The St. Paul and District Ukrainian Dance Club officially has a place to call home, after the club cut the ribbon to open its new dance studio last Friday evening.
The work of volunteer efforts in renovating the space and the contributions of saw the club transform leased space at Westbrook Mall into two dance studios and a waiting room for parents, said club president Bev Chomlak. Volunteers started work in the last weekend of August, with the first dance classes of this season taking place on Oct. 1.
“It’s amazing,” Chomlak said, shaking her head with disbelief. With the help of contributions from the province of Alberta, the Town and County of St. Paul, and private donations, the club raised $28,000 of the total estimated renovation cost of about $31,000. “I never thought we’d get that close to that number.”
The club’s dance students were appreciative of the final product, noting that finally, they have one studio for all the students to use. Before, classes took place in various facilities in town, and practices would get changed as other events were scheduled at the locations.
“Now we have a place where we’re always coming,” said Ryan Galas, who’s been dancing with the club for 12 years. This means that students can talk to other students or instructors located down the hall, or deal with costume changes, or resolve any number of issues at one site itself rather than calling around or running around town , he said.
One additional feature of the new studios is the “actual dance floor,” he said, noting that the floor is specially designed with more spring to it.
Fellow dance student Amanda Galas pointed out that the students have danced on everything from linoleum, hardwood and even cement, depending on where practices took place. “When you’re not on a proper dance floor, it hurts your feet.”
“This stuff you can be more sure of your footing,” added Mickayla Chamberland.
The renovations came about with a “lot of effort,” said Chomlak, who notes there’s more to be done yet. For instance, the club is still looking to put the finishing touches on the waiting room and to add mirrors to the studios. “It’s still a work in progress, but we’ll get there.”
