RWB SCHOOL DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE | Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet

It is my great honour as Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School to welcome you to our website where you can learn about the many exciting opportunities that await you when you join the RWB community. The RWB School has created varied programming suitable for all levels of interest and experience, from professional career training to casual extracurricular activity – and everything in between.

For more than 40 years the RWB School Professional Division has fulfilled its mandate to train dancers and dance teachers for the RWB Company and other companies and schools around the world while launching the professional careers of countless young people. Today, RWB School graduates and alumni share their talents and love of dance as performing artists, teachers, choreographers, directors, designers and arts administrators.  We are very proud of all of our alumni, including those graduates of the Professional Division who currently form 70% of the RWB Company and comprise over half of our dance faculty.

We are also proud of our Recreational Division that has contributed to our community for over 70 years by providing quality dance instruction to dancers of all ages and interests. I regularly encounter individuals who have a connection to our School from having taken classes with us themselves, or because their children or grandchildren have or do today. It is a testament to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet that so many generations of Manitobans have become a part of the RWB community over the decades. Many of the students who have studied dance within the Recreational Division have also gone on to enjoy careers as performers and teachers and it is very gratifying to see this love of dance in all its mediums shared by so many.

I, myself, first arrived at the RWB School as a student in 1976 and was immediately impressed by a faculty that shared their passion and knowledge of the art of dance with a wonderful openness and sincerity. Their energy and generosity was inspirational. As my role with the School has changed and grown, so has my inspiration. I am constantly reminded of how fortunate I am to share this art form with the young artists of tomorrow.  

The RWB School remains committed to the highest possible standards of excellence, while having the greatest respect for the individual, as a person, an artist and a creative spirit. I encourage you to explore our website and be introduced to the many opportunities that await. We look forward to having you join us.

Arlene Minkhorst
School Director