Ukrainian culture is embedded in communities across the Lakeland, and during Malanka, they're celebrated far and wide.
Residents embraced Ukrainian heritage on Saturday, Jan. 20, during the Kryla Ukrainian Dancers presentation: Malanka.
Linda Boser, president of Kryla, understands the importance of keeping these age-old traditions alive.
“We have a large Ukrainian population in Bonnyville,” expressed Boser. “It teaches the kids that it's important to keep going. Some day, someone else will take-over the club and they will keep it going too.”
Malanka is the Ukrainian New Years. During the event, Kryla groups perform traditional Ukrainian dances, some with a bit of a twist.
This year, the club's senior group danced the boy's role in Blyska.
“That's very unorthodox because Ukrainians are very staunch in the rules they follow for Ukrainian dancing,” Boser said. “It's really stepping out of the box, because Ukrainian dance is very traditional and very cut and dry in terms of what you do and how you do it.”
Boser's daughter, Nika, dances in the senior group. She has been dancing with Kryla for over 13 years.
“I've been dancing since I was four, so it just feels right to do it,” Nika said.
Like her mother, Nika believes it's critical to keep traditions alive.
“I think it's important because folk and Ukrainian dancing are very different than all of the other dancing that you see,” she said. “There's so many different styles of Ukrainian dancing. It's not just the styles though, because the styles are based off of different regions and parts of Ukraine. I think that's a really great thing to keep alive here in Canada, not just in the Ukraine.”
Their next performance is coming up on May 5, where they will be presenting their spring show.
