No matter where they go in their lives, Swan River connections stay strong in the Ukrainian Dance world. Alexis Denischuk with Vohon (Edmonton), Olivia Chmelowski with Zabutnyy (Regina), Myley Brunel with Zirka (Dauphin) and McKayla Hnatiuk with Bratsva (Dauphin) were all on the big stage at Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin from Aug. 4-6.
McKayka Hnatiuk
McKayla has been dancing with Bratsva in Dauphin for eight years. She is the daughter of Jason Hnatiuk as well as Sylvia Hnatiuk’s grandaughter.
She received four gold medals for her solo dances at different competitions and this year her dancing group was chosen from the talent competitions to perform at the grandstand on the final night of the festival.
Myley Brunel
Myley attended her first Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival as a spectator with a family friend, the summer of 2014 and fell in love with the costumes, especially the red boots and floral Vinoks, so in that fall, her parents Robert and Erin Brunel (nee Immerkar), registered her with Zirka and she has loved Ukrainian dancing ever since. Myley is the grandaughter of Evelyn Immerkar of Swan River.
Myley started dancing in Grade 2 in 2014.
Myley competed in competitions in Brandon, Yorkton, Regina and Dauphin.
She received most outstanding effort award with Zirka in 2014-2015 dance year and the Dedication Award in 2022-23 in memory of Chris Perih.
Presently Myley and her group are preparing to perform in Disney World, both on stage at Epcot and during the Disney evening parades in 2024.
Myley loves the opportunity to meet with her dance group at practices and enjoys meeting other dancers.
She is now old enough to wear the red boots that she fell in love with all those years ago.
Sara Synk
Sara is the daughter of Niomi (nee Hrappstead) and Joe Synk (former RBC Bank manager in Swan River).
Sara started dancing at the age of three with the Dolyna Dancers in Swan River.
She continued dancing, joining Troyanda Ukrainian dance group when she moved to Brandon, where she attended high school and her first year at Brandon university.
Since then she has moved to Regina to join Zabutnyy Dance Company as she finishes her education at the University of Regina.
During the Ukrainian dance festival Sara joined Alexis Denischukdancing the hopak.
Sara’s father also taught Ukrainian dancing in Swan River.
Sara enjoyed travelling to places in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to dance and still continues to love the art of dance.
Alexis Denischuk
Alexis started dancing with the Swan River Dolyna Dancers and continued on until graduating from high school.
From there she went on to continue her education at the University of Regina and danced with the Zabutnyy Dance Company for 3.5 years. The highlight of these years was travelling to Ukraine to dance at numerous dance festivals and workshops. Dancing in the famous Opera house in Lviv, Ukraine, was an amazing experience for Alexis.
Upon graduation she moved to Edmonton where she successfully auditioned for the Vohon Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. She was honoured to dance at the 50th Vegreville Pysanka Festival. She also performed in Portugal’s International Dance Festival with the Vohon dancers where she shared the stage with multiple countries.
The National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin was where she was reacquainted with Myley, Olivia and Sara.
It was an honour to Alexis to return to her home roots and experience dancing on stage in her home province alongside so many talented dancers. Alexis is very grateful for the lifelong friendships she has made during her Ukrainian dance career.
Olivia Chmelowski
Olivia started dancing at the age of three and never looked back as she absolutely loved it from the get-go.
Throughout her years as a Dolyna Dancer, she was privileged to have incredible and dedicated instructors: AnnaLee Fuhr-Parnetta, Joe Synk, Becca and Jen Guay and Maks Zabutnyy (the latter three drove out from Regina weekly to teach them), Kelsa Unruh, and finally Amanda Yaschyshyn were all instrumental in fostering her love of dance and in her eagerness to give back, she also helped out with the instruction of the younger students in her last few years with Dolyna.
As she made her way to Regina for university, the pandemic was still in full swing, so there was no dance to pursue. By the time it was over, Olivia had fallen into a comfortable school/work routine but missed dancing, so returned to the familiar world of Ukrainian dance when she joined Regina’s Zabutnyy Dance Company. They practice twice per week and she’s had the opportunity to perform at many events in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, most recently Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin. When asked what she enjoys the most about dance, Olivia says she obviously loves the actual dancing, but the best part is the friendships she’s formed along the way.