Dance the Night Away
Mykola Milevsky, 75, and Natalia Stolyarenko, 58, like to "party down." Literally. Every weekend, they head to a dance party held in a subway underpass in the Ukrainian city of Kiev.
The location was a gift from the mayor. A group of pensioners were seeking a space to do traditional dances but didn't have money for rent. So the municipality gave them permission to dance at an underground plaza that's part of the subway system. About 200 people, many in traditional costume, gather to sing, play instruments, and most of all, dance.
Photographer Gleb Garanich first saw the gathering decades ago. "I stopped for a few moments and then proceeded on my route," he wrote in a blog post. "I was 25 years old at the time and, frankly speaking, this story was of no interest to me." When he happened upon the dancers again earlier this year he found he "was no longer indifferent to the lives and destinies of these people." He discovered that the dance provides a way for senior citizens—who often feel alienated in Ukraine's post-Soviet society—to have a good time.
Pictures: Ukrainian Underground Dance Party
Pensioners in Ukraine stay in touch with tradition at a weekly dance held in a subway station underpass.
