St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Russian Youth Dancers
2011 Cleveland International Folk Festival
June 26, 2011

Ethnic folk dance has been a tradition in the parish of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church since its founding in 1917.

The dance troupe was formally organized in 1985 and is comprised of over fifty children, teens and young adults who have extensively at parochial, civic and primarily international related events throughout the greater Akron area, northeast Ohio and neighboring states.

They perform original folk dances and variations of dancers dating back to the Czarist era which originates from Russia, Ukraine and other parts of eastern Europe. Their instructor, Rosemary Pyrch Simpson studied and instructed in the Pittsburgh area.

They began their excellent performance at the 2011 International Folk Festival with the traditional presentation of bread and salt.

Traditional presentation of bread and salt









This was followed by the Troika Russian Folk Dance











Next was a Russian Soldier's Polka Folk Dance.













Dance of the Boyars





Siberian Dance from the Ural Mountains













Cossacks Dance







The Poor Young Peddler Dance has 10 tempos and the speed increases throughout the dance.