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Founder of the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance and co-founder of the Svitanok Ensemble, Kateryna studied classical, character, and Ukrainian dance in Ottawa, in Saskatoon, and as a full-time student at the Kyiv Institute of Culture in Ukraine.
She studied Ukrainian dance with K. Baloh, V. Kamin, Z. Kolobych, S. Kuryliw, P. Neborskij, P. Pawlyshyn, L. Pritz (Poluhan), M. Senaiko, L. Tsvetkova, K. Vasylenko, S. Zabredovskij, B. Zerebecky and S. Zubatov. With over 40 years of experience as a Ukrainian dance performer, educator, and choreographer, Kateryna was named Svitanok’s artistic director in 2019. She served as Adjudicator at Regina’s Tavria Ukrainian Dance Festival in March 2026. Kateryna holds degrees in Music (conc. Ethnomusicology), and Communications from the University of Ottawa, with additional focus in Slavic Studies and Arts Administration. She led Cultural Development at the City of Ottawa for over 15 years, undertaking major municipal cultural planning projects. Kateryna is passionate about the power of dance to move audiences and to change lives. She nurtures Svitanok’s exceptional artistic/training team and motivates new generations of Ensemble dancers. New, original choreography developed from an authentic root is her priority. |
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 - “Kapitoshky”.
Tetiana has worked as a lead instructor/choreographer at the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance, and an Ensemble artistic-training team member/choreographer for 4 years. She has extensive experience in dance education at the elementary school level and in summer camps. Tetiana loves to work with a mix of styles - Ukrainian choreography combined with classical or contemporary dance, and she is inspired by modern Ukrainian music, Ukrainian folk and academic choreography. Tetiana loves to work with dancers who are open to experimentation and eager to learn new things. |
Caleb Butcher
Caleb has been dancing with Ottawa’s Svitanok Ukrainian Dance Society since 2017. Originally starting in the school, he joined the ensemble in 2019 and has been dancing continuously ever since. Having grown up in a Ukrainian church, he loves the connection to the culture that dance provides and plans to continue dancing until his legs stop working!
In his spare time, Caleb enjoys working out, singing liturgical music, spending time outdoors, and dancing whenever possible. Having completed his fire recruit academy in 2026, he looks forward to working as a career firefighter in the future. |
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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Justyna Fleming
Justyna has taught children, youth and adults with the Ottawa School of Ukrainian dance since 2018. She joined the Svitanok Ensemble in 2016 and is now a soloist. She has studied with Petro Neborskij, Kateryna Shepertycka, Danovia Stechishin and Anna and Kostiantyn Frolov of Ukraine’s Virsky Ensemble.
Justyna has completed a B.A. in Cognitive Science and a B.Sc. in Neuroscience from Carleton University. She now works as a Specialist in the Guide Dog department for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. |
Lisa Ingimundarson
Lisa is an Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance (OSUD) graduate and a Svitanok Ensemble original member. Over 25 years of performing, she also danced with the Dnipro Ensemble and Mamai Ukrainian Kozak Entertainers. Lisa has taught at OSUD for over 30 years and continues to share her experience and passion for dance as a Svitanok Ensemble Instructor.
As a physiotherapist, Lisa brings a unique perspective to her work with Svitanok. She is passionate about using her extensive knowledge of human movement and physical training to help dancers develop strong technique, move with greater precision and optimize their performance. She values strength, quality of movement and attention to detail as essential foundations for great dancing. |
Anhelina Ostapyk
Anhelina has taught at the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance since 2015 and is a soloist with the Svitanok Ensemble, where she is currently in her 12th year of training and performance. She has studied with Petro Neborskij and Kateryna Shepertycka; Mykyta Litvinov, Dmytro Bodyan, and Maksym Karpenko of Ukraine’s Virsky Ensemble; and former Virsky dancers Anna and Kostiantyn Frolov. She has ten years of ballet experience at the Canadian School of Dance.
She has participated in performance and theatrical work with Sarasa Performance Lab, an Indigenous company based on Poundmaker Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, under the direction of Floyd Favel. Anhelina holds an M.A. in Canadian Studies and an Honours B.Soc.Sc in Anthropology. Her graduate research explored Indigenous-Ukrainian relations, an area that informs her artistic and educational interests. She is an Ontario Certified Teacher and is specializing in Indigenous Education through Queen’s University’s B.Ed. Community-Based Indigenous Teacher Education Program. |
Solomiya Ostapyk
Solomiya is a soloist with the Svitanok Ensemble and Co-Artistic Director of the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance, where she has been teaching for over 10 years. She has studied with Petro Neborskij, Kateryna Shepertycka, Orlando Pagan and Ania Bohachevsky Lonkevych of (Soyuzivka, New York), and Mykyta Litvinov, Dmytro Bodyan, and Maksym Karpenko of Ukraine’s Virsky Ensemble. Solomiya also has classical training in ballet from the Canadian School of Dance and The School of Dance. She 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’s dance training is concentrated within RAD ballet/character and Ukrainian dance curriculums. She co-founded the Svitanok Ukrainian Dance Society and performed internationally with the Dnipro Ensemble and Svitanok from 1979 to 1994.
Maria is Co-Artistic Director of the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance, a member of the Ensemble artistic-training team, an instructor and choreographer. Maria's current choreography highlights the mysterious and intriguing connections between humans and our natural world. Maria graduated from the University of Ottawa in Human Kinetics/Social Sciences and works as a Physiotherapy Assistant delivering neurological, cardiorespiratory, orthopedic and chronic pain rehabilitation under the direction of a supervising Physiotherapist. Maria received training in treatment for people with Parkinson’s from LSVT Big! And PWR! Clinicians, and attended advanced teacher training courses with Dance for PD in New York and Toronto. She developed and leads “Connecting with Dance’, a program for people with Parkinson’s and mobility-challenged seniors at The School of Dance. |
Stephen Shepertycki
Stephen holds over 35 years of experience as a Ukrainian dancer for both local and international audiences, and more than 20 years as a choreographer and instructor.
Following graduation from the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance, he joined the Dnipro Ensemble and later the Svitanok Ensemble as a dancer and soloist. He co-founded and served 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 is passionate about performing, instructing and choreography, with a strong emphasis on musicality, storytelling, and creating performances that truly entertain audiences. As an instructor, he finds the greatest reward in helping dancers achieve elements they never thought possible, while watching them grow in confidence and artistry. |
Kristina Slodki
Kristina is a dancer and musician with over 25 years experience in Ukrainian dance, and is a soloist with the Svitanok Ensemble. As a graduate of the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance, she has supplemented her dance education through various workshops, including with dancers from Ukraine's Virsky Ensemble, as well as ballet studies at The School of Dance.
As an instructor, Kristina works to build dance foundations with the Ensemble's apprentice dancers, and focuses on helping dancers express their musicality and understand rhythm, combining her knowledge and love of music as a harpist. Kristina has helped manage the Ensemble as its Administrative Director since 2019. |
Crystal ProcyshenPhoto and bio coming soon!
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