Gwen Hanke has been involved in the Ukrainian Dance Community for over 35 years. Demonstrating a sincere dedication to the evolving art of Ukrainian Dance, Gwen is not only enthusiastic but ambitious in her committed approach to delivering quality instruction to young and old alike.

Gwen began her Ukrainian Dance Training at the age of three and later began studying the discipline of ballet at the Marwood Dance Studio to complement her dance training. At the age of 14, she joined the Dnipro Ensemble, traveling to Australia, Hawaii, and the Philipines. She then attended the dance program at Grant MacEwan College in 1980, where she augmented her dance skills with studies in ballet, jazz, modern, and character dance. David Adams, Brian Webb, Charlene Tarvener and Gail Leonard were among her teachers at Grant MacEwan. Gwen then joined the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, where she performed for 8 years and served on both the executive and artistic committee.

Gwen is dedicated to her craft and is continually upgrading her knowledge and skill through the many regional dance workshops she attends. In addition to twice attending the well known Ukrainian Dance Workshop in Glen Spey, New York, under the direction of Roma Prima, other workshop instructors have included Lusia Pavylchenko, Mykola Kanevets, Serhij Koroliuk, Bohdan Tkachyshyn, and John Pichlyk. Gwen began to share her expertise and enthusiasm in 1990 by teaching several dance camps sponsored by the Alberta Ukrainian Dance Association, continuing with those to date. She has held instructor positions with the Shumka School of Dance (1989-1990), Gibbons Vaselli Dancers (1992-1993)and the Veeteretz School of Ukrainian Dance Association (1978-Present). She is currently the Artistic Director of the Veeteretz Dancers and Gwen has been awarded the prestigious Don Chomlak Ukrainian Dance Choreography Award three times from the Vegreville Ukrainian Pysanka Festival. She adjudicated the Southern Alberta Ukrainian Dance Festival in 1997, Hafford Dance Festival in 2000, Peace River Festival in 2001, Vermillion Ukrainian Dance Festival in 2002, and Vegreville Ukrainian Pysanka Festival in 2003.