Jennifer Laviolette
Keeping the heart of Ukrainian dance beating strong
The art of Ukrainian dance has started up again for the year with the Vesselli dancers enrolled in Ukrainian dance classes. The Benito Vesselli Dance Club has been fortunate to have strong and dedicated instructors to ensure that the art of Ukrainian dance continues in the Valley. Amanda Bulycz and Austin Spencer are both former students of the Vesselli Dance Club and are now instructors.
“I started Ukrainian dancing with Benito Vesselli Dance Club at the age of three,” said Bulycz. “My mom and her siblings danced with Vesselli, and my grandmother was active in the club by sewing costumes, pinching perogies, and volunteering her time with anything else that was needed. My mom later became Vesselli’s instructor, so I guess you can say it was our family tradition to celebrate our culture by joining Ukrainian dance. As I got older, I fell in love with performing on stage, learning more about my culture, and just the overall dance community and dance family with Vesselli.
“As a child, I loved everything about Ukrainian Dance, from performing on stage to getting together with my dance friends every week for practice. I also loved learning new combinations and dance regions. But my absolute favourite part was celebrating and sharing my culture. Ukrainian Dance has this power of emotions and pride behind it that when you experience it, you just want more.”
“I started Ukrainian dancing when I was six years old,” said Spencer. I can’t recall what made me go to my first practice, but I’m sure it had something to do with my mom pushing me to go.
“My favourite part of Ukrainian dance was probably the same as most kids, the competitions. I can remember looking forward to dancing on the big stage at the end of the season. Even though we all got very nervous waiting backstage to go on, the feeling of excitement and pride we felt after a great performance was always an awesome feeling.”
There are so many different styles of Ukrainian dance that can be appreciated. Each style of dance comes from and represents a certain region in Ukraine.
“Every region of Ukraine is so unique and I could list many things from each region that I love,” said Bulycz. “For example, I love the energetic steps, jumps and high kicks from the Volyn region or the fast movements and unique music of the Hutzul region. Every region has its style of steps and music, which keeps not only performing these dances fun but choreographing and instructing each region keeps classes new, interesting and exciting.
“My favourite style of dance would be Hopak. This dance is not only an honour to perform, but I love creating new choreography and instructing Hopak dances. This is one of the main reasons I started my Ensemble: to continue challenging, creating and sharing Hopak with the community. This dance allows dancers to showcase their unique tricks and steps. “You often see male dancers performing incredible acrobatic moves and the female dancers spinning incredibly fast. All dancers move at high speeds, all while being graceful and moving delicately across the stage. Not only is this dance fun to choreograph and perform, it is amazing to experience from the audience as well.”
“For most of my childhood, I enjoyed performing Poltava dances,” said Spencer. “These dances are always high energy with many jumps and kicks thrown into the mix. As I got older, I was always most excited to perform our Hopak. Hopak dances are usually made up of a large group that shows off all the tricks they’ve worked so hard to perfect.”
For both Bulycz and Spencer, the decision to further their Ukrainian dance skills were apparent as they moved on from being the student to becoming an instructor.
“I loved Ukrainian dancing and when I was approached at 16 years old to instruct alongside my uncle with the Hudson Bay Cheremka Dance Club,” said Bulycz. “I knew I wanted to share this love with others. Ukrainian dance is so special to me, and I knew my career wouldn’t and couldn’t end after high school graduation, I wanted and needed to continue to share this love and passion.
“I’m proud to say I have been with Vesselli, whether that’s as a dancer or instructor, since I was three years old and never missed a year. I’m also proud to have been instructing, choreographing and running workshops for many clubs across Saskatchewan and Manitoba for 20 years now, and every year is more exciting than the last.
“Initially, when I started instructing at age 16, I hadn’t taken any courses specific to instructing,” said Bulycz. “I had participated in many workshops and seminars as a dancer but not as an instructor. At that time, everything I knew was taught to me by my past instructors, as well as getting advice from my mom and uncle, who both instructed Ukrainian dance.
“Throughout the years, I jumped at any opportunity to learn and grow as an instructor, whether that’s participating in an Instructor Workshop, studying and continuing to learn more about Ukraine with online courses, or networking with other instructors. Over the years, I have met so many amazing people in the Ukrainian dance world to share ideas, and we learn from and help each other.”
“I jumped at the opportunity to teach dance with the club that I was a part of my whole life,” said Spencer. “I think it’s really important to keep activities like this available in our small communities for all to enjoy. Vesselli gave a lot to my childhood and I’m proud to have the opportunity to pass on the lessons I learned to the younger generation.
“While I don’t have any formal certifications in teaching Ukrainian dance, I lean on my 20 years of experience to help provide instruction. I am hoping to attend some courses in the future to provide the best instruction that I can.”
“I started assisting the younger dancers alongside my Vesselli instructors when I was 14 years old,” said Bulycz. “At age 16, I started choreographing and Instructing with Hudson Bay Cheremka Dance Club and then by age 18, I was instructing Benito Vesselli along with three other dance clubs from Saskatchewan.
“I have enjoyed so many things about instructing Ukrainian dance. I could write a book about the multiple experiences and excitement it has brought. I love creating and choreographing a new dance and watching it come to life. Often, I’m finding music and coming up with new choreography in my living room and you never know if what you are imagining will be able to work with the group of dancers.
“It’s a huge accomplishment when you get to see this come to life on the stage at a competition or year-end concerts,” said Bulycz. “Having dancers receive their highest marks, accomplish their goals, receive scholarships and trophies, their sense of pride and being able to stand backstage and see their faces smiling and beaming as they perform what they’ve been working on all year is a huge accomplishment as an instructor.”
“My first year teaching dance was in 2022,” said Spencer. “At that point, I only helped with the boys in the club, demonstrating technique and helping instruct their boys’ dance. Since then, I have been teaching alongside Amanda each week with the whole club.
“I think my favourite part about teaching dance is seeing how much the kids enjoy performing. It’s hard not to smile while standing backstage and watching them have so much fun and show off all their hard work.”
With the recent events that have stuck in Ukraine, it’s imperative to preserve the culture and representation of the country and its people. Ukrainian dance has traditionally had a strong representation throughout Manitoba and will continue well into the future.
“Just like anything, everything evolves and grows, dancers are performing at higher levels at younger ages,” said Bulycz. “They are accomplishing goals and achieving so much more than dancers before them, but the values behind Ukrainian dance have never changed. We are always learning more about Ukraine and the regions, costuming, steps, styles and more, but the true reason I believe we are all dancing is to share our culture with the world.
“It’s always been important to share Ukrainian culture, but with the war currently taking place, it’s our job to showcase how powerful Ukrainians are and performing any region of Ukrainian dance is one way of doing that. When we step on stage, we are not only representing our club, ourselves, or our instructors, but we are representing Ukraine and showing that we are not going anywhere.
“Ukrainian Dance has always been a huge part of Benito,” said Bulycz. “Vesselli has been around for over 40 years, and while yes we have had our enrolment decrease and increase many times over the years, we are happy to say we currently have 30 children in our club and we continue to grow every year. Not only does Benito have Vesselli for dancers 3 to 18 years of age, but we also have an adult class, Benito Shaker Misto Adult Dancers, which had ten adult dancers last year.
“Also, I have recently started up Liliya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in Benito, which consists of dancers of all ages, many past or present dancers of Vesselli and Shaker Misto. I would say for a small community like Benito, the art of Ukrainian dance will continue for many years to come.
“The support all three groups receive is truly remarkable,” said Bulycz. “Although Vesselli has always performed at Benito’s Malanka event, 2024 was the first year Vesselli hosted Malanka. Shaker Misto and Liliya Ensemble joined Vesselli in performing for the sold-out crowd between the supper and the dance. The community came together to support Vesselli and also made donations to Ukraine with the Cobblestone Foundation. Vesselli will be hosting Malanka again in Benito on January 11, 2025.
“At Vesselli’s annual year-end concert, we filled the school gym, with many audience members standing as we ran out of room for chairs! I am proud to be from a community that continues to support our Ukrainian culture and dance groups.”
Both Bulycz and Spencer are eager to get into this season with all the new choreography and performances the students will have the chance to learn and embark upon.
“I’m excited to create brand new choreography for all my groups,” said Bulycz. “This is something that I feel is unique and I create new choreography every year for every group I instruct. Every dance I choreograph is made specifically for that group of dancers and is created based on their skills and goals. There is the odd time we will keep a dance or combination from the previous year, but often, I’m creating new choreography to keep all dancers challenged and learning.
“I will be starting practices with Shaker Misto Adult Dancers and Liliya Ensemble in October.
We will be preparing all three groups to perform at Vesselli’s Malanka event in January as well as preparing for competitions and our year-end concert in April and May.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing everyone progress week after week,” said Spencer. “We have so many amazing dancers that love giving their all.”
Home Routes concerts return for the season
The Home Routes concert series is back on the road again and kicking off their first concert this month with singer and songwriter Onna Lou. Onna Lou is from Buenos Aires, Argentina and her music has flares of Latin American rhythms including Argentine folklore, flamenco, tango and jazz. Onna Lou has a degree in Contemporary Writing and Production from Berklee College of Music and another in Classical Music Composition from Universidad Católica Argentina in Buenos Aires.
She has worked with Latin Grammy winner Javier Limón and performed at the 2013 Latin Grammy Awards with Alejandro Sanz. Then she met and performed with internationally acclaimed Spanish singer and songwriter Rosana at her New York show during her USA tour.
New shelter manager at The Pas and Area Animal Shelter
The Pas and Area Animal Shelter has a new shelter manager working to keep things going and helping pets to find their forever home. A current volunteer has taken her love of animals and stepped up to fill the role last month.
“I was actively doing the role in summer with the summer students as a temporary position and enjoyed it immensely,” said The Pas and Area Animal Shelter Manager Tina Donaldson. “The shelter cannot run on volunteers alone and we unfortunately had no one apply when advertised to do the managerial position.
The travelling philosopher stops in The Pas to talk about life
The art of conversation seems to be getting lost the more we use technology. It’s not very often that people have the chance to engage in a deep and meaningful conversation about what they think about life. A couple weeks ago, La Philomobile Philosopher Dominique Poulin stopped in the community to have random philosophical chats with people about whatever they wanted to talk about.
Poulin comes from Quebec and was on her way to Lethbridge, AB, and during her travels, she was stopping in various communities along the way and having conversations with people from the area.
“I love to travel, explore and observe, but mostly it’s because, like Simone Weil, I believe that there is only one reason for all humanity, and we become strangers and impenetrable to each other when we stray from it,” said Dominique Poulin. “Plus, in this age of polarization and isolation, there is such a need for public places where we can listen and learn from each other face to face.”
Returning to Pow Wow Pitch
Pow Wow Pitch has been supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs since 2021 and has recently had their 2024 finalists complete their final pitch for the competition. Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) member Simon Monteith, known as Simon the Scientist, has made his way back into the Pow Wow Pitch circle.
“I pitched the same concept as I have in the past few years, but this time, some of my goals are different,” said Monteith. “I would like to focus more on in-person events rather than online.”
Monteith has had a busy year so far, with big plans ahead for the future. He has focused a lot more on attending events in person and expanding his presentations and teachings in science.
Letting art convey a feeling to a certain place and time
Local artist Frances Cooper is connecting with art lovers with her latest exhibition, Convey, at the Sam Waller Museum. Cooper’s vision of land comes to life through a series of handcrafted, environmentally friendly pieces.
“My work experience does lead into my art practice in the sense that a lot of stuff that I have seen was a result of things I stumbled upon through work,” said Cooper. “It was a gift and I didn’t know all of it at that time. Nature repeats all of these patterns and you can see these patterns in visuals such as rocks, water, sky tree rings and under microscopes. Depending on your viewpoint, you can see them on a broader scale when you get on the landscapes. This influences my work quite a bit.
Honouring Indigenous women
The Pas Guest List unveiled another mural just before the National MMIWG2S+ Day, and this one reflects Indigenous women who were taken from the community, their families and friends.
“The theme of this mural is to commemorate the MMIWG2S+ within our community and at large,” said The Pas Guest List Director Gabrielle Swan. “When I first moved to The Pas two years ago, it quickly became clear that this something that touches every Indigenous family and the fact that I didn't really understand that until relocating here troubled me.
“I became good friends with Gloria Ballantyne-Packo after we collaborated on a Vintage Store and Coffee Shop pop-up two years ago. That pop-up event was a fundraiser for KB Memorial, an organization dedicated to raising awareness for MMIWG2+. Seeing the work that Gloria and her family put into keeping Kendara's memory alive, advocating for her after her death to ensure the RCMP handled things properly, working tirelessly to find anyone with information that would bring her killer to justice, and supporting other families in our community who are suffering from the same types of loss was inspiring. The Pas Guest List knew that we wanted to find a way to honour all of those who are impacted by MMIWG2+, and when we had the opportunity to bring Jackie Traverse to the community, we knew she was the person to take on a project of this magnitude.”
TPAHD to close its doors and programs
An organization to help people with disabilities that was formed by some volunteers in the mid 1980s has made the difficult decision to close its doors in the community. The Pas Association for Human Development has been struggling for some time with operating expenses without any solutions in sight.
“There has been an accumulating deficit that has been snowballing since the pandemic,” said TPAHD Executive Director Cathy Lipscomb. “This wasn’t an easy or haste decision to make and this decision didn’t happen overnight.
“TPAHD board of directors have explored every possible option to alleviate the deficit but to little or no avail. They reached out to all levels of government for assistance, numerous service clubs, our financial institution, citizens of The Pas and the surrounding area.
Unveiling a third mural
The Pas Guest List has been diligently working towards creating a culture-rich environment by having murals painted along the walking path in the community. This time, The Pas Guest List partnered up with Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute to allow local artists to have their work represented in the community.
“We worked with Jill Perchulak, the MBCI art teacher, to select eight students for this project who she felt went above and beyond when it came to their art studies,” said The Pas Guest List Director Gabrielle Swan. “These students not only had the artistic talent but also the dedication and perseverance to see such a large-scale project through.
Cougar sighting in Porcupine Mountains
Cougar sightings are becoming more popular in the Duck and Porcupine Mountains in the last ten years. Thanks to technology and the use of trail cameras, the evidence is now more apparent. An avid hunter from The Pas recently caught footage of a cougar on his trail camera near the Porcupine Mountains.
“I have my cameras set up in the Porcupine Mountains, north of Bowsman,” said Jeremie Gregoire. “It’s a hunting spot that I have access to. This is the second cougar I have seen on my trail camera. The first one was from about five years ago, but I couldn’t make it out 100 percent to make sure, but this one is much clearer. The first spotting was about five miles from where this camera was set up.