Ukranian dancer makes leaps and bounds on stage

At 22 years of age, Andrew Wolchuk is leading a double life. During the day, he is a sprinkler fitter who goes from home to home, making sure people’s gardens stay green. But in the evening, he changes into a colourful Ukrainian costume and climbs up on stage to perform with the internationally-known Shumka Dancers.

Wolchuk began dancing at a very young age in Nipawin, where he grew up and where his family still lives.

“I’ve been doing Ukrainian dancing since I was three years old,” he confirmed. Wolchuk says he and his sisters grew up learning to dance. Then, opportunity came knocking at the door.

“I was dancing with Veselii Dancers in Nipawin, and I was at a workshop over the summer in my Grade 12 year,” he recalls, “and a couple of the dancers that were dancing there were Shumka dancers, and they told me to come and try out.”

Andrew Wolchuk performing with Shumka

So he did – first by setting up a meeting with the company’s artistic director, then attending a private audition. Now Wolchuk lives and works in Edmonton, where the dance company is based.

“It’s a part-time job,” he said. “We rehearse anywhere from 12 to 20 hours a week.”

Shumka Dance is doing its fall tour now, and will be performing in Prince Albert, North Battleford and Swift Current. Wolchuk is enthusiastic about the company’s show.

“It’s a great show,” he said. “Everyone come and check it out, because it really is something to see. The first time I saw it, it blew me away.”

The show comprises two parts, the young dancer explains, the first part being more traditional Ukrainian dance and the second part moving into a celebration of the circle of life, called the “Pathways to Hopak.”

According to Shumka’s website,“Pathways to Hopak” explores the twists and turns of life that lead us to this moment of celebration. It describes this part of the show as an emotional journey that guides its travellers through “life's universal cycle of birth, youthful playfulness and the search for love, the tragedy of conflict and the desire to wash clean our battlefields, and, ultimately, the opportunity to begin the cycle again.”

Wolchuk says it’s a very interactive show for the audience, with the crowd reaction adding a lot to the overall performance.

“It’s very exciting,” he said, “lots of tricks, storytelling.”

Although the time commitment required of a Shumka dancer is intense, Wolchuk says there’s no better feeling than performing for people on stage, and that he hopes to continue with it “as long as my body holds out!”

Shumka Dance is Canada’s only professional Ukrainian Dance group. Besides touring in Canada, the company has performed in the Ukraine, and recently spent seven weeks touring in China, an experience he said was exhausting, but in a good way.

“It was a fantastic experience,” Wolchuk said, “crazy busy, but incredibly worth it.”