The capital bid farewell to Grigory Chapkis
Today, a mourning ceremony was held at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine to bid farewell to the outstanding choreographer, dancer, and People’s Artist of Ukraine, Hryhorii Chapkis, who passed away last weekend.
Present at the ceremony were Hryhorii Chapkis’s family, his numerous admirers, and colleagues from the show projects he had worked on over the past decades.
As previously reported, the 91-year-old artist’s health had significantly deteriorated recently, likely as a consequence of the coronavirus he contracted in December. He had been hospitalized, and on the evening of June 13, Hryhorii Chapkis passed away. His wife Myla and daughter Liliia were by his side until the very end. They were later joined by his son Greg, famous for his dance school in the United States, who arrived in Kyiv the day before the farewell ceremony.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko appealed to Alla Landar, President of the International Association of Funeral Professionals and Ukraine’s National Member of the World Organization of Funeral Operatives (FIAT-IFTA), for assistance in organizing the farewell to the renowned choreographer and celebrated dancer Hryhorii Chapkis.
“Our funeral service company Petro Velykyi responded immediately to the request of the mayor and the Kyiv City State Administration, beginning preparations for the ceremonial farewell to this world-renowned maestro,” said Alla Landar. “Today we introduced a new tradition in Ukraine: each participant of the procession has the opportunity to leave memories or words of condolence for the family in a Book of Remembrance. This family heirloom will remain in the family forever and will be passed down from generation to generation. If the children or grandchildren wish, it may one day be published, as is customary in EU countries and the United States. The book will undoubtedly become a national treasure.”
The President of Ukraine came to bid farewell to Hryhorii Chapkis. In February 2020, Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded the distinguished maestro the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class.
Colleagues from the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater, where Chapkis worked as a choreographer, the Kyiv Drama and Comedy Theater, where he served as deputy director, members of the Pavlo Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble— with whom he toured dozens of countries, bringing Ukrainian culture to the world— all came to pay their last respects.
In 2007, Chapkis founded his own dance school and initiated as well as participated in various music projects. He served as dance master of the Vienna Ball, became a judge and one of the leaders of Dancing with the Stars, which is why it was fitting that one of the first to leave his memory in the Book of Remembrance was Vlad Yama.
The maestro also left us his autobiographical book Dance and Love: Secrets of Longevity, in which each chapter is an episode of lived experience— a fragment of the destiny of a man who dedicated his best years to art, who tasted both the sweetness of fame and the bitterness of injustice and disappointment, who lived through times of triumph and decline.
To us, Hryhorii Chapkis will remain in memory as an exceptional artist— someone for whom the profession of a dancer became not only a means of livelihood, but the meaning of life. Each chapter of his story is an episode of a life fully lived, a part of the fate of a man who gave his best years to art, felt the joy of success, the sting of injustice, and the highs and lows of an extraordinary journey. All those who had the good fortune to walk beside this powerful star— to perform on the world’s finest stages, to work in theaters, and take part in artistic projects— will long remain warmed by the gentle, bright rays of his creative spirit, perseverance, growth, success, and victory.
People’s Artist of Ukraine Hryhorii Chapkis was laid to rest in the new 42nd section of Baikove Cemetery, alongside other distinguished Ukrainians.
