Tawni Cherepuschak
Tawni Cherepuschak began dancing at nine years old with the Nipawin Veselii Dancers. Born and raised in Nipawin, SK, she was an active participant in the Ukrainian dance group, both as a participant and assistant instructor throughout the years. Prior to moving to Saskatoon in 2011, she also participated in both hip-hop and ballet through the Nipawin School of Dance.
In the fall of 2011, Tawni began performing with Yevshan Ukrainian Folk Ballet Ensemble under the artistic direction of Vitali Sorokotaguine. One of her most memorable experiences performing with Yevshan includes touring Ukraine in the summer of 2012.
In the fall of 2013, Tawni joined Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble and began performing under the artistic direction of Serhij Koroluik. Her most memorable performing experiences to date with PFE was headlining at Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin, MB in 2015 and touring Argentina and Brazil in the summer of 2022.
Tawni holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering as well as a Bachelor of Education and is currently a substitute teacher with the school divisions in and around Saskatoon. She is also certified in the Rodovid Beginner and Junior curriculums, as well as Shumka Syllabus of Ukrainian Dance Tiers 1 and 2, and has over 15 years of dance instruction experience.
Tawni is looking forward to continuing to share her love and passion for Ukrainian dance with the next generation of dancers in Prince Albert.
Natalya Schevchuk
Beginning her formal training at age four, Natalya began training in ballet, tap, jazz and Ukrainian dance in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. During her training she studied RAD ballet as well as CDTA tap. Ukrainian culture has always been a prominent part of the Shevchuk household, nurturing her love for dance. Following in her father’s footsteps, Natalya joined the Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble (PFE) in 2014, becoming a full cast member in 2017. When she was 16, Natalya travelled to Ukraine for the first time to participate in the Virsky Spring Training program. Those two weeks inspired her to take her training to the next level. After graduating high school in 2017, Natalya toured with PFE to Eastern Europe, with the highlight of performing at the Lviv Opera House. 12 days after returning to Canada, Natalya was back in Ukraine, but this time for 10 months on the inaugural Ukrainian Dance World’s dance immersion program. Here is where her love of everything Ukrainian was able to thrive. She was fortunate to train alongside professional ensembles such as Virsky Studio, Lviv College of Arts and Culture, the Bukovyna and Poltava State Ensembles, and the Volyn State Choir.
Since returning back to Canada, Natalya has continued to share her love of Ukrainian dance with the next generation, by teaching at various dance schools across the province. For the past several years, Natalya has also been an assistant instructor with Rodovid Academy of Ukrainian Dance allowing her to connect with the most passionate dancers and learn from fellow instructors, continuing her dance education. Her newest endeavour has been becoming the first Canadian ambassador for Postmark Ukraine.
Professionally, Natalya is studying at the University of Saskatchewan with the hopes of becoming a physiotherapist.