Former west-central resident receives recognition

By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

Tasha Orysiuk was the recent recipient of an award honouring her dedication and contribution to Canada’s Ukrainian Shumka Dancers in Edmonton. She is the Creative Director of the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, the only professional Ukrainian dance company in Canada.

Although Tasha resides in Edmonton, her roots are right here in the west-central area where she was introduced to dance. Tasha took her first dance lessons in Eston and then later at Hanson School of Dance in Kindersley. Tasha’s mother, Zoria Kanasevich, remembers the first day her daughter began dance lessons at the tender age of three years.

“She was so excited! The night before she was to start, she woke up at 5:00 in the morning because she didn’t want to be late. I told her she was only three years old and not to worry because dance lessons aren’t until later. She didn’t want to take a nap because she was afraid she wouldn’t wake up in time and miss her dance lesson,” Zoria recalls. “When she would visit her grandma, she would dance the whole time she was there.”

Tasha shared memories of her younger years. “As a teen, I started working very hard to improve my technique. My tap shoes were ripping up the kitchen floor, so my dad built me a stage in the garage so that I could practice. I would go out to the garage with a video camera, record myself dancing, watch it, critique it, make improvements, and do it again to see if it was better. I never wanted to miss a class, and if that meant driving through a blizzard, then I would do it!”

Tasha loved all types of dance, but it wasn’t until a teacher from Toronto moved to this area that she was able to take Ukrainian dancing. As a teen, she would help teach the younger students, and after high school, she went to Ontario, where she earned a certificate to be a qualified dance teacher.

“She went to Ukraine and took some Ukrainian dancing there, and she took some classes in London as well. She’s taught a lot of adjudication in Ukrainian, tap, ballet and jazz in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,” Zoria explained.

During Tasha’s formative years, Zoria and her husband Dennis drove Tasha to lessons in Eston and Kindersley. Dennis would joke about how many cars they wore out, taking her to dance. “When she was 16, we got her a car, and she would drive herself,” Zoria said. “It was all worth it in the end. Not very many kids end up having a career in dance, but for Tasha, it was serious business.”

That serious business blossomed into Tasha’s remarkable talent at choreography and dance creation within the culture of Shumka. She is the longest-serving instructor at the Shumka School, having joined the team over 25 years ago. She developed a classical ballet manual and created the school’s Pre-Beginner and Beginner programs.

Now she is the instructor for the Seniors Can Shumka and Silver Swans programs and contributor to the Whirlwind Dance Discovery field trips for elementary students.

“A couple of years ago, she went to Vegas to teach seniors dancing; it was more for exercise,” Zoria said. “She did it in person there, and once everything shut down, she did it on zoom.” Now she has dancers participating from all over the world.” Dancers participate from Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Boston, New York, Mexico and even Eatonia!

And Tash is dancing along with them. “I still love dancing! It doesn’t even seem like work some days. It’s just me having fun with dancers. Mind you; I make my dancers work!” Tasha said.

Tasha received her award on Saturday, April 10th, and because the ceremony took place virtually, her proud parents were able to watch and celebrate with her.

Photos submitted

Tasha (Kanasevich) Orysiuk

Seven-year-old, Tasha Kanasevich