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…
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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…
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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…
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Over their many years of dedication to the Shumka legacy, the Mucha family has contributed to many large-scale projects. One such project that Marilyn is particularly proud of is the Shumka Stage in Louise McKinney Park, a project which she together with her family was pivotal in fundraising and organizing. But Marilyn’s time with Shumka actually began in 1971. “Back…
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Orest Yusypchuk performed in a concert with Ukrainian dance master Vasyl Avramenko, and shortly after, became one of Shumka’s first members. He loved dancing in Shumka, but eventually had to hang up his boots due to an injury. At the beginning, Orest remembers having to ask Chester Kuc’s dad for (only) $300 to cover the cost of a performance at…
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When Joe Hoffman watched Shumka’s performance of the Nutcracker with Kyiv Ballet on the Jube stage, even at 5 years old, he already decided Shumka was the place for him. Joe auditioned and was accepted into the company in 2010, shortly after the Edmonton performances of Shumka at 50. For the next 10 years, Joe was a part of many…
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When Halyna and Dennis Elkow joined Shumka, they never thought they’d have opportunities to perform all over the world, including Tunisia and Japan, as well as across Canada. Halyna joined the group in 1964 and danced alongside some of her closest friends under the direction of Chester Kuc. Some of Halyna’s favourite memories were when the group travelled together. And…
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Inspired by watching her sister perform on stage with Shumka, Lydia Talpash-Wacko knew she had to be up there with her one day. Lydia joined the company in the 90s, and toured on the 1995 production of Absolutely Shumka across Canada. One of her most favourite memories from that tour was performing with live music from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra,…
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From the time Roxanne Rachinski joined Shumka in 1979, she knew she had found a community. With her contributions to Shumka through dancing, choreographing, and serving on the executive, Roxanne was given new opportunities that helped her explore her cultural heritage. She travelled to Ukraine, worked with Ukrainian dance company Virsky, and helped create magic for Shumka. She also had…
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As Shumka’s Creative Directors, Tasha Orysiuk and Paul Olijnyk are so much more than repetiteurs. From choreographing and costuming, to arranging rehearsal schedules and even performing, they are involved in every single step of every production. In the past few years as Creative Directors, Tasha and Paul have continued to push Shumka to new limits. “Creative Directors of Shumka are…
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