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Dunai School of Ukrainian Dance Instructors

Natalia Iwaszko-Soto

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With over 30 years of Ukrainian dance experience, Natalia’s very first dance lessons began at the Verkhovyna Dance School. The Verkhovyna Ensemble and CYM has been a major part of her life. Natalia was a member of Dunai Ukrainian Dancers for 15 years where she performed and toured with the group throughout the world across North and South America, Europe and Costa Rica. With the Verkhovyna Ensemble she took part on the 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 anniversary tours. On the 2019, Georgia and Ukraine tour, Natalia took on the role as assistant to the Artistic Directorof Dunai and co-directed the tour show. Her training in Ukrainian Dance consists of a wide variety of local and international instructors. She has training in the Shumka Dance Syllabus Academy and has attended workshops in Tier 1 - Syllabus for Ukrainian Dance.

Natalia began teaching at Verkhovyna Dance School in 2009. She has had the pleasure of getting to know all the dancers in the school and has seen their progression and growth over the years. She has traveled with the school to many competitions and various dance performance venues including Disneyland in 2016 and 2018. In 2014 and 2015, she was recognized for her hard work and dedication, and was nominated by her students for “Ukrainian Dance Instructor of the Year” by Ukrainian Dance World. Throughout her dance career, Natalia’s passion for dance and music continues to grow and is driven to learn a variety of dance. 2016-2018 she competitively salsa danced and placed 2nd and 3rd in small teams amateur and open divisions, at the World Salsa Summit in Miami, Florida. Natalia is always looking for new and innovative ways to make dance and choreography fun to all the students. She is very excited for the new dance season and is looking forward to sharing her passion for dance with returning and new students to the school. Her expertise and enthusiasm for dance are a great addition to the instructional team. 

Loren Winnick

Loren has been instructing with the Verkhovyna Dance School since 2009. He has been developing and mentoring dancers of all age levels over the past 15 years with the dance school and loves to see the growth with each individual student. Loren has traveled with the dance school on numerous out of town school trips for competitions, various dance performances and tours. In 2023, Loren started instructing the Dunai Ukrainian Dancers, and travelled with Dunai on their tour of Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro in 2024.

Previously he was a member of the Volya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble from 2009-2023 where he has performed in Turkey, Portugal, France, Great Britain, Greece, Colombia and Croatia. Preceding Volya, he danced for nine years with Kupalo Ukrainian Dance Ensemble where he performed throughout Canada, Western U.S.A., Ireland, Ukraine and Scotland. 

With over 30 years of Ukrainian dance experience, Loren is extremely excited to be back again to share his knowledge and passion of Ukrainian dancing with the students.

Natasha Krupenko

Natasha Krupenko’s Ukrainian dance journey began at the age of four with the Verkhovyna Dance School. After 14 years of training with the school, Natasha auditioned and became a member of the Dunai Ukrainian Dancers. She is now in her eighth year with Dunai where her love of Ukrainian dance and culture continues to grow. 

Natasha has had the opportunity to immerse herself in the rich cultural tapestry of Ukrainian dance by traveling extensively. Her performances and workshops have taken her around the world to locations such as Dauphin, Disneyland, Ukraine, Georgia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia, each experience enriching her dance repertoire. 

Natasha has a strong commitment to nurturing the next generation of dancers and is excited to continue to share her blend of experience, cultural exposure, and passion for dance with the dancers!

Mackenzie Hammer

Mackenzie Hammer started his dance career in Saskatchewan, dancing with the Lloydminster Malanka Dancers from the age of 7. Beginning at 12, Mackenzie acted as assistant instructors for all age groups with Malanka, and began instructing with the Rodyna Ukrainian Dancers at 16. After graduating highschool Mackenzie traveled to Ukraine for 10 months through Cobblestone Freeways “A Year in Ukraine” program. During this time he studied classical and Ukrainian folk dance with the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, the Lviv College of Culture and Arts, Ensemble Yunist, the Volyn State Ensemble, the Bukovyna State Ensemble, and the Poltava State Ensemble. Upon returning to Canada, Mackenzie continued instructing the Rodyna Ukrainian Dancers and began teaching at the Verkhovyna School of Ukrainian Dance in 2021. Mackenzie graduated with a Bachelors of Secondary Education in May of 2023.

Katelyn Mos

Katelyn Mos’ dance journey began at the age of three with the Ardrossan Yatran Dancers. After 13 years of training, Katelyn auditioned for the Dunai Ukrainian dancers and was a part of the ensemble for 5 years. Currently, Katelyn is a part of the Volya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble under the direction of Zhenia Bahri. With all of this training, this is where Katelyn’s love for Ukrainian dance and her Ukrainian culture thrive. 

Katelyn’s love for Ukrainian dance has brought her incredible opportunities to travel the world and show her love for her culture. As a member of Dunai, she has performed at different festivals such as Ufest and Vegreville Pysanka festival and has also travelled to and performed in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Moments like these are highlights for Katelyn as she is spreading the beauty of Ukrainian culture around the world.

Katelyn is excited to work with and teach the up and coming generation of Ukrainian dancers. She believes that Ukrainian dance is a vital part of our heritage and culture. She loved her time in Dunai and is excited to continue to share her love and passion of Ukrainian dance with the Dunai school of Ukrainian Dance.

Jaxon and Bennett Davidge

Jaxon and Bennett Davidge began their Ukrainian dance training with the Verkhovyna School of Ukrainian Dance at the age of seven. Since that time, they have worked to improve their technique and become more involved within the ensemble. 

The brothers have continued their training with the newly named Dunai School of Ukrainian Dance under the instruction of Loren Winnick and Natalia Iwaszko-Soto, performing at many festivals across western Canada both within their class and with their duet. Recently, they joined the Dunai Ukrainian Dancers’ bridging program in order to further both their training and involvement within the ensemble. 

Over the past three years, Jaxon and Bennett have student taught the three to five year old age group and are excited to take on a more active role within the instruction team.