DANCE FACULTY Message from the Dance Faculty Welcome to the Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance! Join us for our 2010/2011 dance season - our 49th! It promises to be an exciting season with the 11th Ukrainian Youth Festival held at the Living Arts Centre as one of the highlights. Yavir is scheduled to open the show! Preparing for the Festival will present many challenges, opportunities and enjoyable dancing experiences. I am confident that Yavir dancers will showcase their talent and school spirit. I look forward to working with you throughout the coming year and making our dance school even better with your hard work and commitment. Together with a strong and capable teaching staff, I will be creating, choreographing, and teaching new dances that will display the many talents within our school. It will be a challenging year, and I guarantee it will be an exciting one as we work together to proudly present the dances of our Ukrainian heritage. Let's Dance! Krista Samborsky, Artistic Director 2010/11 Dance Season Krista Samborsky Vibrant, adventurous and dedicated Krista’s love for dance began when she started attending Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance at the young age of four. Since then her passion has grown for all forms of dance. Outside of Yavir Krista has performed both jazz and lyrical dancing with St. Marcellus Community School. She represented the school at the Kiwanis Dance Festival and was awarded first place for three consecutive years. In a Dance Competition Showcase, Krista performed her much beloved lyrical solo, Music of the Night. Krista also attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts where is studied modern dance and ballet in greater detail. She participated in choreographic workshops and their year end production of Madame Butterfly. Krista continues to dance with the Yavir senior performing ensemble. She has also traveled to Ukraine twice with Yavir on the school’s 1999 and 2002 dance tours. Other performances with Yavir include participating eight times in the annual Youth Festival of Ukrainian Dance at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, the Community Folk arts Council Nations Builder Benefit Concert, Assembly Hall Opening, Caravan, and representing Yavir at Father Andrij Figol’s ordination in Montreal. Krista’s stage presence is remarkable. She is truly a passionate artist who captures her audience with her heart and embraces them with her smile. Krista is currently enrolled in York University’s Fine Arts Dance program and is completing a double major in psychology. She has technique classes in Russian, British Royal Academy and Italian Cecchetti ballet and attends classes in Graham and Limón modern technique. It is with great pleasure and privilege that Krista gets to study under some of Toronto’s best dancers and choreographers like Carol Anderson, Karen Bowes-Sewell, Donna Krasnow, Megan Andrews, Claire Wootten, and Terrill Maguire. Along with studying the history of dance and the art of putting on a production, Krista takes improvisation and conditioning classes for dancers. Krista’s long term goals are to study dance/movement therapy and complete her masters degree in dance therapy. Krista incorporates her extensive knowledge of dance into every one of the classes she teaches. She offers a challenging, interesting, and fast paced class for students aged 9-14. Krista loves to teach dance, especially Ukrainian dancing in the very dance school where she first learned to dance. “Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul’s weather to all who can read it.” Martha Graham Larissa Samborsky Enthusiastic, warm and cheerful Since the age of four Larissa has been a devoted dancer at the Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance. Larissa is entering her 20th year of dancing at Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance. Over those years Larissa’s passion and love for Ukrainian dance has flourished. As a member of the Dnipro Dance Ensemble, Larissa traveled to Ukraine for their 1999 dance tour. She took part in the International Festival of Folklore in Lachine, Quebec in the summer of 2000. In 2001 Larissa traveled with Dnipro to Zacatecas, Mexico to take part in the Sixth International Festival of Folklore. Throughout Larissa’s dance career she has performed at every Youth Festival of Ukrainian Dance. Larissa has performed for countless audiences, local and international. She performed for the International Olympic Committee, when Toronto was bidding for the 2008 Summer Games. Larissa’s enthusiasm is seen at every performance. Larissa continues to be a responsible, capable and enthusiastic member of Yavir Dance Ensemble. She has graduated for the University of Guelph Humber, with a Degree in Applied Health Sciences and a Diploma in Early Childhood. Her knowledge of child development enables her to engage the children in the physical activities of Ukrainian dance at the appropriate skill level. Larissa is a warm, genuine, friendly person which has made her an ideal instructor for our beginners and young dancers. Her kind and friendly manner towards the youngest dancers has made them feel comfortable in the school environment and enjoy dancing. At the same time, her strong technical skills and energy have allowed her to teach girls at the senior level. Her passion for dance is reflected in her teaching and is an inspiration for her students. Larissa is a dedicated, responsible and reliable instructor. These qualities have made Larissa one of the School’s most valuable senior instructors. And you can always count on Larissa for a smile. Yavir Instructors The Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance is made up of instructors with deep knowledge and experience in both Ukrainian dance as well as other dance forms. Each is following the Shumka Syllabus for Ukrainian Dance (SSUD), and has attended various dance workshops throughout North America. The instructors challenge their students to achieve a high standard of technical skills, understand the role of dance within Ukrainian culture, and develop long-lasting relationships based on the mutual love of dance. If you're interested in joining the Yavir team, please forward your resume and contact information to info@yavir.ca or call us at 416-243-3072. Our fax number is 416-249-5204 Privacy Policy l About the School l Contact Us © Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance 2004