Malanka marks 30 years for Troyanda dance club

By Toyin Obatusin - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on January 10, 2025.

The Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Club of Lethbridge is marking 30 years with its annual Malanka Ukrainian New Year on Jan. 18.
Artistic directors’ Dean Mackedenski and Anastasia Sereda started preparing choreography for the group last summer and started teaching it in September of 2024.
“A lot of the dances have different story lines, so we tell different folk tales in them,” said Mackedenski.
Mackedenski drives back and forth between Edmonton and Lethbridge to teach each class. He teaches Ukrainian dance workshops across Western Canada, and is an alumnus of both the Troyanda club and Calgary’s Tryzub Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. Mackendenski has been the Artistic Director for the ensemble of the Lethbridge Troyanda Ukrainian Dancers since 2010, but started instructing in 2007.
Sereda began dancing in a ballet program back in 1992, and is a graduate of the University of Lethbridge’s dance program. She is one of Troyanda’s founding members in 1994.
“A lot of dancers, especially these ones, have probably been training most of their lives, since they were three years old,” said Sereda.
The program will feature 10 dances in total, with a live performance from a Ukrainian band called Absolute, a silent auction, raffles, games and the traditional dance, Kolomeyka.
There will be authentic Ukrainian cuisine from Alberta-based businesses like Baba Kay’s Perogies and Stawinchy’s.
Tickets are available at troyanda.ca.

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