FRONTLINE DANCE COLLECTIVE
POWERED BY UKRAINIAN PATRIOT
As dancers, teachers, and choreographers, you know how powerful culture can be. That’s why we’re bringing together dancers from all over the world to learn, share, and grow together as artists while supporting a culture that is under attack.
We invite you to be part of the Frontline Dance Collective, a new movement powered by Ukrainian Patriot. Through our shared language of dance, we can help protect Ukraine’s culture and spirit while inspiring others to take action. Every rehearsal, every class, and every performance can supply medics with essential aid; bring our defenders home safely; feed families; give children the chance to dance, laugh, and feel safe again; and generally fuel change.
The Frontline Dance Collective is open to groups of any style. By joining, you’ll not only help deliver vital aid to Ukraine but also gain access to exclusive opportunities to learn and connect with dance professionals around the world.
“Stand with us in the Frontline: together we’ll keep Ukraine’s spirit strong.”
Follow Ukrainian Patriot
together with Barvinok
Concert and Horlytsia as we
travel throughout Kharkiv and
Donetsk oblasts, delivering
aid and reconnecting with
our eastern Ukrainian culture.
No matter the destruction…
WHO ARE WE?
Founded by former professional dancer Lana Nicole Niland, Ukrainian Patriot is a volunteer-powered organisation delivering both immediate aid and long-term healing programmes in war-affected regions of Ukraine.
Ukraine is fighting for its survival. Homes are destroyed, families displaced, and culture itself is under attack.Despite the chaos, our team members work hard to protect not only Ukrainian territory but also our people and our identity.
Since 2022, we have reached more than 50 locations across 11 regions in Ukraine, often navigating broken roads, damaged infrastructure, and active danger to deliver aid. From the very beginning, our work has been grounded in urgency, compassion, and local knowledge. Whether providing food, shelter, psychological care, or long-term recovery programs, we meet people where they are, often just kilometres — sometimes less — from the frontline.
Having swapped the stage for a different kind of scenery, many of our volunteers are also dancers. But we all carry with us the power of movement, creativity, and community. Dance shaped who we are; now it shapes how we respond to Ukraine’s greatest challenges.
To learn more about our work in Ukraine, take a look through our 2024 2024 Impact Report.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MOVEMENT
Ukrainian Patriot was founded and is powered by dancers — and many dedicated non-dancers — from across the world. This is why dance is so central to our identity and why the Frontline Dance Collective feels like a natural next step.
Some of us have traded ballet slippers for bulletproof vests. Others run humanitarian operations in various parts of the world between taking our kids to dance class. No matter the story, each of us brings our own history, skills, and passion to this movement.
Here are just a few of the people behind the Frontline Dance Collective:
Tanya Baran
A dance teacher and registered nurse based in western Canada, Tanya Baran is UP’s Medical Lead. One of the first internationals to volunteer in Ukraine with UP, she has since returned multiple times, always going where she is needed most and delivering lifesaving care under extraordinary conditions.
LANA NICOLE NILAND
Lana Nicole Niland, founder of Ukrainian Patriot, grew up in the Canadian Prairies and since 2003 has made Ukraine home. In the 2000s, she performed with Ukraine’s legendary Pavlo Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble. She now creates costumes for dancers around the world through her company, Postmark Ukraine, and leads the UP team of over 100 Ukrainian and international volunteers. Lana launched Ukrainian Patriot Iin February 2022, as russian forces closed in on her home.
Kaitlyn Kruk
A dance teacher and adjudicator turned UP Team Lead, Kaitlyn Kruk is a Canadian who is now permanently on the ground in Ukraine and helps coordinate and move aid into some of the country’s hardest hit regions.
KAITLIN VITT
Dancer Kaitlin Vitt from Manitoba has been on the ground in Ukraine twice since the start of the full-scale, delivering humanitarian aid where needed. She also helps tell Ukraine’s story as our Communications Manager.
Daria Malin
Daria Malin, co-founder and Canadian Director of Ukrainian Patriot, is a business owner and dance mama from Western Canada. She has shared her passion for dance as a Ukrainian dancer, a ballroom dancer and instructor, and a musical theatre performer, and enjoys seeing her children carry on the tradition as Ukrainian dancers.
These are just five of the incredible volunteers from all over the world who make UP’s work possible.
CREATE MOVEMENT WITH US
You don’t need to go to the frontlines in Ukraine to make an impact. The Frontline Dance Collective is about uniting the international dance community to support Ukraine through creativity, compassion, and action.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
Each dance school, university, ensemble, or company in the Frontline Dance Collective commits to hosting at least one fundraising activity each year, meeting a minimum goal to support our work in Ukraine.
Send us an email or download our fundraising kit to learn more. Our fundraising kit is full of information about what we do, how we help, the kinds of things your funds go to, and all of the other necessary goodies you’ll need to know before embarking on this endeavour
Interested in joining the movement?
Here are your next steps:
Make sure you check
your spam if the
confirmation from us
doesn’t land in your
inbox.
Start brainstorming how your studio, school, or ensemble might get involved. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Host a drop-in dance workshop with donations at the door
Organise a dance-a-thon or open class
Stage a showcase featuring a message from Ukraine. We can connect with you live from Ukraine at your event!
Launch a choreography challenge, or start a merchandise campaign selling exclusive Frontline Dance Collective merch
Fill out this Google form to pledge your participation in the Frontline Dance Collective. Your pledge is to hold at least one fundraising activity in the next 12 months.
Host a drop-in dance workshop with donations at the door
Organise a dance-a-thon or open class
Stage a showcase featuring a message from Ukraine. We can connect with you live from Ukraine at your event!
Launch a choreography challenge, or start a merchandise campaign selling exclusive Frontline Dance Collective merch
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
is more than a fundraiser — it’s a partnership.
01
Access to exclusive online workshops led by dancers from across the globe, offering new perspectives, skills, and inspiration
02
Direct connection with dance schools in Ukraine to hear their stories and learn from their resilience
03
Opportunities to co-design limited-edition merchandise with your school or studio’s logo
04
Recognition across UP’s social media and newsletter
05
Custom digital badges and thank-you videos from the communities you’ve supported
06
Early access to updates from our Resilience Camps and future cross-border exchanges
Reach out if you want to learn more, download the UP fundraising kit today, and let’s start dancing together.