David Moroni, C.M.

honour roll inductee

Biography

David Moroni, C.M., was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and took his first dance class at the age of 11. Mr. Moroni became a leading dancer with the Classical Ballet Company of Ottawa and performed many roles from ballet classics. During this time, Mr. Moroni also taught his first dance classes at Ottawa’s Lindenlea Community Centre, where he worked with students of all ages.

Mr. Moroni joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1964 as a dancer in the Company. He achieved the rank of Principal Dancer in 1967 and performed many major pas de deux and leading roles in the RWB repertoire.

While he enjoyed a critically acclaimed career as a dancer, Mr. Moroni’s legacy is predominantly from his time spent behind the scenes where he taught, coached, and nurtured generations of dance artists while establishing an internationally renowned training centre.

When he began his tenure with the RWB School in 1970, Mr. Moroni was primarily responsible for the scholarship students. He worked to expand the scholarship programme and renamed it the Professional Division when he was appointed its Principal. His diligence, dedication, and perseverance led to the formation of the internationally recognized professional training centre as the RWB School Professional Division exists today.

Mr. Moroni’s skill and expertise as a ballet teacher have resulted in some of the most outstanding careers in Canadian dance history and his influence on Canadian ballet continues to be felt today. He served as a coach to his former students Evelyn Hart and the late David Peregrine when they won medals at the World Ballet Concours in Japan in 1980, then a historic four medals in Varna, Bulgaria, at a competition often referred to as the “Olympics” of the ballet world, that same year. The long list of Mr. Moroni’s students also includes André Lewis, (RWB Artistic Director); Arlene Minkhorst (RWB School Director); Paul de Strooper (Artistic Director of Ballet Victoria); Tara Birtwhistle (Principal Dancer and Associate Artistic Director, RWB Company); Mark Godden (Montreal-based choreographer whose works include the acclaimed RWB versions of Dracula and Magic Flute); and Peter Quanz (the first Canadian choreographer invited to work with the legendary Kirov Ballet, Russia).

Mr. Moroni has been awarded several Canada Council grants throughout his career and has studied at major companies and schools across Europe and in Russia. He has been invited to adjudicate for numerous dance competitions and is a past member of the Advisory Arts Panel for the Canada Council. He also served as Associate Artistic Director for the RWB Company from 1976 to 1988, after which he had the title of artistic consultant for two seasons.

In 1990, Mr. Moroni received an appointment to the Order of Canada in recognition of his achievements. In 1991, he was awarded the Order of the Buffalo Hunt by the Province of Manitoba in recognition of his distinctive contribution to the life of Manitobans.

He still guest teaches in the Maritimes where he makes his home.