awards ceremony brought joy and relief as REAL_DFAM won fourth place.

“The fact that REAL_DFAM could do all of that, and then also fly out and perform with their entire hearts,” Zelenyak said. “I’m just extremely proud of the team and I think that that was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

The team’s trip to California, seeing the ocean and beautiful surroundings, was healing and showed that life moves on. For a week, the girls slept with no sirens or bombings, Kulchytska said.

“Absolutely everything, the welcome, meeting incredible people like Iryna and her family, the sponsors, the competition, and just the incredible energy there, Disneyland, the beach — everything is forever etched in our memory and our hearts,” Mishchenko said.

Kaylee Arca is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter.