TARA BIRTWHISTLE
Principal Dancer

“Birtwhistle's final embraces of her partner took the choreography to an emotional place that some dancers never reach in an entire career”
- Dance International Magazine, 2005

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tara Birtwhistle grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta and later moved to Red Deer, Alberta. Birtwhistle credits her pre-professional training to the Sherwood Park School of Dance and the Red Deer School of Ballet. In 1986, she began her professional training with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Professional Division. She graduated from the Professional Division in 1991 and immediately joined the RWB as a corps de ballet member. In 1995, she was promoted to soloist and in 2000 became a principal dancer.

Birtwhistle dazzles her audiences in roles that emphasize her dramatic talent and chameleon-like qualities. The range of roles that Birtwhistle has performed reflects her performance versatility. Among the many roles she has danced, Birtwhistle’s favourites include ‘Lucy’ in Mark Godden’s Dracula, ‘Rita Joe’ in Vesak’s The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, ‘The Cowgirl’ in Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, ‘Myrtha’ in Giselle and ‘Juliet’ in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet. She has been lauded for her soloist performances in Mauricio Wainrot’s smash sensation Carmina Burana. Birtwhistle also left her mark as the evil yet charismatic ‘Stepmother’ in Val Caniparoli’s A Cinderella Story, a role she brought back to life for the 2006/07 season.

Birtwhistle has been a muse for fêted choreographer Mark Godden, as he set the lead role of ‘Queen of the Night’ on her for the world premiere production of The Magic Flute. Critically praised for her portrayal, her mystique as ‘Queen of the Night’ was later captured on screen for the film adaptation, The Tale of the Magic Flute. Birtwhistle along with the RWB Company won a Gemini for ‘Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program’ for the film.

Godden also set the role of ‘Lucy’ on Birtwhistle for his critically acclaimed ballet Dracula. For the 2006/07 season Birtwhistle returned to this role when the Company was on tour in Alberta and British Columbia. Birtwhistle was also nominated for a Gemini Award for her stunning performance in Guy Maddin’s Dracula: Pages From a Virgin’s Diary, a screen adaptation of the ballet.

Birtwhistle has been invited to several command performances. She has danced for Her Majesty the Queen (England) during the Queen’s 2002 Jubilee visit to Canada. In December of the same year, she had the opportunity to perform with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and The London Philharmonic Orchestra on a 21-city tour of A Royal Christmas. Birtwhistle also danced in A Royal Christmas US Tour in 2005, which included Andrea Bocceli and dancers from London’s Royal Ballet and Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet. In January 2006, Birtwhistle partnered with Jaime Vargas at the International Stars of Ballet 2006 in Tokyo, Japan.

Among the many accolades behind her name, Birtwhistle was designated “One of 100 Young Canadians to Watch in the New Millennium” in Maclean’s magazine.

This season, Birtwhistle will play the lead role of sultry, seductive ‘Carmen’ for Mauricio Wainrot’s Carmen, The Passion.

“Tara Birtwhistle beamed benevolence to the tips of her long limbs. Her stage presence is a thing of wonder.”
- Winnipeg Free Press, 2005

“The charismatic Birtwhistle is an archetypal goddess, and with her highly charged deep plies and commanding arms, she evokes the quintessential feminine mystique”
- The Globe and Mail, 2003

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