麻豆传媒AV

The 24th annual Svoboda Dance Festival was held at the Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts May 2 to 4.

Dancers from 13 Ukrainian dance schools in Saskatchewan and Alberta participated in the festival as well as a handful of dancers who were instructed privately and registered as individuals rather than as members of an established group.

The entry categories included dances from a wide variety of regions in Ukraine, showing the diversity of dance forms and costumes that often reflect the topography and climate of each region and the particular characteristics of the people who live there.

There were also some non-traditional dances that showcased the creativity and ingenuity of present-day Ukrainian dance choreographers.

The dance which won the prize for the most innovative and creative choreography, the prize for the dance with the best theatrical characterization, as well as the prize for the highest mark in the festival was a Hutsul Female Large Group dance 13-14 years, performed by dancers from Rushnychok Ukrainian Folk Dance Association Inc. of Saskatoon.

The dance, although couched in a traditional context, depicted the devastating effects of bullying among teenagers. It brought many of the audience members to tears. The choreography was the joint effort of Shannon Gabrush, Sonya Horner and Jason White, all of whom are well-known to dancers in the Battlefords. Gabrush instructed the junior classes of the local Svoboda Dancers for several years and Horner has just celebrated her 10th anniversary with the local dance club.

The adjudicator for this year's festival was Jennifer Doroniuk from Winnipeg, Man. Doroniuk was a performing member and soloist with the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble (Winnipeg) from 2002 to 2011. In the summer of 2011, along with a collective of other dancers, she became a founding member of the Verba Ukrainian Dance Company.

With a background in ballet, jazz, and Ukrainian dance, and with over 15 years of teaching experience, Doroniuk's wealth of experience and knowledge was evident as she commented on the dances and demonstrated dancing techniques.

This was the second year the Svoboda Dance Festival was held at the Dekker Centre. Organizers of the festival have expressed their overwhelming satisfaction with the facility and with the helpfulness of the staff. Many positive comments have been received from dancers, instructors and parents about the Dekker Centre. Last year's inaugural festival at the Dekker Centre attracted more groups than had registered for the festival in the last several years when it was held at the Don Ross Centre.

There were several improvements made by the Dekker Centre staff after last year's festival including the construction of an adjudicator's table and provision of sturdy costume racks in each dressing room. Further, to accommodate the large number of dancers, dressing room space was expanded with the creation of a makeshift room in the back loading area (erected with room dividers).

Festival organizers also brought in additional costume racks from John Paul II Collegiate to ensure all dancers had space to hang their costumes, particularly during the large group sessions.

The Dekker Centre generously made the kitchen facilities available to the festival committee. As a result, dancers and guests at the festival had the opportunity to indulge in delicious Ukrainian food including borsch (beet soup), varenyky (perogies), holubtsi (cabbage rolls) and kovbasa (sausage).

Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and scholarship donors, 40 solo awards, 35 duet awards, 24 group awards and six adjudicator's choice awards were available to participants in the festival.

This year's Dance Saskatchewan Youth Ambassador Award (Adjudicator's Choice) went to local dancer Corey Koliniak. Dancers from the local Svoboda Dancers won many individual and group awards - most notably, the senior group won an award for their Hopak, a "show-off" dance considered to be the national dance of Ukraine. The group received a mark of 96 for their performance, only one mark shy of the highest mark in the festival.

Since next year is the 25th anniversary of the festival, the festival committee hopes to organize a gala concert with guest performances by professional Ukrainian dancers from Saskatoon and Regina.

Next year's festival runs from April 17 to 19 at the Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts.