Listening & Learning - Shumka | Canada's Ukrainian Shumka Dancers

As a Canadian-Ukrainian dance company, Shumka welcomes diversity and inclusion as a cornerstone of our artistic expression. Our performances, performers, and artistic direction strive to express an ever-evolving dance experience. We warmly embrace those who join us regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, citizenship, or any other diverse characteristic. We are committed to listening and learning, as we acknowledge that there is always a chance to develop deeper appreciation of others’ experiences.

Shumka’s Diversity & Inclusivity Document:

What Shumka has done, does, and will do

(click to read)

Designed by Shumka dancer Nicole Schimpf, Shumka’s Diversity Symbol is a representation of the word “love” in Ukrainian embroidery. It aims to symbolize the acceptance of other communities within our Shumka family, with Shumka represented in red in the middle, and the many other communities Shumka supports represented by various colours on the outside. We hope it can become a visual symbol for our promise to celebrate the diversity within our company, as well a reminder of our commitment to continue listening, learning, and growing.

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“You can’t beat away the darkness with a stick, you have to open the window of intelligence for light to enter.” –American choreographer Alonzo King on how the dance world must move forward

The Ukrainian Shumka Dancers stand with Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour in denouncing racism and discrimination here in Canada and around the world. We recognize many Canadians today are mistreated because of the colour of their skin and their ethnic background.

This is a difficult time in our world, but an important step to changing the ongoing reality of racial injustice. We at Shumka are listening and learning. We will continue to encourage and welcome individuals from all racial backgrounds into our Centre, our seniors’ programs, our School, our audiences, and our professional company. We will continue to tackle relevant topics in our artistic works including oppression, Indigenous mistreatment, and love in times of diversity.

We commit ourselves to conscious efforts to strengthen equality, justice, and peace in all we do in Shumka as an organization and as individuals. We will always hold ourselves to a standard that does not accept this work is ever finished. We will always strive to be better.

These words may seem too simple in times such as these but they are a guiding principal we will uphold in all we do.

Treat others as you wish to be treated. And the world will be a better place.

Darka Tarnawsky

Executive Director

Ukrainian Shumka Dancers

From our dancers:

Shumka stands with Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour and all those facing racial prejudice and systemic discrimination. Shumka is committed to staying educated and listening to the voices of the oppressed, as well as taking the necessary steps towards a world where no person is treated differently because of the colour of their skin.

In an effort to show our commitment, the dancers and staff of Shumka have decided to make a collective donation to The Come Up YEG and iHuman. Please consider supporting these causes as well.

We left a black space in our collage to acknowledge that we are merely joining the fight that countless others have been battling for far too long.

We are listening and learning….

June is Pride Month, and Shumka would like to acknowledge and celebrate our LGBTQ+ members. Shumka recognizes that we all have a part to play in creating an inclusive, equitable environment both inside and outside our studios. At the end of the day, all you need is love. There is a lot everyone can do to be an ally and help celebrate pride month. See below for some great resources!

1969 Stonewall riots

About Pride Month

LGBT history in Canada

Edmonton Pride

A Family Outing

Seniors Can Shumka dancer Ruby Swanson is the author of A Family Outing, a book about her experiences as the parent of a gay son. The book is available at Audreys, Chapters, Amazon and through her directly through the link above.

In June 2019, a Ukrainian translation of A Family Outing was launched at Kyiv Pride. Here’s the link to an interview she did at CTV with Stacey Brotzel where she talks about the state of LGBT and human rights in present day Ukraine. This link shares some highlights of her involvement at Kyiv Pride and has some unbelievable photos including Pride marchers being protected by thousands of police, many in riot gear. The Ukrainian translation is available at Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts and through Ruby as well.