By Tyler Marr

Barveenok Ukrainian Dance Club celebrates 40 years of tradition and friendship

May 6, 2018 | 12:28 PM

The smell of home-cooked pierogis, kielbasa and other traditional dishes filled the halls of St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Hall.

Dancers young and old milled about wearing a variety of richly coloured embroidered outfits. Friends and family shared a meal and greeted each other with smiles. Attendees then shuffled eagerly into an upper hall as dancers assembled downstairs.

Among the nearly one hundred-strong crowd seated beneath a Ukrainian flag tacked to the back of the room was Nellie Bachek, one of the founding members of the Barveenok Dancers. She was the first president of the Barveenok dance club in Prince Albert, a role she held for 16 years.

“It is wonderful, it really is wonderful,” she said when asked her thoughts on seeing the club strong and well almost a half-century on. “I am so glad we are still here. We have good organizers and good people looking after us.”

Formed in the mid-1970s, the Prince Albert Barveenok Ukrainian Dance Club officially became a club in 1978. It was started by a group of local parents who wanted to promote traditional Ukrainian dance and culture in the community. The club was celebrating its 40th anniversary Saturday.

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While not a dancer herself, Bachek’s daughter was drawn to the craft, in turn, drawing her mother into the fold. Her daughter went on to teach other children and was a pivotal instrument in building the troupe to its current status. Standing in a room full of children, Bachek said supporting youth and encouraging them to take up the craft and carry on history and tradition are fundamental to the dance club.

While dancing takes centre stage, Bachek said friendship and getting together with other regions are also central to gatherings such as these and are some her most fond memories with the club. When asked if she, in the 1980s,  envisioned the dance club being around 40 years later, there was no doubt in her mind.

“When I finished, I needed someone to take over that had new contacts and new visions,” she said. “It was good then and I have watched and it has really come a long way.”

Bachek recalled many fond memories, explaining how the first dance program was compiled with a typewriter and how the club used to handmake all their costumes. She also applauded the growing number of Ukrainian regions now represented in the art.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr