“Shumka effectively stands for Ukrainian dancing; over the years the terms have become interchangeable if not synonymous. … [Shumka] has not only achieved its original vision but also embraced a mandate of developing the art form in Canada and internationally.”
—SALENA KITTERINGHAM, THE DANCE CURRENT
“Cinderella: Riverdance meets Ukraine.”
—DEIDRE KELLY, GLOBE & MAIL
“An evening of breathtaking dance and spectacle. The Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, with this production, move into the major leagues of dance in Canada.”
—COLIN MACLEAN, CBC TELEVISION
“One doesn’t just watch the Shumka Dancers — they are absolutely thrilling to experience. Their dash and vigour, their number and harmony, their sheer joy of dance… make them unquestionably unique.”
—VERONICA TENNANT, PRIMA BALLERINA, AUTHOR, BROADCASTER
“…the Shumka Dancers took the audience with them until two encores and several curtain calls later… they let the curtain fall on our relentless shouts for more…”
—SHERI TILLMAN, HONG KONG TIMES
“Shumka is the country’s leading folk-dance group. Shumka is taking a pioneering role in creating the first truly Canadian dance form.”
—GRAHAM HICKS, EDMONTON SUN
“Shumka has an enthusiasm for the business of the human heart… and displays a spirited love of dance that could put some professional groups to shame. That enthusiastic celebration of spirit is what the company is all about. And there are very few places in our world where it is expressed with such verve and beauty as in the world of the Shumka dancers.”
—PAMELA ANTHONY, DANCE CONNECTION
“The applause was deafening as members of the audience jumped to their feet, shouting Bravo, Encore, Encore and the wild wonderful music urged the dancers to more whirling and leaping… faster, faster, higher, higher. This was really happening in calm and collected Canada? In Toronto? At the O’Keefe on Sunday afternoon? You bet it was and we were thrilled to be part of the most extraordinary love-in we’ve ever witnessed.”
—KIT MCDERMOTT, THE BRANTFORD EXPOSITOR
“Shumka has turned the idea of folk dance into a living breathing art form, and emerged as one of the most contemporary dance companies around.”
—PAMELA ANTHONY, EDMONTON JOURNAL
“The Shumka Dancers know how to give an audience its money’s worth, with true showmanship and imagination. Shumka is a national treasure.”
—PAULA CITRON, TORONTO STAR
‘If the energy expended Saturday evening on the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre by the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers could have been converted into electricity, there would have been enough to keep the lights of downtown Vancouver burning for a week!’
—VANCOUVER PROVINCE
“The most entertaining dance spectacle this season… In the often indulgent realm of dance, one rarely witnesses such jetstreams of inexhaustible power, poetry and propulsion as the unselfish Shumka company offered on stage yesterday. The worst thing one could say about the performance is that there isn’t a second show.”
—GARTH BUCHOLZ, WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
“A night with the Shumka dancers is not just splendid entertainment for the eyes and heart. It’s an inspiration for the timid and an affirmation of the rewards of challenging work… This troupe of dancers delivered a performance so technically exquisite and so emotionally endearing, it made the most preposterous goal that anyone in the virtually sold-out audience could have dreamed up, seem possible. Were this dazzling company never to create another program, this one would deserve its reputation ad infinitum.”
—HELEN METELLA, EDMONTON JOURNAL
“Shumka gives bang for the buck. This vibrant company is consummately professional, well-rehearsed, and high energy. They never disappoint.”
—PAULA CITRON, GLOBE AND MAIL
“There’s Ukrainian dance and then there’s Edmonton’s Shumka Ukrainian Dancers. They sure know how to put the art in acrobatics.”
—MICHAEL CRABB, TORONTO STAR
“SHUMKA…is one of the top ten dance shows of the year”
—TORONTO STAR and GLOBE & MAIL
