On the Edge Tour

Featuring dancers of the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program

Overview

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School’s On the Edge tour has sent dancers on the road to share the power of ballet and other dance forms with new audiences in schools and community spaces for almost 50 years. Pioneered by the RWB in 1945, the famous ‘one-night stand’ model of touring the Prairies in a single 48-passenger bus was adopted by the School in the early 1970s. One thing that distinguishes School’s touring program is its impressive visual impact. Just like the Company before it, the School places the dancers front and centre, creating a spectacular performance for all to enjoy.

The touring rig includes lighting and sound equipment and a portable dance floor framed by 20’ black velour legs. It’s all-hands-on-deck as two artistic faculty members, one company/stage manager, and twenty one dancers work together to transform the venue, sometimes a school gymnasium, into something resembling a theatre space in less than one hour.