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Kateryna is passionate about the power of dance to move audiences and to change lives. Her classical, character and Ukrainian dance study in Canada and in Ukraine set the stage for significant contributions to the development of Ukrainian dance in Ottawa. With 45 years of experience as a leading Ukrainian dance performer, instructor, and choreographer, Kateryna is the Ensemble’s Artistic Director. She nurtures Svitanok’s exceptional artistic-training team, and motivates new generations of Ensemble dancers. New, original choreography is her priority.
Artistic Vision"In Motion and Emotion"
With a fine history and a promising future, the Svitanok Ensemble hopes to make a difference in the dance world and in peoples’ lives! The Ensemble’s current artistic vision focuses on motion and emotion…
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Tetiana Avramenko
Tetiana danced in Kharkiv with Shchaslyve dytynstvo, Zorytsvit, and Promin. She graduated from the Kharkiv College of Culture - Choreography (1993) and from the Kharkiv State Pedagogical University with a Masters in Choreography and Culture (1998). Tetiana worked at the Derhachi House of Children’s Creativity and House of Culture, where she developed an award-winning ensemble of dancers aged 4 to 18 called Kapitoshky. Tetiana also has extensive experience in dance education working at the elementary school level and at summer camps.
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Erin Ewing
Erin began dancing at the Rothesay Ballet School (New Brunswick) at a young age. Competitive figure skating was her focus as a teen, and Erin has trained now for 10 years in the adult ballet program at The School of Dance (Ottawa). Erin began Ukrainian dance in 2018 at the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance (adult program), and has danced with the Svitanok Ensemble since 2019. In 2023, Erin trained with Virsky Ukrainian dance masters at a Toronto summer workshop.
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Lisa Ingimundarson
Lisa is a graduate of the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance and an original member of the Svitanok Ensemble. During her 25 years of performance, Lisa also danced with the Dnipro Ensemble and the Mamai Ukrainian Kozak Entertainers. Her dance training includes classes in ballet and modern as well as numerous Ukrainian dance workshops. Lisa served as an Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance instructor for over 30 years and is currently a Svitanok Ensemble trainer.
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Solomiya Ostapyk
Solomiya has taught at the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance for over 10 years and is a soloist with the Svitanok Ensemble. She has studied with Petro Neborskij and Kateryna Shepertycka; Orlando Pagan and Ania Bohachevsky Lonkevych of New York (Soyuzivka Workshop); and Mykyta Litvinov, Dmytro Bodyan, and Maksym Karpenko of Ukraine’s Virsky Ensemble. Solomiya has taught Ukrainian dance at Ukrainian Canadian Social Services’ Sunflower Summer Camp for displaced children from Ukraine and at the Pokrova Arts Camp.
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Olivia Semenick
Olivia began dancing with Thunder Bay’s Zorya Ensemble, where she performed and competed throughout northwestern Ontario. She has studied with Ukrainian dance masters Zhenia Bahri and Brian Pitchko and trained under Leonid Sydorchuk (Bukovynian Ensemble of Song and Dance) and Halyna Myroslavivna (Virsky Dance Ensemble) in 2019 while visiting Ukraine. Olivia taught Ukrainian dance for five years at the Zorya Ukrainian Dance School, where she created choreography for her young students. Olivia has danced with the Svitanok Ensemble since 2022.
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Maria Shepertycki
Maria began her dance training at a young age, focusing her learning on ballet, character, and Ukrainian dance techniques. She is co-founder of the Svitanok Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and performed with both the Dnipro Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and Svitanok from 1979 to 1994. Maria has remained involved in Ottawa’s dance community as the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance Artistic Director and a Svitanok Ensemble choreographer and instructor. Maria is passionate about promoting inclusive dance practices within all her dance communities.
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Stephen Shepertycki
Stephen holds over 35 years of experience as a Ukrainian dancer and over 17 years as a choreographer and instructor. Following graduation from the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance, Stephen joined the Dnipro Ensemble and later the Svitanok Ensemble as a dancer and soloist. He co-founded and worked as principal choreographer for the Mamai Ukrainian Kozak Entertainers, a cabaret group that performed "The Days of Kozak Glory" featuring music, song, and dance. Stephen has performed for local and international audiences.
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Kristina Slodki
Kristina began her dance training with the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance, and has been a member of the Svitanok Ensemble for over 10 years. She has supplemented her dance education through workshops, including with dancers from Ukraine’s Virsky Ensemble, and ballet studies at The School of Dance. Kristina is also an accomplished harpist who has performed and competed internationally, and focuses on expressing musicality and character in dance. Kristina has helped manage the ensemble as its Administrative Director since 2019.
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