It was a weekend filled with bright red lipstick, colourful dance costumes, and even some impressive acrobatics, as the Desna Ukrainian Dance Festival took place in town, welcoming about 10 clubs to participate in the event.
“We had a really high caliber (shown) from all dance clubs that came this year,” says the club’s president Tannis Baerg. She noted that at one point, the adjudicator who had come in from Saskatchewan to take part in the festival, took to the microphone to point out the high quality of dance that was being shown.
“He said he was blown away by the caliber of dance that he was seeing,” says Baerg. She added that it appeared that dancers were having full too, with “lots of smiles” seen over the weekend.
Hosting the festival helps promote and preserve the Ukrainian culture and heritage in St. Paul. The club has been hosting the event for 24 years.
“It was a fun-filled day, which went especially well because of our beautiful and enthusiastic dancers, all our wonderful volunteers, and the sunshine,” says organizer Christina Tchir.
The festival included about 500 dancers total.
And if a busy Saturday wasn’t enough, the club also hosted its year-end concert on Sunday afternoon. The parking lot at the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Cultural Centre was parked by 1 p.m., as friends and family took time to watch the impressive and energetic dance routines that dancers have been working on all season.
This year, the Desna dance club has 71 dancers. Baerg says it’s amazing to watch the improvements that take place over the course of the season, but also the improvements made by young dancers as they progress through the club over the years.
She noted that just a few years ago, there was a huge group of very young dancers, and many of those same dancers are still dancing, and developing, bringing impressive routines and excitement to the stage.
And while the dance season may be nearly wrapped up for now, the club is hosting an early registration night on May 28 at its studio, located in the building behind Smitty’s restaurant.
The event encourages current dancers to bring a friend to try out Ukrainian dancing, with a mini-class taking place and costumes on hand to try out too.
“Anyone is welcome to come, just to try it out,” says Baerg. The early registration day will take place from 1 to 3 p.m.
