School Contacts

June Eeles, Programs Administrator

780-455-9559 ext. 221

Annette Bidniak, General Manager

780-455-9559 ext. 222

Dave Ganert, Artistic Director

780-455-9559 ext. 225

Most Recent

Important Dates

Open House

September 2, 2010

Open House

September 7, 2010

Registration Deadline

October 1, 2010

Winter Wonder Concert

January 30, 2011

Shumka School of Dance

Shumka School of Dance is recognized in Edmonton and in Canada as a benchmark for progressive and nurturing Ukrainian dance training. Shumka School showcases its work in annual recitals at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium and in select dance festivals around the province, to provide performance and citizenship opportunities for our students.

I think this school shows citizenship when you see grandparents come to take the grandkids to class and they are treated with the utmost respect like parents always are…respect of others is always shown at Shumka.

Parent, 2009

The Shumka School of Dance is committed to:

  • engaging young people from all heritage backgrounds in the performing arts;
  • fostering a love for a broad scope of Ukrainian dance;
  • providing solid dance training to young people who wish to pursue a career in dance, whether in Ukrainian dance with Shumka, or in other dance disciplines, as well as to young people whose interests in dance are purely recreational;
  • promoting active and healthy lifestyles, accommodating a variety of physical abilities and learning styles; and
  • serving as a career development opportunity for dance instructors and choreographers.

Parents value the reputation of Shumka's Syllabus for Ukrainian Dance and the quality of the experience in our school for both students and parents. Our Syllabus, the first of its kind in the English-speaking world, provides a structured, progressive, incremental curriculum for the learning of Ukrainian dance, much like the Royal Academy of Dance Syllabus does for ballet. Shumka's Syllabus for Ukrainian Dance offers workshops and certification to dance instructors throughout Alberta and across Canada.

Shumka's Summer Dance Camps offer a way for dancers to maintain and improve their dance skills over the summer.  They also give dancers a chance to sample a wide spectrum of great recreational activities ranging from Ukrainian cultural activities and handicrafts, to sporting activities such as rock climbing, swimming and horseback riding, to theatre-based activities such as theatre sports, stilt-walking, performing with masks and puppets, and circus trapeze and aerial acrobatics.