ROYAL WINNIPEG BALLET REPERTOIRE 1 2 COVER: RWB COMPANY IN GISELLE, PHOTO COURTESY OF RWB ARCHIVES, LEFT: YOSHIKO KAMIKUSA, PHOTO BY SIMEON RUSNAK Royal Winnipeg Ballet A leading cultural institution, Royal Winnipeg Ballet has earned a national and international reputation for its impassioned artistry and technical virtuosity, and has received widespread critical acclaim for extraordinary performances of diverse classical and contemporary repertoires. Founded in 1939, Royal Winnipeg Ballet holds the distinction of being the first and only ballet company in North America to hold the “Royal” designation and is also one of the oldest ballet companies on the continent. In 1953, RWB received its royal title, the first granted under the reign of Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet first began to tour Canada in 1945; it completed its first American tour in 1954. In 1975, the RWB toured Israel and was the first Canadian ballet to visit the country. For its 70th anniversary, the RWB returned to Israel and was greeted by audiences in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa with resounding accolades. In 2014, RWB toured China as part of its 75th Anniversary Season. The RWB spends anywhere from five to 20 weeks a year on the road, performing in centres large and small. The RWB has performed in the United States, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and in every Canadian province. Over time, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet has expanded its repertoire to include bold, innovative new works that embody creative excellence and engage audiences in an ongoing commitment to the vitality of this unique art form. Ballets such as The Handmaid’s Tale based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, Dracula, Nutcracker, Moulin Rouge® –The Ballet and Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation are great examples of the fine balance between the classical traditions and the boldness of contemporary ballet, which in turn has given this ensemble of artists a unique style. Now after 77 years, the energy and exuberance of its versatile dancers are Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s enduring signature. RWB SCHOOL STUDENT, PHOTO BY STANISLAV BELYAEVSKY BY STANISLAV PHOTO RWB SCHOOL STUDENT, 4 Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Divison Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division is well known across the country and around the world for providing excellence in dance education. Founded in 1970 by celebrated teacher and former RWB Company Principal Dancer David Moroni C.M., O.M., D.Litt, (h.c.), the RWB School offers classical ballet training based on the Russian system along with a full program of study in complementary dance forms. Under the direction of Arlene Minkhorst since 2004, the RWB School has prepared thousands of dancers and dance teachers for meaningful employment in the profession. Alumni have gone on to exciting careers in all facets of the dance industry and currently make up 76% of the RWB Company and over half of the RWB School’s artistic faculty. Each year the RWB School travels the globe in search of talented dancers to join one of three full time programs: Ballet Academic (Ages 10+), Aspirant (Post-Secondary), and Teacher Training. Auditions are held in cities across Canada and in the United States and students who are unable to attend an audition may send in a video application accepted until May 1. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION VISIT RWB.ORG/SCHOOL 5 André Lewis | Artistic Director Approaching nearly 43 years with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, 22 of them as Artistic Director, André Lewis has spent most his career with Canada’s first professional dance company. A native of Gatineau, Québec, Lewis began his dance training in Ottawa before being accepted into the Professional Division of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in 1975. He joined the RWB Company in 1979 where he enjoyed an accomplished career as a dancer for over ten years. In 1996, Lewis was appointed Artistic Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. In 1998 Lewis commissioned Mark Godden’s blockbuster production Dracula and was instrumental in the 1999 creation of a new Nutcracker for the Company. In 2002, Lewis brought to Winnipeg the thrilling and passionate Carmina Burana by Mauricio Wainrot, and he presented a new version of The Sleeping Beauty. In 2003, he commissioned Godden to create The Magic Flute and in 2004 he brought in Val Caniparoli to create A Cinderella Story. Lewis commissioned choreographer and RWB alumnus Jorden Morris to create Peter Pan for the Company in 2006. For RWB’s 70th anniversary, Lewis commissioned Morris to create Moulin Rouge® – The Ballet. In 2011, Lewis commissioned Godden to create Svengali, an explosive look at the original master of mind control. In 2012, Lewis and John McFall co-commissioned Twyla Tharp’s The Princess & The Goblin, based on the children’s novel by George MacDonald. In 2013, Lewis commissioned another new creation in conjunction with choreographer Lila York. The full-length ballet The Handmaid’s Tale is a bold adaptation of the novel by Margaret Atwood. For RWB’s 75th season, Lewis commissioned Godden to create Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation representing the many stories, told and untold, of Indian Residential School Survivors and their families. This commissioned piece, which coincided with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, received national critical acclaim and is based on a story by Joseph Boyden. In 2017, the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada honoured Lewis for outstanding indigenous leadership for initiating Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation, alongside Tina Keeper and the late Elder Mary Richard. 7 ARGENTINA Manitoba Markham CURACAO Kyoto REPUBLIC OF Buenos Aires Brandon Mississauga Williamstad Matsudo CHINA Rosario Dauphin Nepean Nagoya Kaohsiung CYPRUS Flin Flon Niagara Falls Osaka Taichung ARUBA Nicosia Taipei Ornajestad Manitou Niagara-On-The-Lake Sapporo CZECHOSLOVAKIA The Pas North Bay Tokyo REPUBLIC OF AUSTRALIA Bratislava Thompson Oakville Yokohama SINGAPORE Adelaide Brno Virden Orillia Singapore Brisbane Kosice JAMAICA Winnipeg Oshawa Canberra Prague Kingston RUSSIA New Brunswick Ottawa Melbourne Moscow Owen Sound EGYPT LIECHTENSTEIN Bathurst St. Petersburg Sydney Schaan Campbellton Peterborough Alexandria SCOTLAND BERMUDA Edmundston Port Arthur Cairo MALAYSIA Glasgow Hamilton St. Catharines Kuala Lumpur Fredericton ENGLAND Edinburgh Sarnia BRAZIL Moncton Liverpool MEXICO Sault Ste. Marie Brazilia Sackville London Guadalajara SWITZERLAND Stratford Rio de Janeiro Saint John Guanajuato Lausanne FRANCE São Paulo Woodstock Sudbury Zug Paris Jalapa Terrace Bay Mexico City CANADA Newfoundland THAILAND Thunder Bay GERMANY Alberta Corner Brook Perublo Bangkok Timmins Berlin Banff Gander Toronto Bonn THE NETHERLANDS UKRAINE Barrhead Grand Falls Arnhem Welland Frankfurt Kiev Calgary St. John’s Den Haag Windsor Friedrichshafen Odessa Edmonton Stephenville Rotterdam Prince Edward Island Karlsuhe UNITED STATES Fort McMurray Northwest Territories Venlo Charlottetown Leverkusen OF AMERICA Grande Prairie Yellowknife Ludwigsburg NICARAGUA Alabama High River Quebec Nova Scotia Neuss Managua Anniston Lacombe Arvida Antigonish Schweinfurt Auburn Lethbridge Chicoutimi NORTH IRELAND Glace Bay Stuttgart Birmingham Joliette Belfast Lloydminster Halifax Decatur Montréal GREECE Medicine Hat New Glasgow PANAMA Florence Québec City Athens Red Deer Port Hawkesbury Panama Huntsville Rimouski Corfu British Columbia Sydney PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC Montgomery Riviere du Loup Thessaloniki Campbell River Truro OF CHINA Monroe St. Sauveur Chilliwack Wolfville HONG KONG Beijing Opelika Shawnigan Falls Courtney Yarmouth HUNGARY Chongqing Tuscaloosa Sherbrooke Cranbrook Ontario Budapest Guangzhou Alaska Dawson Creek Saskatchewan Lanzhou Barrie ISRAEL Anchorage Duncan Esterhazy Ji`nan Belleville Caesarea Arizona Kamloops Estevan Macau 581 CITIES & 44 COUNTRIES IN WHICH THE RWB HAS DANCED Brantford Haifa Fayetteville Kelowna Moose Jaw Nanjing Brockville Jerusalem Phoenix Kimberly Burlington North Battleford Qingdao Tel Aviv Tempe Kitimat Chatham Prince Albert Shanghai Tucson Nanaimo Cobourg Regina ITALY Shenzhen Nelson Cornwall Saskatoon Genoa YueYang Arkansas New Westminster Deep River Swift Current Monza (Milan) Wuhan Little Rock Weyburn Rome Penticton Dryden PERU California Torino (Turin) Port Alberni Etobicoke Yorkton Lima Bakersfield Prince George Fort William Trieste Berkeley COLUMBIA PHILIPPINES Prince Rupert Guelph Verona China Lake Bogota Manila Revelstoke Hamilton Cali JAPAN Claremont Terrace Kenora Fukuoka PUERTO RICO Cupertino COSTA RICA Trail Kingston Hamamatsu San Juan Escondido San Jose Vancouver Kitchener Hiroshima Fresno Vernon Lindsay CUBA Kawaguchi Fullerton Victoria London Havana Kumamoto Lancaster SOARING WORLD-WIDE WORLD-WIDE SOARING Long Beach Thomasville Sioux City Saginaw New York Carvallis Wichita Falls Los Angeles Illinois Storm Lake Sandusky Albany Eugene Utah Marjorie Alton Waverly Traverse City Binghampton Medford Logan Northridge Aurora Kansas Minnesota Bronx Portland Salt Lake City Oakland Brooklyn Carbondale Emporia Alberta Lea Pennsylvania Vermont Oceanside Buffalo Champaign-Urbana Hays Bemidji Altoona Burlington Palm Desert Chicago Iola Duluth Corning Bethel Park Virginia Palm Springs Decatur Lawrence Fairboult Greenvale, Erie Charlottesville Pasadena DeKalb Levenworth Grand Rapids Long Island Grove City Fairfax Sacramento Evanston Manhattan Hibbing Huntington, Indiana Hampton San Gabriel Galesburg Salina Little Falls Long Island Philadelphia Newport News San Luis Obispo