35th annual prince albert barveenok dance festival April 11-13 2025

Information about the 2019 Festival (Last year)

About the 2019 Adjudicator

Murray Howell

For fifteen years, Murray was a member and guest artist of the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers. He served on the Artistic Committee for eight years and had the opportunity to be a guest choreographer. During his four international tours with Shumka, he performed alongside stars Shirley Jones, Robert Goulet, and Andrea Bocelli.  Murray also performed in four different dance productions under the artistic direction of Viktor Lytvynov, dancing alongside members from Shumka, Virsky, and the Kyiv Ballet.

He has taught at numerous dance schools and ensembles across Alberta, including the Viter Ukrainian Dancers. He has also choreographed and instructed many workshops and summer camps in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Quebec.  Murray was a co-creator and facilitator of the Ukrainian Dance Instructor Conference, which provided professional development to Ukrainian dance instructors across Canada.

Murray is in his eighteenth-year teaching Ukrainian dance and is the co-artistic director of the Vegreville Academy of Ukrainian Dance Association. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Ukrainian Folklore and Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta. Currently, Murray is in his eighth year as a Grade 6 Ukrainian-Bilingual school teacher.