Nova Kakhovka – Regina * Chaban Ukrainian Dance Association
Sofiia Baranovska shared her story as follows.
“I am from the especially beautiful and ever-blossoming city Nova Kakhovka, Kherson oblast (province) in the southern part of Ukraine. My hometown has been occupied since the first day of the Russian invasion. There is no way to know exactly whether our house is destroyed or not because the vivid and cozy town turned into an abandoned place with very few civilians. There are big problems connecting to Wi-Fi. Electrical, water and heat outages make comfortable living there impossible.
Nova Kakhovka is located on the left bank of the river Dnipro which has been a fighting line for a long time now. It was extremely scary to hear the roar of explosions, to feel the trembling of the house or ground after the numerous bombings or to hear, but not see military helicopters somewhere in the sky, so you do not know what to expect next.
The war interrupted our usual lives, my routine classes and plans for competitions and performing. I kept doing what I like the most – dancing, but in between the bombings and just in my room.
My mom and I were brave enough to leave our town on the 19th of March 2022 (only we could leave, my father must still stay there). It was extremely dangerous – my mother drove for 70 km on the occupied territory through Russian checkpoints to get to our relatives and then to drive to the Ukraine – Moldova border.
Eventually, on the 16th of May, I came to Canada and really appreciated Canadians for being so awesome, kind and altruistic!
To begin with, my mom happened to see an advertisement for a new dance season in the Chaban ensemble. Then, I met the president of our club, Shauna Dimond. She was very kind, caring and helpful. After my first practice with Oksana & Yurii I was really excited and inspired. To be honest, it was pretty challenging for me after that long break to start dancing again, but the girls who were dancing with me were supportive and helped me to overcome this obstacle. I am glad to come back to the stage and once more experience those unspeakable feelings while dancing and the positive energy from the audience.
In addition, I am happy to see how everyone supports Ukraine at every competition that I took part in – various posters or people in Ukrainian clothing warm my heart a lot.
My dancing in Chaban Ukrainian Dance Regina revealed my strengths, and improved my self-esteem and self-confidence. Moreover, it gave me a feeling that my life continues and I can enjoy it regardless of the fact that I am far away from my home, my friends. I appreciate the Shevchenko Foundation’s financial support which gave me such opportunities and made my life bright and full of happiness!” – Sofiia Baranovska
Photos by Yuliia Nosulich
Chaban Ukrainian Dancers