SHUMKA Shumka, which means whirlwind, presents full-length, dance theatre touring productions as well as intimate concert repertoire across Canada and around the world.  These productions marry traditional Ukrainian dance with classical and contemporary movement to create dramatic storylines which have become recognized as a unique art form. The company has proudly served as ambassadors of the City of Edmonton and the Province of Alberta as it entertained audiences in Japan, Hong Kong, Africa, the United States and to such dignitaries as Queen Elizabeth II.  Shumka marked another milestone with its historic tour to Ukraine and Russia in 1990, performing in the most prestigious opera and ballet houses.

Over its 43 year history, the company has produced and self-presented nine national tours of major cities in Canada.  In 2000, the company’s first full-length production Shumka’s Cinderella, was seen by over 30,000 patrons across Canada including the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and Toronto’s Hummingbird Centre.  Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe and Mail , hailed it as one of the best five dance performances seen in Toronto that year.

The company's Canadian and Pacific Northwestern Tour production,  Absolutely Shumka, took place in 1995 and 1996 and was sponsored by Royal Bank. An unprecedented success, this 18-city tour included sold out performances in seven cities including Toronto’s Hummingbird Centre.  Critics across the board have praised the company’s innovation, technique and originality – unique in the world.  Paula Citron of The Toronto Star said, "The Shumka Dancers know how to give an audience its money's worth, with true showmanship and imagination. Shumka is a national treasure."

Shumka’s productions have been extremely well attended and the company holds one of the highest box office figures for nationally touring dance productions in Canada placing it in the company of the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. 

The Company

Return of the Whirlwind, an award-winning performing arts documentary, captured the intensity of Shumka’s tour to Ukraine.  Featured as a prime time, Canada Day Special in 1991, this film boasts some of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's highest viewer numbers for this type of program, and has generated thousands of video sales world wide. Three film specials of Absolutely Shumka, Shumka’s 1995  production, have repeatedly been broadcast nationally on CBC and Bravo! since 1996. 

Since 1997, dancers from Shumka have participated in the December touring production of THE NUTCRACKER, a ballet fantasy.  In a unique, international pas de deux, artists of Shumka joined forces with Ukraine’s Kyiv Ballet of the National Opera of Ukraine to bring a sumptuous million dollar version of the Nutcracker to audiences throughout Eastern Canada and the United States. 

Through the years, Ukrainian dance, character dance, classical and contemporary movement and drama have all become integral parts of Shumka's unique art form... an art form which has grown “Out of ethnicity and into the world”.  As Deirdre Kelly of Toronto’s Globe and Mail wrote:
“The village is far behind the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers now.  With their outstanding production of Cinderella, the Edmonton company’s first full-length piece, they have pushed past the narrow, parochial boundaries of ethnic dance.  Their energized, $2 million remake of the fairy-tale classic is a megadance spectacle that promises to do for Ukrainian folk dance what Riverdance did for Irish stepping: Catapult it into the big time.”