About the School

The Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance provides training in Ukrainian dance to students of all ages and levels. Classes follow a Ukrainian/character curriculum that encourages all students to work to their full potential. It was founded in 1979 by Kateryna Shepertycka.

The School’s teachers are experienced and dedicated to providing quality instruction in Ukrainian dance. They have professional Ukrainian dance training, extensive performing experience, educational expertise and a strong commitment to the creativity and discipline of dance.

Classes are held in the professional studios of The School of Dance at 200 Crichton Street, and registration begins in August of each year.

OSUD Artistic Director: Maria Shepertycki

Maria Shepertycki began her dance training in Ottawa at a young age, focusing her learning on the RAD exam syllabus as well as 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 1979-1994. Maria has remained involved in Ottawa’s dance community as the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance Artistic Director and one of the Svitanok Ensemble's choreographers and rehearsal teachers.

Since graduating from the University of Ottawa with a combined focus in Human Kinetics and Social Sciences, Maria continues to work as a Physiotherapy Assistant in clinical and community settings. She provides treatment activities for people with mobility challenges and specifically for people with Parkinson's Disease under the direction of LSVT and PWR! trained Physiotherapists. Maria designed and continues to develop and teach the creative movement programme for seniors with mobility challenges and people with Parkinson’s offered by The School of Dance. Maria is passionate about promoting inclusive dance practices within all her dance communities.

OSUD Instructors

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.

Justyna Fleming

Justyna joined the Svitanok Ensemble in 2016 after 12 years of Ukrainian dance training at the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance. In 2018, she also began teaching at OSUD where she strives to pass on her love and knowledge of Ukrainian dance to her students. Recently, she completed both her B.A. in Cognitive Science and B.Sc. in Neuroscience. Justyna now works with Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, supervising the volunteers who raise guide dog puppies in training.

Anhelina Ostapyk

Anhelina has taught at the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance since 2015 and is in her tenth year of training and performance with the Svitanok Ensemble. She has studied with Petro Neborskij, Kateryna Shepertycka; and Mykyta Litvinov, Dmytro Bodyan, and Maksym Karpenko of Ukraine’s Virsky Ensemble. Anhelina studied ballet at the Canadian School of Dance for ten years. She is currently doing performance and theatrical work with Sarasa Performance Lab, an Indigenous company based on Poundmaker Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.

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.

Sofiya Sapeha

Bio coming soon

Oles Turchyn

Bio and photo coming soon

Olena Zhelezniak

Olena trained in Ukrainian dance for 5 years (2014-2019) in Ukraine in the ensemble Schastlyvo Dytynstvo (Happy Childhood), where performances included an international competition and festival in Italy. Olena arrived in Canada in 2019 and engaged in acrobatics training for a year. Olena joined the Ottawa School of Ukrainian Dance in September 2022 as an Assistant Teacher and Interpreter for Primary and Advanced/Honours classes. Olena also enjoys improving her dance abilities as an OSUD student in the Advanced/Honours class.