FACT FILE
Height – 164 cm
Weight – 49 kg
Date of birth – May, 24
Zodiac – Gemini
Education – higher education in music, conducting
Eyes – brown
Hair – chestnut
Character – wild
Favorite:
colour – ultramarine
items – rock stones,
place – the Carpathian mountains
hobby – extreme sport
BIOGRAPHY
In May 2004 the Ukrainian singer Ruslana won the Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul. The spectacular victory was followed by an enormous success all across Europe. During 97 weeks the winning song Wild Dances headed 14 European charts. The album with the same title was released in 25 countries and went five times platinum in Ukraine, selling over 500,000 copies. In Las Vegas Ruslana received the prestigious World Music Award as best selling Ukrainian artist in the world. Ruslana was voted as one of the three most popular people in Belgium. Greeks elected her as the sexiest girl of the year. In Ukraine Ruslana became one of the most influential people.
The year before her amazing victory Ruslana released the Ukrainian album Dyki tantsi (Wild Dances) which was based on the ethnic materials she had collected during several expeditions to the Carpathian Mountains. The ancient mystical culture, the music and dances of the Ukrainian mountain people, the secrets of the Carpathian magicians, the Ukrainian traditions and ceremonies - all this was integrated in the album.
The Ukrainian Amazon sets trends in Europe by using original, unusual sounds. She combines ancient singing traditions of the Ukrainian mountain people with modern pop and rock music. Ruslana finds the inspiration for her own, unique style of music on the top of the Carpathian Mountains, which are well-known to her since her childhood.
Ruslana was born in L'viv, the ancient and legendary city of Western Ukraine. At the age of four she sang already in an experimental band at a musical school, and aged seven she went on tour with a children's ensemble. Ruslana graduated from the music Conservatory in L'viv as piano player and orchestra conductor. Instead of pursuing a career as conductor she decided to go on stage.
The first big success of Ruslana’s musical career came with the victory at the international song festival Slovianskiy Bazar in Vitebsk, Belarus in 1996. The following years Ruslana received over 40 awards within Ukraine including several times Person of the Year, Singer of the Year, Project of the Year.
In autumn 2004 Ruslana actively supported the democratic processes in Ukraine known as the Orange Revolution. Some footages from this time were used in the video clip of her song Dance With The Wolves. From spring 2006 to summer 2007 she was a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament.
Ruslana continued touring across the world, from Siberia to Canada, from Iceland to Israel. She performed in Oxford, at the Air Forces and went on tour in Germany and Turkey several times. During the Olympic Games in Greece in 2004 instead of the national anthem of Ukraine once the song Wild Dances was played.
Besides her musical successes social commitment has always been an affair of the heart for Ruslana. In the run-up of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 Ruslana gave a big charity concert in Kyiv. All funds gathered were given to the Children's Hospital of Dnepropetrovsk.
In 2006 Ruslana started cooperating with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the issue of trafficking in human beings. She released two video clips, which aim to make potential victims aware of the dangers of this modern form of slavery. The UNICEF appointed her Good Will Ambassador of Ukraine. In February 2008 her song Not for Sale became the anthem of a new international campaign against human trafficking, initiated by UN.GIFT (The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking).
In spring 2007 Ruslana participated in a major charity tour across Germany organized by famous German rock singer Peter Maffay. Artists from 14 different countries took part in this huge project, which aimed to raise funds for children in need all over the world. Ruslana's participation yielded more than 100,000 dollars for the Children's Hospital in L'viv.
With her current project Ruslana pursues new ways which no-one has walked on before. Wild Energy combines the art of music and video production, literature and social commitment in an extraordinary way. Based on the fantasy novel "Wild Energy. Lana" by Maryna and Sergiy Dyachenko, it is dedicated to the idea of the independence of human feelings, rights, and freedoms. The plot is set in a synthetic city whose inhabitants are lacking their will for life and their energy of the heart - the fuel for people. The heroine Lana sets out to find the mystical energy source. After many adventures she discovers that the wild energy comes from your own heart. Ruslana's project consists of a number of elements including several singles and video clips, the albums Amazonka and Wild Energy, books, comics, multimedia products, a fashion style and a spectacular live show.
AWARDS
1996 – Winner of the International Art Festival Slovianskiy Bazar, Vitebsk, Belarus
1999 – Person of the Year, Best Song of the Year (Svitanok) and Best Video of the Year (Svitanok)
2003 – Platinum disc for the album Dyki Tantsi (Wild Dances), presented by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (Kyiv, London)
2004 – Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul, Turkey
2004 – People’s Artist of Ukraine
2004 – Person of the Year (nomination – The Artist of The Year)
2004 – World Music Award as the World's Best Selling Ukrainian Artist, Las Vegas, USA
2006 – Best Eurovision Song Contest song of all times (Wild Dances), poll by German TV
