It’s spring, which means it’s Ukrainian dance festival season! In this episode, we chat with Vanessa Wiebe, Festival Coordinator for the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Festival, which is celebrating its 39th event this year in its home of Edmonton. We talk about how the festival has evolved since its start, the importance of dance festivals to young dancers, instructors/choreographers, and the Ukrainian community in general, and the impact of celebrating Ukrainian culture through dance.

What Else You’ll Hear

- Vanessa’s, Hannah’s, and Kaitlin’s favourite festival moments

- The landscape of Ukrainian dance in Canada

- How dance festivals can continue to shift and evolve

- What it takes to run a successful Ukrainian dance festival

Resources

- Follow the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Festival on Facebook and Instagram.

Music

- Thank you to Joryj Kłoc for letting us use “Poltavśkyj Sotnyk” as Vsi’s theme song