She/Her Tamara began her dance journey at the age of four with the Shumka School of Dance and has continued to refine her skills over the past year with Studia Shumka. She is currently a student at Archbishop Jordan High School, where she is highly dedicated to her academic studies and aspires to pursue post-secondary education in the future. Tamara…
Read more
She/Her Ellie began dancing at the age of three, training at the Shumka School of Dance. After graduating from the school, she continued to develop her skills and passion through Studia Shumka. Currently a student at Archbishop Jordan High School, Ellie is preparing to begin her final year in Grade 12. Her love for Ukrainian dance has been inspired by…
Read more
She/Her Brooklyn Pattullo started Ukrainian dancing when she was just 3 years old, and with that came a deep love for dance. At 8, she began competitive dancing in ballet, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary styles. After graduating high school and moving to Edmonton, she chose to continue her dance journey with Studia Shumka. She is currently studying at the University…
Read more
He/Him Cowan began dancing at the age of three with the Thorhild Ukrainian Dance Society. He later joined the Shumka School of Dance alongside his siblings, where he took classes in both Ukrainian dance and ballet. During his time with the school, he performed as a child in Shumka’s Nutcracker for two consecutive years, as well as in Ancestors & Elders. In 2023,…
Read more
She/Her Maria started dancing at the age of five with Ardrossan Yatran, where she discovered a passion for Ukrainian dance. During her time at Ardrossan Yatran she volunteered as a junior instructor for seven years. While competing she won an Adjudicators choice award in 2021 at the Fort Saskatchewan Dance competition. She has danced with Studia Shumka for two years,…
Read more
The Director of Studia Shumka is Alyssa Eugenio. She is officially the head of the ensemble and the key point of communication between the Studia dancers and other aspects of the Shumka organization. Alyssa began her dance career studying Ukrainian and ballet, and has supplemented her training to include tap, jazz, and hip hop. Since becoming a member of the…
Read more
He/Him Brenden Kuzma began his dance career in his hometown town of Prince George, British Columbia. He moved to Alberta in 2011 to pursue his dream of dancing with Edmonton’s Ukrainian Shumka Dancers. Dancing with the company from 2011 to 2019, Brenden was involved in many different areas of the company including the dancer executive as props director, the artistic…
Read more
He/Him Toronto-born Paul Olijnyk began his association with Shumka in 2001 when he moved to Edmonton and joined the company. Since then, Paul has taught Ukrainian dance throughout the province of Alberta; adjudicates dance festivals throughout Western Canada; and has been a guest choreographer for dance ensembles in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario. He is one of the key instructors…
Read more
Tamsin Carreck first began dance classes at the age of four in Doncaster, England. She started taking exams in RAD ballet, ISTD Modern Theatre, ISTD Tap, ISTD National Dance and ISTD Imperial ballet at the age of six. She performed in many dance competitions, including the All England Dance competition, where she received medal placing. As a child, Tamsin had…
Read more