Беларускія фэстывалі й выстаўкі ў Нью Джэрзі
Янка Запруднік
Выдавец: Беларускі Інстытут Навукі й Мастацтва
Памер: 219с.
Нью Йорк 2013
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My former high school teacher and later co-worker at Radio Liberty, Anton Adamovich, used to say, alluding to the constant misidentification by Americans of Belarus as part of Russia: "This rashka (literally = snout, muzzle) is a tremendous obstacle for us to be understood." This is why the decision by the government of the independent Republic of Belarus to abandon the name "Byelorussia" and spell it BELARUS in English was of paramount importance.
How Many Belarusians in New Jersey?
This question, strictly speaking, is unanswerable because the very definition of "Belarusian" in many instances is impossible. For example, how does one categorize children in ethnically mixed marriages? According to the mother's side or the father's? Additionally, some descendants of immigrants from Belarus, due to their Christian Orthodox or Roman Catholic confession (popularly described as "Russian" or "Polish" faiths), labeled themselves — confusing religion and nationality — as "Russians" or "Poles," accordingly.
The author(s) of the 1965 brochure published by the New Jersey chapter of the Belarusian-American Association, having stated that there are "hundreds of thousands" of New Jersey residents with Belarusian roots, acknowledged that it is very difficult to talk about them in terms of statistics. Consequently, the numbers of Belarusians (or rather Belarusian-Americans) in New Jersey vacillate in published sources between 5,000 and 65.000. Take your pick. My friend, Dr. Vitaut Kipel, author of several studies on Belarusians in the USA, went to great lengths in one of his books to explain this statistical conundrum.1
Choirs
The Belarusian poet Maksim Tank gave his countrymen who were departing for foreign lands some advice: "Take your songs along with you..." And so they did, even during the horrible years of the German occupation in 1941-1944.
When World War II came to its ruinous end in 1945 and thousands of Belarusians found themselves in DP camps in West Germany, the first thing they did was organize their cultural lives, including choirs. Several years later, many a member of those choruses immigrated to America and found themselves in New Jersey living close to one
another. Personal contacts and cultural organizations were re-established quite naturally. Already, by March 1948 a group of patriots, with Barys Kit at their head, organized a celebration in South River, NJ of the 1918 proclamation of Independence of the Belarusian National Republic. A small mixed choir, accompanied on piano by Ksavery Barysaviets,2 sang at the ceremony. The choir gradually grew and by 1950 was about forty-strong. Arkadz Jeviets and Viachaslau Sielakh-Kachanski became their alternate conductors, succeeded by Dzimitry Weresow in the latter part of the 1950s. The choir performed many times before multiethnic audiences both in New Jersey and New York City. On each occasion listeners were informed about the prove-
Choir of Viachaslau Sielakh-Kachanski in DP camp Backnang, West Germany, in 1949. Choir director and accordion accompanist, Alimp Mialientsyeu, sit in the center.
South River choir under Arkadz Jeviets.
nance of the chorale, the far-away nation of Belarus, enslaved by Russian communism. In 1956, thanks to the support of the Belarusian community, the choir was able to issue a record including twenty-two songs from its repertory.
In 1963, Ksavery Barysaviets, at the suggestion of the Belarusian Congress Committee of America, organized a women's choir, Kalina (guelder rose), numbering twenty eight singers. One of them, Liza Litarowich, designed and sewed elegant long white dresses embroidered with Belarusian folk motifs for the choir. The choirs' first performance took place in Shack's Hall on South River's Whitehead Avenue in the fall of 1963 and was enthusiastically greeted by the audience. On the 21st of June, 1964, Kalina demonstrated remarkably its singing artistry at the World's Fair Belarusian Day concert in New York City. The choir's soloists were Renia Kosciuk, Ludmila Machniuk, Halia Pietysh and Ludmila Litarowich.
Choir Kalina whose singers were: Sonya Artishenko, Natalia Barysaviets, Luba Bachar, Ania Brezhneva, Valia Wojciechowski, Halina Warancow, Tamara Warancow, Maryja Wojtenko, Pasha Vysotski. Ira Zankavich. Nadzia Zankavich, Valentina Kaminkow. Helia Karanieuski. Renia Kosciuk (soloist). Valentina Lapitzki, Liza Litarowich, Luda Litarowich, Maria Litarowich, Luda Machniuk (soloist), Nona Machniuk, Ludmila Rudek. Margucrita Rudck, Maria Troicki. Aleksandra Shulzytski, Stasia Shumski, Katsia Jacevic.
By its tenth anniversary the chorus had thirty-five concerts on its ledger, and its repertory included seventy Belarusian songs, both folkloric and composed. Twenty-seven of them were cut on two records published by the Belarusian Publishing Society in South River (Barys
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Shchors, also spelled Scors, chairman). Thirty songs were recorded on tape by Radio Liberty which aired its programs into the Soviet Union in various languages of the empire, including Belarusian.
Both choirs, one mixed and one womens' (Kalina), stopped performing by the beginning of the 1980s due to the departure of their leaders and some members. Apart from the two chorales mentioned above, in the early 1950s there was also a choir founded by the Belarusian Christian Orthodox Church of St. Euphrosynia in South River, New Jersey. Many of its singers, women and men, also sang in either of the two other choirs during their existence. When those two choirs stopped performing, the church chorus remained, and on numerous occasions sang before lay audiences. Its conductors were (in chronological order): Arkadz Jeviets, Viachaslau SielakhKachanski, Dzimitry Weresow, Auhien Skauronski, Andrej Tokajuk, Iryna Mozyleva, InaYautukhovich and presently Valentyn and Tatsiana Demeshchik.
Vila Lewczuk recalls (2011): I organized the girls' dance group, which in the early years had no name, soon after arriving in South River in 1951. Initially, it had six members. The Belarusian cultural life at that time was quite lively. Irene Zhylinskaya (married name Cupryk) was in charge of staging and I was responsible for dancing. We performed quite often in Shack's Hall and at various multiethnic festivals. Eventually, the dance ensemble, having assumed the name Lanok (endearing variant of the word flax), grew to 25 dancers and was divided into two groups: sixteen older girls and nine younger ones. We were often invited to perform and never declined an invitation. Success followed us wherever we went. Especially popular was our youngest dancer, five-year-old Liena Gajshun (we called her Lienchyk). She approached me one day and said courageously: "I want to dance." And truly, she had a very sharp sense of rhythm and moved on the stage in absolute freedom; I would say creatively, with fantasy. The public was enthralled by her routine.
The most memorable of our performances were, of course, our appearances in the three big festivals in the Garden State Arts Center. But even later, after the third festival in 1979, we continued to participate for a long time in cultural events and exhibitions in schools, parks, and fairs.
After a break during the latter years of the 80s and early 90s, for about the last ten years, we have been performing again naturally, with a different set of dancers — at our Christmas celebrations, summer festivals at the Belarusian-American Center and the Christian Orthodox Church of St. Euphrosynia in South River, New Jersey.
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BELARUSIAN CULTURAL TRADITIONS IN AMERICA
Below are passages from a brochure prepared for a symposium and exhibit that took place in April-June, 1983, at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The organizers of the symposium were Halina Rusak (project director, Director Rutgers Art Library), Zora Kipel, Irene Dutko, Nadja Kudasow, Tamara Kolba and Alex Silwanowicz. Traditions described in the brochure are more characteristic of rural Belarus, but were also practiced by some urban folks. The name of the country is rendered in contemporary spelling (Belarus, Belarusian).
Jersey, "One of tfie J^ost tysponsive states"
In many respects these immigrants (who arrived in the aftermath of WW II-JZ) differed from those who came earlier. Mainly, they were conscious of their Belarusian heritage and dedicated to the cause of freedom for Belarus. This group represented an almost complete cross-section of Belarus's population and included farmers, workers, teachers, students and professionals. These immigrants immediately established social, charitable, and religious organizations whose purpose was primarily to help Belarusian immigrants settle in the new communities and maintain the culture and traditions of the Old Country.
Belarusian-American carolers.
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Yet another important objective of these organizations was to win the friendship and understanding of both the American public and the Government for the cause of freedom for Belarus. Great strides were made in this respect.
Many political leaders have expressed their sympathy and admiration for the Belarusian cause, but the state of New Jersey has been one of the most responsive states in that respect. Even since the early fifties all New Jersey governors proclaimed March 25th as Belarusian Independence Day, the Belarusian Day in the State.
In addition, over the years, New Jersey Congressmen Edward Patten, Robert Roe, Joseph Minish, Milton Glenn, Matthew Rinaldo, James Florio, Harold Hollenbeck, Peter Rodino and Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick, as well as Senators Clifford P. Case, Bill Bradley and Harrison Williams3 made numerous statements acknowledging Belarusians and Belarusian Independence. Lastly, in 1982, on the occasion of the 15th Bi-Annual Convention of Belarusians of North America, Belarusians were recognized nationally when they were sent greetings by President Ronald Reagan.
The seventies were known for the growth of the Belarusian community's participation in political, ethnic and cultural affairs of New Jersey. Dr. Vitaut Kipel became the first chairman of the Ethnic Advisory Council during Brendan Byrne's governorship. Belarusian dance groups Vasilok (New Brunswick), Lanok (South River) and the choir Kalina (South River) performed throughout the state and even beyond. Three successful festivals were presented at the Garden State Arts Center. In 1976, Belarusian organizations actively participated in the celebration of the Bicentennial, and in the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Belarusian immigration to the United States. Many lectures on the subject of Belarusian history, culture and arts
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