Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Ensemble

Liana Stecky
Artistic Director

Ms. Stecky has been delighted to serve as the Artistic Director of the Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Ensemble for the past 14 years. She has a wealth of experience with a number of dance ensembles as an Artistic Director and Instructor. These include: Rusalka; Sopilka; Romanetz; Selkirk & District School of Dance; and UNF School of Dance. Liana has also had the privilege of studying with the following internationally renowned companies in Ukraine: Virsky Ensemble; Hopak Dance Company; Nadzbruchanka; Transcarpathian Dance Ensemble; Verhovyna; Yunist; Bukovynska Ensemble; and Hutzulsky Ensemble. She has also been a guest Competition Adjudicator at Veselka’s Teulon Ukrainian Festival; Swan Valley Fine Arts Dance Festival; Dauphin Festival of the Arts; and the Dauphin Ukrainian Festival in Manitoba.

Liana has been privileged to perform and study extensively, in Ukraine at a number of venues, such as: Lviv Opera House; Kyiv; Drohobych; Chernyvtsi; and Ternopil. Her list of international performances is also extensive: Australia; Japan; Hong Kong; Thailand; Taiwan; Expo ‘86 in Vancouver; the ‘83 World Expo; Mardi Gras in New Orleans; and various Canadian and American shows. Liana has studied Character and Ballet in the Royal Academy Ballet Method (RAD) and Cecchetti style of dance. She is also an accomplished bandurist and singer. She recently performed as part of Hoosli’s 35th Anniversary Cabaret, including their latest CD recording project “Play Minstrel Play”. Liana is also a proud member and Artistic Director of the newly formed Ukrainian folk choir, Melos Folk Ensemble. 

Dmitri Dovgoselets
Soloist with The Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Guest Ballet Instructor

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Dmitri Dovgoselets began dancing at age ten. He trained at The School of Ukrainian Dance and at The National Ballet School of Ukraine. At 18, Dovgoselets joined The National Ballet of Ukraine in Kiev, where he danced for two seasons. In 1996, he performed in Nutcracker with Kiev's Classical Ballet for a one-month tour of Japan. In 1997, he danced on a Canadian Nutcracker tour with The National Ballet of Ukraine and Shumka Ukrainian Dancers. Dovgoselets joined Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet as an apprentice in 1998. He was promoted to soloist for the 2005/06 season.

Dovgoselets’ dance list is extensive. He has danced the ‘Pas de Six’ in Giselle, ‘Mercutio' in Rudi van Dantzig's Romeo & Juliet and ‘Arthur Holmwood’ in Mark Godden’s Dracula. He has been featured in the ‘Bluebird Pas de Deux’ in The Sleeping Beauty as well as the ‘Prince’ in the Nutcracker. In Nina Menon’s version of Nutcracker, he performed the 'Spanish Dance' and ‘Pas de Trois.’ His other accomplishments include ‘Konstantin Levin’ in Prokovsky’s Anna Karenina, the ‘Pas de Trois’ in Swan Lake, Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Vesak’s The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, Kylián’s Symphony in D, Mauricio Wainrot’s Carmina Burana and Nina Menon’s La Soif.

Last season Dovgoselets performed the title role of ‘Peter’ in Jorden Morris’ Peter Pan and danced in Itzik Galili’s physically demanding work Hikarizatto. He also received rave reviews for his performance as ‘Monostatos’ in Mark Godden’s The Magic Flute, a role that he will dance again this season when the Company performs in the United States.

Dovgoselets also participated in filming The Tale of the Magic Flute, the made for television version of Godden’s ballet, for which the cast was awarded a Gemini Award for ‘Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program’ in 2006.

For the opening of the 2007/08 season Dovgoselets will perform the role of a ‘Toreador’ for the world premiere of Mauricio Wainrot’s Carmen, The Passion.