Translated into English, the word Zabava means: fun, entertainment or party. And those who attended the packed house for Yachminka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble’s annual celebration got exactly that.
Since the setback felt by Covid, the club has been growing continuously, growing with no sign of slowing down.
“Our club is growing,” Tyla Betke said. “We have 72 dancers this season from 3 years old to somewhere in their 40s.” Yachminka's instructors this year are Feron Lovas and Tyla Betke, and assistant instructors are senior dancers Bella Potter, Tatum Chuhai, and Ava Melnyk.
And, with their largest group being the Novice level with 20 dancers from kindergarten to grade two, the club is definitely going to grow.
The Zabava celebration featured a mini concert during which all age groups performed seven dances, including two new dances choreographed by club alumni David Fenton.
Of course with any celebration based on Ukraine, there must be very good traditional food.
“Our fundraising queen is Celina Nernberg,” Betka said. “She planned the event, along with Becky Flundra who handled the delicious food - sausage and a perogy bar with tons of toppings.”
After the entertainment and good old feed of perogies, the audience took to the floor filling it until the 1 am closing time to the sounds of High Profile who came here from Winnipeg.
With the highly successful event now over, the money raised will go toward club costs including competition entry fees and costume orders from Ukraine.
The club is now focusing on their competition season, including the Northwest Marquette Festival in Russell along with Ukrainian dance competitions in Regina, Yorkton, Brandon, and Winnipeg. Their local year-end concert will be held on Friday, April 24th.