The Manitoba Ukrainian Dance Festival strives to create an experience that will allow dancers and instructors to grow and develop under the constructive criticism of our accomplished adjudicators, Lana Niland & Trevor Shular while having the opportunity to perform for an audience in a theatre atmosphere. The Festival will be conducted in a professional manner where all aspects of theatre etiquette will be applied to the dancers’ onstage performance, backstage organization and audience members.
Sunday evening of the Festival concludes with our Showcase Performance, which is open to the public. The Showcase gives award winning performers from the Festival an opportunity to dance again, and accept their awards and scholarships. The Showcase performance includes the highly anticipated Hopak competition during its second half.
Sunday evening of the Festival concludes with our Showcase Performance, which is open to the public. The Showcase gives award winning performers from the Festival an opportunity to dance again, and accept their awards and scholarships. The Showcase performance includes the highly anticipated Hopak competition during its second half.
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Lana Nicole Niland was brought up on dance in the 1980s care of the Saskatoon School of Dance. Though tap and jazz fuelled her creative juices, with ballet creating the structure (Lana achieved her Advanced RAD in 2003), it was the beautiful costumes, movements, and emotion of Ukrainian dance that quickly proved her passion with the Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble.
Accepted into the Virsky Studio in 2003 as a potential artist, she toiled for ten months, six days a week, working eleven-hour days – building on all that she had been taught in Canada, perfecting that which was becoming second-nature in Ukraine. In June 2004, she received a diploma and a position in the Virsky National Honoured Academic Dance Ensemble of Ukraine as a performing artist. To date, she is the only dancer outside the post-Soviet space to have worked as an artist of the ballet. Work with Virsky included highly focused attention with acclaimed teachers, choreographers, and directors, providing a strong backbone in Vaganova ballet, character, acting, turns and technique, and of course Ukrainian dance. Working with one of the world’s most exceptional dance groups, Lana has danced on some of the oldest, most beautiful, and most prominent stages around the world. In 2009, Lana took over editorship (and ownership in 2017) of What’s On – Kyiv’s definitive English language culture and entertainment magazine. In 2016, she took on the same position for Ukrainian Dance World – The Magazine! – an incredible resource for Ukrainian dancers, teachers, and parents alike. Recognizing the need for quality Ukrainian products abroad, Lana began collaborating with local artisans in 2015, opening the door to a new business with Postmark Ukraine. Children’s groups, semi-professional ensembles, and professional companies from around the world enlist Postmark Ukraine to create unique, one-of-a-kind costuming, footwear, and more. Lana’s most recent adventure features the Rodovid Academy of Ukrainian Dance, which offer regular workshops with top-rated international instructors for dancers, a certificate program for instructors, and a membership option for anyone interested in continuing their Ukrainian dance education. Lana returns to Canada often to work with groups across the country hosting workshops, creating choreography, and sitting in the adjudicator’s chair. Her experience in Ukraine and around the world gives her unique insight into the world of Ukrainian dance, striving always to bring out the very best in the dancers she works with. “Ukrainian dance unites the world in magical ways. I look forward to working with you!” Lana Nicole Niland |
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Trevor’s passion for Ukrainian dance began at a young age and continues to be a major part of his life. Trevor has taught Ukrainian dance throughout the province of Alberta and adjudicates dance festivals throughout Western Canada. He has been a guest choreographer for dance ensembles in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Trevor’s dance career includes over 25 years of stage experience with Tryzub Ukrainian Dance Society, Volya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, and Suzirya Ukrainian Dance Theatre. As a performing artist he has had the opportunity with these ensembles to have toured with production shows performances across Canada, USA and twice to Australia. Trevor has over 30 years of teaching experience and a graduate of the Averamenko Institute of Folk Dance in Lviv, Ukraine. He has attended other workshops throughout Ukraine involved in the study of folklore, costumes, music and dance. As well in Ukraine he has produced original dance music and costumes created for his schools. In North America he as attended several dance workshops from Vancouver to Toronto in Canada and to the Verkhovyna Dance workshop in New York. In 1990 Trevor was a founder and Artistic Director for the Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Society where he currently directs a teaching staff of 7 instructors and 124 students. Training of his instructional team and his students is his main focus at the school, where he starts each year with series of development workshops for his instructor’s to set them up for the season. Outside of the dance studio Trevor devotes his time volunteering on several Ukrainian boards of directors. Currently serving on the AUDA, SAUDF, Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Society and the Suzirya Ukrainian Dance Theatre boards of Directors. Currently Trevor is teaching dance as the Artistic Director for the Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Society and the Hopak Ukrainian Dancers in Calgary. |
Manitoba Ukrainian Dance Festival Information:
Register for the Instructor Workshop Here!
| Frequently Asked Questions 2020 |
