Head Instructors

Victoria Benevides Victoria started dancing when she was 4 years old and has admired the art of Ukrainian dance ever since. She loves everything that dancing has to offer; culture, tradition, and a whole lot of fun. Victoria is grateful for the community that Zorya has created and looks forward to helping it grow. She is excited to lead the Senior Ensemble and is confident that culture, tradition, and fun will shine through when they hit the stage.
Evan Chony Evan started dancing with the Zorya Ukrainian Dance Association as early as he could, 4 years old. Since then, Evan has not stopped and even started teaching as soon as he could at age 15. Now age 21, Evan brings 17 years of dance experience and 7 years of teaching experience to his classes. Evan’s love for Ukrainian dance and the Ukrainian culture brought him to Ukraine in 2019 with the Zorya Ukrainian Dance Dancers, plus many opportunities to be part of performances and festivals in several locations in both the United States and Canada. Evan has taught many age levels within Zorya including Beginners, Juniors, Seniors, and Boy’s Technique and continues to teach as often as he can. Evan takes pride in teaching young dancers and loves prepping them for their future with the dance group for many years to come. As an instructor with the Zorya’s Senior Ensemble, it is an opportunity to work with his peers to ensure that the Zorya Ukrainian Dancers continue to maintain their heritage and provide dynamic Ukrainian dancing for their audiences.
Kevin Chony Over 40 years of Ukrainian dance, experience has instilled in Kevin a tremendous enthusiasm for his culture and a desire to keep that heritage alive through dance. Kevin has danced with the Vesnyanka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Zahrava Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and the Zorya Ukrainian Dance Association. He is one of Zorya’s founding members. During his years of Ukrainian dance experience he has studied under the choreography of Keenan Hohol, Father Richard Hladio, Andrej Baczynskyj, Serhij Koroliuk, Yuri and Kateryna Ostapyk of Ottawa, Nikolai Zhukovin of New York, Yuri and Luba Grekov of Toronto, Jenya Bahri from Edmonton, Tom Mokrey of Winnipeg, Bryan Pitchko of Calgary and Dean Mackedenski of Edmonton. On a tour of Ukraine, Kevin took part in a workshop with Galitchinia of Lviv and performed in Ivano Frankivsk for the anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence Day in 1994 and again in Kyiv in 2019. His years of dancing date back to performing at the 1981 Canada Summer Games in Thunder Bay. Kevin has performed on tour in Arizona, Nebraska, the British Isles, Dallas and Galveston Texas, Vancouver and Victoria B.C, and Toronto ON; these locations are in addition to performances at cultural events in Canada and the United States. His most recent Ukrainian Festival performance was September 2023 at the Ukrainian Heritage Festival in Minneapolis MN. So that others may share in his enthusiasm, Kevin’s love of music and dance has encouraged him to pass his knowledge on to others. Kevin has taught all age levels. This year he is Head Instructor for Zorya’s Beginner Class.
Stephanie Gratton Stephanie’s passion for Ukrainian dance started at age seven when she joined the Vesnaynka Ukrainian Dancers. She joined the Zorya dancers at age 10 during Zorya’s first year as a school, and has been with them ever since. During her 25 years of involvement with Ukrainian dance, Stephanie has had the opportunity to perform in cities throughout Ontario, Manitoba, Minnesota, and Texas. She also had the opportunity to tour Ukraine with Zorya in 2019, a trip she deeply cherishes. She has been an instructor with Zorya since age 16 and has taught all age levels. Stephanie also has had the pleasure of being one of the Senior Instructors for the Ensemble. Currently she is Head Instructor for the Pre-Senior Class. Stephanie’s experience and love for teaching had also led her to become a Teacher Coordinator for Zorya, for many years, imparting her knowledge onto new and upcoming instructors. She also had the opportunity to be a guest choreographer with the Dryden Desna dancers. Stephanie enjoys seeing dancers progress and their love of dance grow. She strives to keep the Ukrainian tradition alive by passing on her knowledge and passion for dance to others, whenever the opportunity arises.
Natalia Hibbert In 1966, in the city of Fort William, a Ukrainian dance group, by the name of Vesnyanka, was formed. Natalia was one of the dancers that first year. She continued to learn and perform dances from many regions of Ukraine, travelling with the group throughout Northwestern Ontario and competing against other groups in Winnipeg and Dauphin. One of the highlights was performing for Queen Elizabeth II, at City Hall, in 1973. When post-secondary education took Natalia to Paris, France, she not only continued to participate in Ukrainian dancing, but also helped instruct the group. Upon her return to Thunder Bay, she was asked to teach the group that had first introduced her to Ukrainian dancing. It was at that time she met and taught a few of the current Senior dancers. Knowing that she helped plant the seed for the love of Ukrainian dance, that has continued to grow in these dancers, and to now see their children dancing brings her so much joy. Having a family took Natalia away from dancing for a few years but she was happy to join Zorya as an instructor of the Adult Class, shortly after Zorya was formed. Natalia passed on her love of Ukrainian dancing not only to her own children but now to her three grandchildren who dance in Winnipeg and Toronto. She is proud to share an important part of her culture and heritage with other adults who continue to feel the rhythm of dance in their hearts, no matter their age.
Olivia Holland Olivia was happily welcomed into the Zorya family at the age of 4 years old. The vibrant colours and the upbeat traditional music caught her attention the moment she watched Ukrainian Dancing for the first time. Olivia grew up in a very musical household where she would sing and dance to her hearts content. When Olivia danced for the first time the rhythm ran through her veins. Although she is not Ukrainian, her love and dedication to dance would become a lifelong passion. She continues to learn new dances and techniques with the Zorya Ensemble, and enjoys teaching the next generation of dancers. Olivia has been teaching with Zorya for the past 2 years; she has instructed the Beginners, Juniors, Intermediates, and the Girl’s Technique classes. Currently, Olivia is the head instructor for the Intermediate Class and is also an Assistant Instructor for the Senior Ensemble. Dancing has helped Olivia through many hard times in her life and has helped her in finding her identity. Dance has played a huge role in shaping her into the woman she is today. Olivia feels at home at dance and is proud to be a Zorya Ukrainian Dancer.
Olivia Carlos Olivia has been dancing for 12 years, spending 10 amazing years with her Zorya family. She can recall her very first year at Zorya as a tiny Junior dancer, watching the Seniors paint the stage in vibrant colours with their gorgeous vinoks and breathtaking costumes. Since her very first recital, Olivia knew dance was something she wanted to keep close to her heart. As the years went by, Olivia’s passion for dance inspired her to take on the role of Assistant Instructor for the Junior Class and has now moved up to Head instructing the Juniors. Olivia believes that Ukrainian dance has definitely taught her more about her Ukrainian roots, and has shaped her into the young woman she is today. She is proud to be sharing her culture with younger dancers and giving them the opportunity to develop a passion for dancing. Olivia is currently entering her first year at Lakehead University, aiming for a degree in Psychology. She knows that she wants to work with young children in her future career, thanks to her amazing and hilarious Juniors!

 

Assistant Instructors

Jordan Geils Jordan began dancing with Zorya when he was around 11 years old and immediately fell in love with dance. Every year prior to joining, Jordan looked forward to watching Zorya's Year-end Concert in May. Jordan has Ukrainian ancestry through his grandparents who continue to participate in many Ukrainian traditions. For years to come, Jordan will remember performing in Kyiv, Ukraine at the Independence Day Celebrations, in 2019. Having his parents and grandparents in the audience made the event even more special. Jordan is a member of Zorya’s Senior Ensemble and has been a Zorya Dance Instructor for the past 2 years. For both years he had been the Assistant Instructor for both the Intermediate and Boy’s Technique classes. Jordan feels a great amount of pride in being able to be a dancer and a dance instructor with the Zorya Ukrainian Dance Association.
Emilee Johnson From little red slippers, Emilee has been dancing since the age of 4 when her mom signed her up for Zorya’s Beginner class. She knew from when she was 4, she wanted to have "a big girl" head piece just like Marnie. Dancing up to Pre-Seniors she decided to take a few years off to focus on schooling, not knowing if she would ever get to go back. After realizing how much she missed it when attending one of the concerts she decided to re-join to get back to her culture and roots. After an unforgettable experience traveling to and performing in Ukraine on Independence Day back in 2019, she knew there was no quitting or turning back. Currently, Emilee is Assistant Instructor for Zorya’s Beginner Class. With her energy and dance experience, Emilee is anxious to pass along her knowledge to those who are just starting; providing them with someone to look up to, like she did at that age. Since coming back, she has not only gained friends but some new family in the group. Emilee now dances not only for herself but also for her grandfather, who will always be very near and dear to her heart; who, years ago under different circumstances, could have gone professional.
Natalie King Natalie started dancing at the age of 4 and fell in love with it right away. She spent many years learning and performing Tap, Jazz and Ballet. A long Hiatus in dance occurred during which she pursued higher education and then started a family. She discovered the Zoyra Ukrainian Dance Association when she was gifted tickets to their Year-end Concert. Natalie was impressed with the quality of the dancers on stage and signed her children up for dance lessons the following fall. Natalie joined Zorya as a dancer in the Adult Class, the following year. She is thrilled to have found an outlet for her love of dance and a place to dance as an older dancer. This year, she is in Zorya’s Senior Ensemble and an Assistant Instructor for the Adult Class. Natalie looks forward to welcoming dancers, of all ages, to discover Ukrainian dancing.
Dean Oikonen Dean is one of the founding members of the Zorya Ukrainian Dance Association in 1997, but he began dancing in 1979! You don’t have to be Ukrainian to participate in and enjoy Ukrainian dance. Dean is of Finnish descent but began dancing with a friend with the Vesnyanka Dance Ensemble and then Zahrava Dance Ensemble before he joined the Zorya Ukrainian Dancers. Though he has retired from dancing, he continues to share his 38 years of dance experience with the Ukrainian Dance community. During his years of Ukrainian dancing, he has studied under the choreography of Keenan Hohol, Andrej Baczynskyj, Yuri and Kateryna Ostapyk of Ottawa, Nikolai Zhukovin of New York, Yuri and Luba Grekov of Toronto, Jenya Bahri from Edmonton, and Bryan Pitchko of Calgary. He has enjoyed many years of performances in Thunder Bay and across Canada, the United States and Europe. Dean has taught at all levels of dance and is currently the Assistant Instructor of the Pre-Senior Class. Outside of dance, you can find Dean with his wife, three kids and two high-maintenance dogs.