On Friday, June 3 the Edmonton Elks proudly displayed their support for the people of Ukraine through their Stand With Ukraine game against the Calgary Stampeders. Through the sale of single-game tickets for $15, the Elks were proud to raise $173,000 in support of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, as Edmontonians rallied around a cause that means so much to our community.…
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Along with numerous volunteer roles in the Ukrainian community, Martin Stusiak is being recognized for the work of The League of Ukrainian Canadians and their financial contribution to the front. Organizing a week-long, city-wide bottle drive along with the League of Ukrainian Women in Canada and Ukrainian Youth Association, around $60,000 was divided between Friends of Ukraine Defence Forces Fund and Ukraine…
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Ruslana Yurystovska, born and raised in Western Ukraine, moved to Edmonton in 2007 with her husband, and now has a family of two young boys. Since the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2014 and the invasion in February, Ruslana has worked continuously to aid Ukraine and the men and women protecting the country. Through her work, she is humbled…
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Rachel began dancing at the age of 3 in Beaumont where she trained in RAD ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and contemporary while dabbling in Ukrainian dance with various Edmonton groups along the way, including Shumka School. She was an assistant instructor for tap and ballet classes where she was able to share her passion with younger dancers. Being a part…
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He/Him — Joe started dancing with the Thorhild Ukrainian Dancing Club at the age of 5, and then continued to dance with Shumka School of Dance when he turned 10. Throughout his years at SSD, he was involved in a few Shumka shows such as Kobzar and The Nutcracker (previously Clara’s Dream). Throughout his dancing career he dreamed about being…
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She/Her — Breanna Senko started dancing at the age of 3 at rural dance clubs in Westlock and Thorhild. While there, she took part in jazz, ballet, contemporary and Ukrainian dance. As she grew older, she became more serious about Ukrainian dance and wanted to be more connnected to her Ukrainian heritage, and at the age of 11 she decided…
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She/Her — Emily began Ukrainian dance at the age of 3 in her hometown of St. Paul, Alberta. Since then, each instructor she has had was a Shumka dancer. The consistent exposure to the world of Shumka inspired Emily to make the company a part of her dance journey. In 2020, she joined Studia Shumka where she spent 2 years…
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I am so excited to begin my weekly blog as I divulge into the life of a Shumka dancer and what it is like to come back after two years of dancing in my basement online, continually dealing with the pandemic, and feeling the tragedies of the current war in Ukraine. All the while dancing on tour, balancing school, and…
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Welcome back! If you’ve been following along with our tour schedule you may already know that last week we performed in Winnipeg and in a couple of days here we will be performing in Saskatoon. Winnipeg was such an amazing crowd, and we are beyond thankful to those who attended our show, especially to Rusalka who hosted a nice get-together…
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Hello Readers! It has been a very busy week in Shumka land performing in Saskatoon and preparing for our upcoming show in Regina, performances at UFest, the Elks game, and more! It is all very exhilarating, yet just when we begin to be busy is usually when things begin to go awry. This occurred back at the beginning of the…
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