Amongst all the siblings, the Eshenko family spent 49 years dancing in Shumka.

Toby was an original member of the group in 1959. “Not everyone knew what Shumka meant, but we joined anyway. All we did was practice and practice, and we would have some shows here and there.” After meeting his wife, he retired from the company. Both his sons, Kevin and Eugene, also Ukrainian danced. Kevin danced in Shumka as well. More recently, Kevin donated his time and equipment for Shumka Dance Centre’s security system.

Vlad was the second family member to dance with Shumka. Over his nearly 20 years there, Vlad travelled all over the world with Shumka, including Africa, Japan, and all across Canada. Everyone did everything at that time, from putting up posters to working on the executive—everything was a team effort. Vlad sat on the executive and was president three times during his dancing career. “Shumka disciplined me. I wanted to teach, so I taught dance. That gave me the confidence to go into teaching as a career.”

John was taught by his brother Vlad, and after taking a break from dance he auditioned for Shumka. He toured to China, Ukraine, and all across Canada with the group. One of his major roles was the King in Shumka’s Cinderella—a show he got to perform with his kids, Oles and Zoriana.

Luba danced in Shumka for 11 years, experiencing Shumka with her brothers by her side, and even touring with them to Japan. Some of Luba’s favourite memories were the jokes and the laughter shared with everyone: they played as hard as they worked. “The passion, the dedication, and brilliant collaboration of the people who’ve put in effort. That’s the spirit—for us it’s the spirit of being Ukrainian. And now, it’s the connections with other cultures and realizing we’re more similar than we are different.” Luba’s kids, Stefan and Tanya, also danced in the company for several years.

For your contributions, donations and years of dance, thank you, Eshenko family.