EDMONTON, Canada – It was a special performance for Emma Robertson, a senior dancer with St. Paul Desna Ukrainian Dance Club. For the first time, Robertson brought it to the stage of UFest – the biggest Ukrainian festival in western Canada that took place in Edmonton on May 24-25.
Clothed in white airy dresses, Robertson and her three fellow artists danced to Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ living through every second of the well-choreographed whirl in which every step felt like a whisper from the old country.
It was quite a challenge she confessed as the piece they had chosen, a Ukrainian translation of Cohen’s classic, was performed live for the first time ever that day. The emotion onstage as dancers and singers worked in unison for the first time ever, was palpable and left more than a few audience members in tears.
Robertson said her group was excited to perform, as they had been unable to participate in 2018 for UFest’s inaugural year.
St. Paul Desna Ukrainian Dancers perform at Edmonton’s UFest on May 25, 2019. (Photo Brad LaFoy)
“I have a passion for dancing and I always will,” Robertson told the Kyiv Post. “I love being on stage and entertaining people with the grace and beauty of Ukrainian dance.”
But the performance was bittersweet for the dancer as this is Robertson’s final year with the St. Paul Desna Ukrainian Dance club. After spending 13 years with the club, she hopes to move onto a professional group in the near future.
Connecting with Ukraine
St. Paul’s performance was just a tiny fraction of what UFest had to offer this year.
For the ears, there was an array of folk bands and solo tsymbaly performances featuring the Ukrainian version of the hammered dulcimer. For the taste buds, there were Ukrainian varenyky (commonly known as dumplings stuffed with potato and cheese), holubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls) and kovbasa (Ukrainian sausage). For the feet, there were performances to dance to by famous folk-dancing companies, including the Shumka School of Dance, the Viter and Volya (Wind and Liberty), Cheremosh and Dunai who returned to the UFest stage again after the festival’s kickoff last year.
Performers of UFest Ukrainian Festival pose for a picture in Edmonton’s Borden Park on May 25, 2019. (Photo Brad LaFoy)
The two-day family-friendly celebration, featuring 35 live performing groups including Ukrainian bands, choirs, dancers and soloists, attracted more than 51,000 attendees.
Olesia Markevych, the event’s volunteer coordinator, said this year the festival’s team worked hard to improve everyone’s experience.
“It was an honor to see how many of our volunteers, performers and vendors were excited to return again this year,” Markevych told the Kyiv Post.
Visitors could also relax and dance in a beer garden for both nights of the festival, explore a vendor village and try out different crafts while their children were entertained at the kid’s zone – a new addition this year.
Morning preparations for the festival were a little nerve-racking. One of the most common elements that event planners have to battle with is weather, and on the morning of the festival Edmonton was covered in storm clouds making organizers doubt the success of the event. However, the sun broke through mere minutes before the first performers hit the stage.
Markevych said they believed that was a good omen.
“It’s very hard to pick my favorite moment but I think it was standing backstage right before 5 p.m. on Friday, and the sun and blue sky came out after being cold and rainy all day. It was a good sign that it was going to be another awesome festival,” she said.
The community’s emotional, cultural and political ties to Ukraine are very strong, and for many performers UFest is a chance to celebrate Ukrainian culture that has thrived in Canada, said Lisa Dolinsky of Cheremosh dance group.
Visitors enjoy UFest performers in Edmonton’s Borden Park on May 25, 2019. (Photo Brad LaFoy)
UFest saw no shortage of visitors. Anastasiya Khoma, a native of Lviv, said the festival is very modern and dynamic in comparison to other Ukrainian festivals in Canada. It also kick-started the long festival season in the city of nearly one million where at least 93,000 Ukrainians live. Khoma, the recently appointed president of the Ukrainian Canadian Council in Edmonton, said she really enjoyed the two stages of the festival where the shows were ongoing.
“The festival has a great location, and because of the two stages there are no awkward moments between the performances. Also, the hosts were very professional and had a great sense of humor which is rare,” Khoma said.
For many, it was a chance to cure homesickness.
“With the abundance of Ukrainian dance, music, and food it felt like the festival was taking place in Ukraine rather than Canada,” said Iryna Stets, a native of Ternopil Oblast, who has been living in Edmonton since last year. “Another great thing is that people of all ages can enjoy the festival activities.”
