He/him Taras Geleta started Ukrainian dance at age 4 in the Athabasca Ukrainian Folk Dance Club. He first discovered his passion for Ukrainian dance around age 13 and since then it has only grown. In 2017, Taras had the opportunity to go to North Dakota to perform with his friends from Athabasca. A couple years later, a group of his…

She/Her Ava began dancing in Fort McMurray at the age of three, taking ballet and tap lessons. After going to see her first Shumka show that year, she fell in love with Ukrainian dance. She then enrolled with the Avrora dance school in 2007, taking Ukrainian lessons there for seven years. Her family eventually moved to Edmonton so that she…

She/Her Ashlyn Grummett has been dancing since the age of three. Starting with ballet, jazz and tap, she quickly grew a liking for Ukrainian dance as well. Through the years she expanded her disciplines to add contemporary, lyrical, pointe and musical theatre. After 11 years of studying Ukrainian dance under former Shumka dancer, Doug Rachinski, Ashlyn joined the Viter Ukrainian…

They/Them Lauren Dzenick started dancing at three years old at Dance Unlimited, where they trained in many different styles. They danced competitively for 15 years, and spent the summer of 2019 training with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City and Las Vegas. They were trained by industry professionals in ballet, musical theatre, jazz, and contemporary. When they were…

He/Him The beginning of Michael Zukiwsky’s dance career began at the age of four in the basement of the St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Orthodox church. Wanting to progress even further in Ukrainian dance, he began dancing at the Shumka School of Dance by the time he was in second grade. It was there that Michael realized how important being involved in…

He/Him Zachary Wynnyk has been dancing with Shumka since 2015. He started training in the Shumka School when he was six years old and it was always his goal to dance with “big” Shumka one day. Zachary remembers all the excitement around the Shumka at 50 show, back when he was still in the School. Now with the Shumka 60…

She/Her Vanessa Wynnyk has been dancing with Shumka for two years. After growing up in the Shumka School and watching Shumka perform, she knew it was the place she wanted to be. “The energy and passion Shumka brings to the stage has always inspired me.” The 60th Anniversary Tour will be Vanessa’s first with the company and she can’t wait…

She/Her Summer 2020 marks Ashlyn Waller’s one year anniversary of dancing with Shumka, where she first got involved after hearing of the company through our involved alumni. She is extremely grateful to be able to represent the beautiful legacy that Shumka has created over the past 60 years and is honoured to be part of something so special. Not only…

She/Her Since she was a little girl watching from the audience, Leda Tarnawsky has aspired to be a Shumka Dancer. She began her dance training at the age of four and three years later, joined the Shumka School, where she discovered her love for Ukrainian dance. She successfully auditioned for Shumka in 2018 and has performed with the company in…

She/Her Dancing in the Shumka company is not only a dream come true for Danica Skitsko, but also a family affair as her brother Jacob is involved as well. Touring for Shumka’s 60th allows some of Danica and Jacob’s family members to see them perform for the first time, which is a long time coming. Danica has been dancing with…