About the Ensemble
Spirit of the Dance Ukrainian Folk Ballet is an evolving artistic ensemble dedicated to presenting Ukrainian cultural work with clarity, vitality, and respect for tradition.
Founded by choreographer Roman Mykyta, the ensemble grew from years of independent creative projects and collaborative performances centered on his original choreography. What began through solo and duet performances, musical collaborations, and independent presentations gradually developed into a curated repertoire and, in recent years, a formally established ensemble.
Bringing together dancers of varied backgrounds who share a love of musicality, character, and expressive storytelling, Spirit of the Dance shapes traditional and literary source material into regional folk dances, choreographic miniatures, and narrative stage works rooted in Ukrainian history, poetry, and cultural memory. The ensemble’s repertoire includes both original choreographic works and thoughtfully staged interpretations of traditional Ukrainian folk-stage forms.
Alongside performance, Spirit of the Dance is committed to the preservation and continued development of Ukrainian dance as a living artistic tradition. The ensemble’s work has included collaborations with musicians, participation in
cultural festivals and public performances, and educational initiatives connected
to Ukrainian dance pedagogy and cultural transmission.
Honoring heritage while engaging contemporary audiences, Spirit of the Dance presents Ukrainian culture as a living, evolving art form—disciplined in craft, expressive in character, and grounded in story.
Artistic Director
Roman Mykyta
Founder & Artistic Director
Choreographer, performer, and educator specializing in Ukrainian folk-stage dance, ballet, and narrative theatrical work.
Roman Mykyta is a choreographer, performer, and educator whose work explores the intersection of Ukrainian folk-stage dance, ballet, theatrical storytelling, and cultural memory. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Spirit of the Dance Ukrainian Folk Ballet, an evolving artistic ensemble dedicated to presenting Ukrainian culture as a living, expressive art form grounded in craftsmanship, musicality, and narrative depth.
Roman developed an early passion for Ukrainian dance and began performing as a young artist with the Lyman Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Baltimore. Alongside his growing interest in Ukrainian folk-stage dance, he pursued formal ballet training in both the Cecchetti Method and the Vaganova Ballet Technique, developing a particular specialization in character styling and movement traditions rooted in Eastern European dance.
In 2014, Roman began his professional performing career with Ballet Theatre of Maryland under the artistic direction of Dianna Cuatto, where he danced for three seasons in a broad range of classical and contemporary repertoire, including featured and soloist roles. During this period, he also began presenting his own choreographic work and continued to deepen his study of folkloric and character dance traditions.
In 2017, Roman relocated to Kyiv, Ukraine to pursue advanced studies in choreography and dance pedagogy. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, where his work focused on choreography and dance pedagogy. While in Ukraine, he studied as a guest at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, worked with the Studio Company of the Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble, and performed with both the Horlytsya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in Kyiv and the Yunist Honored Ukrainian Folk Ensemble in Lviv.
Alongside his theatrical and educational work, Roman has maintained longstanding ties to the broader Ukrainian dance community in the United States. Since 2008, he has performed with the Kazka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Roman’s extensive collaboration with the Washington, D.C.-based music ensemble Gerdan — Kaleidoscope of World Music was especially formative, shaping his choreographic approach through collaboration with live music and bringing his Ukrainian-themed work to major stages including the Kennedy Center and the National Folk Festival.
Following his return to Maryland in 2021, Roman expanded his choreographic and educational work throughout the Washington, D.C. region while continuing to develop Spirit of the Dance as a long-term artistic initiative. His choreography has been presented in festivals, theatrical performances, and cultural events, including appearances connected with the Kennedy Center, the World Dance Showcase, the World Arts Festival Residency, and the National Folk Festival. Since 2021, he has created and staged more than twenty original Ukrainian-themed choreographic works for professional ballet companies, independent artists, and Spirit of the Dance.
Roman’s work is especially recognized for its integration of Ukrainian folk-stage vocabulary with literary and theatrical source material. His repertoire ranges from regional folk dances and choreographic miniatures to narrative works inspired by Ukrainian literature, poetry, folklore, spirituality, and history. Over the past several years, he has introduced Ukrainian dance within ballet schools and professional environments grounded in multiple classical training systems, helping bridge Ukrainian movement traditions with broader theatrical and classical training frameworks. Many of the dancers and audiences engaged through this work come from outside the Ukrainian diaspora, reflecting his belief that Ukrainian dance speaks not only as a cultural inheritance, but also as a vital and universal performing art.
Alongside his creative work, Roman remains deeply committed to cultural preservation and pedagogy through the development of a sustainable Ukrainian dance curriculum for American students and educators. He has twice been awarded Folklife Apprenticeship grant support from the Maryland State Arts Council as a recognized Master Artist in Ukrainian Folk Stage Dance.
Roman also serves as principal choreographer and instructor for the Ukrainian American Heritage Foundation Dance Camp in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, creating and staging Ukrainian dance works for young dancers with support from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Roman continues to teach, choreograph, and perform while guiding Spirit of the Dance Ukrainian Folk Ballet’s mission to honor heritage, cultivate artistry, and bring Ukrainian cultural storytelling to contemporary audiences.