IN THIS VIDEO our partner Anita Dey Barsukova and members of the MIT Ukrainian Folk Dance Ensemble (  / mitukrainianfolkdance  ) introduce us to the Hopak, a cornerstone traditional folk dance of Ukraine.

Ukraine is a large and always politically pivotal nation that has endured centuries of complicated territorial shifts -- ruled at points by Lithuania, the Ottoman Empire, Poland, Austria-Hungry and, most prominently throughout the 20th century — and, as we can appreciate in the context of current global affairs — Russia. Of course Ukraine is so much more that just a character in other nations' narratives. Ukrainians are proud of their perseverance through their challenging history as well as their Ukrainian language and a dynamic diversity of people, cultures and music. Ukraine is home to a variety of mountain-dwelling ethnic groups, while at the same time boasting cities, like Kiev, that have been rapidly modernizing...at least until challenged by war.