She/Her Daria Podilsky began her journey in dance at the age of four, taking classes at the Verkhovyna School of Ukrainian Dance. As her love for the art form grew, she began competitively training in ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, and contemporary at various schools across Edmonton up until joining Shumka in 2017. Beyond the studio, Daria is heavily involved with…

He/Him Nicolas Pacholok began his dance education at the Shumka School of Dance and upon graduation he was offered an apprenticeship with the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers. Since then, Nicolas’ dance career with Shumka has included performances across Canada and the United States, dancing various roles in Shumka’s productions of Kobzar, Nutcracker, Ancestors & Elders, Mosquito’s Wedding, Echoes of Hopak, and…

He/Him Joshua Pacholok began dancing at the age of five in the Shumka School of Dance. In 2016, after a two-year break from dance, Josh returned to the studio, both nervous and eager to continue his dance journey. As his passion for dance continued to grow, Josh entered Shumka School’s Intensive Division where he had the opportunity to explore other…

She/Her Arlyssa McArthur began her dance journey at a young age, training and competing in a wide range of genres including ballet—studying in the ISTD, Vaganova, and RAD methods—as well as jazz, tap, lyrical, modern and contemporary. Inspired by the Shumka productions she attended throughout her childhood, Arlyssa auditioned for the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers in 2016, despite having no formal…

She/Her Taryna Marko began dancing at the age of four, training in ballet, tap, and Ukrainian dance. For twelve years, she learned Ukrainian dance under her father’s instruction, who instilled in her a lifelong love for this art form. At the age of 14, she advanced her training by joining the Shumka School of Dance. Through SSD, she had the…

She/Her Dance has been a part of Calynn’s life for as long as she can remember. Calynn started dancing as soon as she could walk, and by age 2, she was already enrolled in my first dance class. She grew up with Ukrainian dance, ballet, and dabbled with contemporary and lyrical, each style teaching me something new about herself and…

He/Him Murray Steele has been in Shumka for over 14 years, but has been involved in the Alberta Ukrainian dance community his whole life. Murray began Ukrainian dancing over 31 years ago and has been an active dancer ever since. During his extensive dance career, Murray has had the pleasure of performing with the Viter and Volya Ukrainian Dance Ensembles,…

She/Her Annikka Dobko received her dance education from various institutions including the School of Alberta Ballet and Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington DC. Additionally, she studied at summer intensive ballet programs at the Royal Ballet School Antwerp (Belgium), American Ballet Theatre and Joffrey Ballet School (New York), The National Ballet of Canada, Boston Ballet, Ballet West (Salt Lake City)…

He/Him Jacob August began his dance career when he was three years old, and although at the time he took more of an interest in the stage lights, on some level he knew Ukrainian dance was going to be a life passion. After completing all the rigorous requirements for the company over the past five years, he was accepted as…

She/Her Mara Palahniuk began her dance training at the age of three, specializing in ballet and Ukrainian dance. Her passion for dance has led her to study and perform internationally, including with prestigious institutions such as the Alberta Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet in New York, and the Royal Academy of Dance in London. Throughout her career,…