Yalenka Dancer’s Intermediate class, including instructor Sarah Fleck (far right), finishes a weekend class with Dance Director, Shane Gibson (centre)

 Prince George, B.C. –  Prince George may not be considered a ‘hot bed’ for Ukranian dancing – that’s a title that appears to be reserved for Saskatoon at this particular point in time – but the local Yalenka Dancers and their supporters definitely have a ‘hunger for knowledge’ that’s ensuring they thrive and prosper…

So says their Dance Director, Shane Gibson.  Gibson is based out of Edmonton – he is a former member of the esteemed Ukranian Shumka Dancers and is now an instructor at the Shumka School of Dance.  But four times per year, he spends the weekend in Prince George, working with Yalenka’s instructors and dancers.

Speaking at the Yalenka Community Hall, Gibson says his weekend workshops are to plan choreography for the local club, assist with planning classes for the year, and to monitor the progress of the dancers and instructors "to make sure things are on-track and going according to plan."

While Gibson assists dance clubs in other communities in a similar capacity, he says, "I do enjoy working with this club in particular because the membership – right from the dancers, to the parents, to the people on the cultural side – they’re very supportive, they’re very passionate about it."

"It’s fun to work with people who really, really believe in what they’re doing and are willing to put in the work necessary to make sure this happens," he says.  "So it makes it more enjoyable for me to come and work with people like that – who are hungry for information, hungry for the knowledge."

The Dance Director points out that Yalenka has newer instructors for many of the classes and adds it can be a daunting task to teach technical folk dance to children.  "It’s sort of ‘baptism by fire’," he says, "There’s not a ‘Ukranian Dance University’, so it’s all very based on tradition and what’s been done in the past and what they (the Yalenka instructors) have learned themselves."

Gibson says his role is to expose them to new teaching methods, provide some structure to their classes, and teach them about the ethnography of Ukranian dancing, so they can tailor their classes to the specific age group they’re teaching. 

Photo at right shows Gibson giving some pointers to 10-year-old Brenna Jacobson in the intermediate workshop.  (click on photo for video clip)

A number of the local instructors have been attending dance instructor conferences that Gibson has been running for the past three years in Edmonton.  At the last conference, there were 40 instructors from BC through to Ontario in attendance.  Gibson admits there are ebbs and flows in the popularity of Ukranian dancing, particularly in clubs that are smaller or in rural areas.  "A lot of it depends on access to instruction and how inspirational it is, and the leadership of their club is – that plays a big part in it."

The Yalenka Ukranian Dancers Society was established in Prince George in 1975 by a group of dedicated parents.  Malenka – the club’s dinner and performance celebrating Ukranian New Year in January – continues to be a sell-out every year.