Toronto-born Paul Olijnyk began his association with Canada’s Ukrainian Shumka Dancers in 2001 when he moved to Edmonton and joined the company to pursue his passion for Ukrainian dance. Since then, Paul has taught Ukrainian dance throughout Alberta, adjudicates dance festivals throughout Western Canada, and has been a guest choreographer for dance ensembles in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario. He is one of the Shumka School of Dance’s key instructors, where he shares his fervour for dance and culture with his students.
Paul is a graduate of the Edmonton School of Ballet’s Pre-Professional Dance Training Program and a certified teacher under the Shumka Dance Syllabus Academy. He holds a BFA honours degree from York University, specializing in dance, and a Master of Arts degree, specializing in Ukrainian folklore, from the University of Alberta. In December 2017, Paul graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta. Paul is currently a Grade 5 Ukrainian language teacher at St. Theresa Catholic Middle School.
Paul frequently travels to Ukraine researching folklore, folk dance, attends workshops and seminars, including multiple summer courses at the International Summer School of Dance in the Kyiv University of Culture and Virsky Studio. Paul’s involvement with Ukrainian Dance World’s annual Ukrainian Dance Workshop Tour has provided him with the opportunity to learn ethnographically appropriate lexicon and choreography from Ukraine’s most renowned professional regional ensembles, authentic folk ensembles and both pre-professional and amateur youth ensembles throughout each of the major ethnographic regions in Ukraine.
Throughout his career as a dance educator, Paul has been Instructor/Artistic Director of the Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance (Toronto), Alberta Zirka Ukrainian Performers (Calmar), Veselli Dancers (Gibbons), Blyzka Ukrainian Dancers (Red Deer), St. Paul Desna Ukrainian Dancers (St. Paul), Sopilka School of Ukrainian Dance (Vegreville), Troyanda School of Ukrainian Dance (Grande Prairie) and Muzyka Dancers (Peace River). Paul has also staged multiple dance- theatre storyline productions for young dancers.
In his dance career, Paul has performed with Yavir Ensemble (Toronto), Desna Ukrainian Dancers (Toronto), The Kozaks (Toronto) and with Canada’s National Riding and Dancing Cossacks. During his tenure with the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, he has performed throughout Canada and China with various productions, including Shumka’s Cinderella, Absolutely Shumka, Travelling Chumaky, Shumka at 50 and Clara’s Dream, a collaboration with Ukraine’s Virsky and Kyiv Ballet companies. Since 2011, Paul has been involved with Shumka as a repetiteur and choreographer. He is excited to continue his work with the company as Creative Director, along with Tasha Orysiuk and Les Sereda.
