There is no one favorite memory after all those years of teaching but I have moments that pop into my mind, like little movie clips, of the fun, the laughter, and the love that I felt for my students. Without question, teaching made me a better dancer … and a better person.

Perhaps the proudest moments were when students made it into Shumka and we danced together on stages across Canada and farther afield. For several years there were three generations – of teachers and students – on stage together. Helen and Dennis Elkow were my instructors before I made it into the company in 1972.

The opportunity to take Ukrainian dance lessons – and all that flowed from them – was the best gift my parents could have given me.