New Year’s Eve is behind us — most of us, anyway,
The Westlock Cultural Ukrainian Dance Society on the other hand is just gearing up for its big celebration, known as Malanka. The event, which will run Jan. 12 at Memorial Hall, will feature a Ukrainian buffet dinner, a dance performance and a silent auction.
Proceeds will go to the society, but president Charmaine Babiak warned that if people are interested, they ought to get their tickets early.
“We expect to sell out this year,” she said. “We’re at the Memorial Hall this year instead of the Community Hall, so it’s a smaller venue.”
Traditionally celebrated Jan. 13, Malanka represents the end of the year in the Julian Calendar and holds a big cultural significance in Ukrainian and Russian cultures. As such, it is a popular time to host Ukrainian dance performances in Alberta.
“This is the culture and this is the tradition, and they want to keep that going,” Babiak said.
Most of all, though, the event will be about getting together for some good food and dancing.
This year’s performance will feature the 30 dancers registered with the society, who Babiak said range in age from four to 77.
“We’ve been fairly steady at 30. Dancers have come and gone, but every year we seem to end up at that 30 mark.”
While the dancing style has obvious cultural connotations, Babiak said the club is open to people of all ethnic backgrounds, with the goal of just getting people out and dancing in a relaxed atmosphere.
“We try to keep our fees low, we have evening classes so no one has to miss school or work, and the fundraising is optional,” she said. “We’re not as rigid as some dance groups can be.”
This doesn’t mean the dancers don’t learn skills and learn them well. An optional competitive performance at a festival on Fort Saskatchewan each April has resulted in many podium finishes for the group.
This year, the group of dancers has also taken on a new name — the Westlock Vrozhay Dancers. Vrozhay is the Ukrainian word for harvest, chosen to represent the agricultural background of the Westlock area.
“A lot of dance clubs, the group has a name. We wanted to have a name to show that our dancers are who they are within our Ukrainian cultural society.”
Tickets are available at Fountain Tire for $30 per adult (12 and up), $20 for kids (5-11) and free for kids four and under.
