A goat, a street and a tambourine.
Only one of those three items sounds like it’s needed to start a band. But for KOZA – the Ukrainian word for “goat” – those words represent this three-part folkband’s core identity as Ukrainian musicians.
Instead of letting their audience sit passively in their seats, musicians Natalia Klymiuk, Dmytro Hava and Uliana Bun invite their listeners to take part in social singing and dancing performances. The trio transforms any formal stage they perform on into a “vulytsia,” meaning “the street” in Ukrainian – a reference to the traditional communal gatherings that took place in villages long ago.
“When KOZA performs, there are no performers or audience. We become one family, even if your biological family is not here in the Netherlands,” band member and VATAHA co-founder Uliana Bun explains.
“All the generations come together and we become something larger than ourselves, held together through our traditions and roots. You feel that deeply through the music and dance.” In this way, the project revives a living cultural ritual, transforming public spaces into a place of belonging, togetherness, and collective expression.
An ancestral name
The band name “KOZA” is also not just supposed to be funny. “The goat is the main character in Vertep, our Ukrainian Christmas tradition,” Bun shares. The goat is also one of the totem animals of tribes out of which the Ukrainian nation was shaped, symbolizing harvest and fertility. “The traditional Ukrainian instrument is also called a koza,” she continues. “Our band name aims to reinvoke that ancestral tradition.”
During each performance, participants learn to sing traditional Ukrainian songs together. The focus is not on the beauty or technical perfection of the singing, but on singing from the heart: the way our ancestors did. “Society tells people that only some people can sing well and others cannot, but this is not right. In KOZA, everyone can sing and be part of the musical world,” Bun emphasizes.
Alongside singing, participants are also invited to learn to dance traditional folk dances, recreating the rituals of the past. Each event becomes a living celebration of Ukrainian folk heritage, experienced through active participation rather than observation. By the end of a KOZA performance, people often describe a sense of being part of one big
family – united through shared voice, rhythm, and emotion.
Get your ticket before they sell out!
KOZA’s next performance is on 29 November at 14:00 at the Ukrainian House in Rotterdam. It’s going to be baaa-rilliant, get your ticket here!
Check out VATAHA’s partner choir KORALI, another folk music group active in The Netherlands. To support VATAHA’s mission of bringing Ukrainian folk music to The Netherlands, you can make a tax-deductible donation here.