The Greater Edmonton area has a high concentration of Canadians with Ukrainian ancestry. Possibly because of the political history of the Ukraine, the preservation of Ukrainian culture has always been a priority. The area has strong Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Greek Orthodox churches. Children can attend English/Ukrainian bilingual school from pre-school through grade 11. Attending Ukrainian Saturday school is also common. The University of Alberta boasts a strong department of Ukrainian Studies. The region also has several Ukrainian museums and heritage theme parks.
Dance has always been important component of Ukrainian culture, nurturing a demand for many area dance troupes. It is believed that the greater Edmonton area has more Ukrainian dancers per capita than the Ukraine. To maintain an exceptionally high caliber, there are many Ukrainian dance competitions held each year in Alberta and the surrounding provinces.
Koperoush represents a top tier of Ukrainian dance instruction offering with students ranging from 4 years old through adult. The three Koperoush instructors have been brought from Ukraine and are all dance and ballet masters trained in the Ukraine. Koperoush rehearses in professional studios and invests considerably in costuming. The result is consistent gold level competition results.
Koperoush performs dances from various regions around the Ukraine. Many different costumes are used to reflect the regional heritage of the dance. The touring group will be able to accommodate performances ranging from ½ hour to 1 hour in length. The touring group includes our more senior groups.
Koperoush School of Ukrainian Dance is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing exceptional dance programs in Ukrainian Dancing and Vaganova Ballet. Koperoush has been based in Sherwood Park, Alberta (a suburb of Edmonton, Alberta) for over 8 seasons.
