PD Alumni
A proud legacy of mentoring ballet professionals since 1971.
Since the first graduating class of 1971, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division has graduated more than 400 students from the Ballet Academic Program, Aspirant Program and Teacher Training Program.
The RWB Company has a long history of employing graduates of the School, such as Principal Dancers Evelyn Hart, Jorden Morris, Tara Birtwhistle, Vanessa Lawson and Jo-Ann Sundermeier, as well as Artistic Director André Lewis and former School Director Arlene Minkhorst. Graduates of the Professional Division make up more than 70% of RWB Company dancers and comprise over half of the School’s artistic faculty.
The legacy of the RWB School reaches virtually every corner of the world, with graduates and alumni employed by esteemed dance companies on four continents as performing artists, teachers, choreographers, directors, designers or arts administrators, a sampling of which is listed below:
Our Alumni
DANCERS
Emma Barrowman
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch (Germany)
Taylor Drury
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch (Germany)
Emily Chessa
Nederlands Dans Theater (The Netherlands)
Aidan Gibson
Soloist, Semperoper Ballett Dresden (Germany)
Bridget Lee
Coryphée, Ballett Stuttgart (Germany)
Keaton Leier
Atlanta Ballet (Georgia, USA)
Monika Haczkiewicz
Corps de ballet, National Ballet of Canada (ON)
Kira Hofmann
former dancer, Ballett Stuttgart (Germany)
Maureya Lebowitz
former Soloist, Royal Birmingham Ballet (UK)
Akira Nakahama
Soloist, Singapore Dance Theatre (Singapore)
Saeka Shirai
Coryphée, Poznan Opera Ballet (Poland)
Ryan Booth
Former dancer, Vienna State Ballet (Austria) and Royal Danish Ballet (Denmark)
Tristan Dobrowney
former Soloist, RWB Company and Lviv Opera Ballet (Ukraine)
Jesse Fraser
Ballet Zurich (Switzerland)
Zachary Rogers
First Soloist, Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet (Russia)
Peter Smida
Former dancer, Ballet BC
Daniel Smith
Ballet Am Rhein (Germany)
CHOREOGRAPHERS
Cameron Fraser-Monroe
Mark Godden
Freelance, Resident choreographer, The Harid Conservatory (Florida, USA) , Former Resident choreographer RWB Company
Shawn Hounsell
Philippe-Alexandre Jacques
Philippe Larouche
Jorden Morris
Heather Myers
Freya Bjorn Olafson
Peter Quanz
Jera Wolfe
DIRECTORS / ADMINISTRATORS
Tara Birtwhistle
Associate Director, Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Paul Destrooper
Artistic Director, Ballet Victoria (BC)
Andre Lewis
Artistic Director & CEO, RWB Company (MB)
Jennifer Martin
Associate Artistic Director, Eugene Ballet (OR)
Arlene Minkhorst
Director of Education, Tulsa Ballet Centre for Dance Education (Oklahoma, USA)
Elizabeth Olds
Artistic Administrator / Assistant to the Artistic Director, Boston Ballet (MA)
Cathy Taylor
Artistic Director, Quinte Ballet (ON)
Kristina Washchyshyn
Partner of the Kazka Dance Collective, School Director of the Sopilka Ukrainian Dance School (Winnipeg, MB)
Gordon Wright
Executive Vice-President and Director, The Harid Conservatory (Florida, USA)
TEACHERS
Suzanne Andre
Principal, RWB School Professional Division
Denise Belzile
Ballet master, DancEast (New Brunswick)
Katrin Benedictson
Vice-Principal, RWB School Recreational Division
Lisa Brooks
School of Dance (Ontario)
Nicole (Egeland) Kepp
Principal, RWB School Recreational Division
Laura Graham
Senior Ballet Master, Semperoper Ballett Dresden (Germany)
Chisato Horikawa
School of Dance (Ontario)
Lisa Otto
Ballet master, Ballett Mannheim, Nationaltheater Mannheim (Germany)
Renee Salsiccioli
Director/Teacher, Kootenay Dance Works (BC)
OTHER STUDIES AND CAREERS
Many of our alumni have also gone on to exciting studies and careers in other fields following dance
SCIENCE
Ryan Booth
Pre-Medicine At University Of Dalhousie (NS)
Scott Maybank
Chiropractor (Calgary, AB)
Katherine (Mueller) Heckrote
RN At Children’s Healthcare Of Atlanta (Georgia, USA)
Catriona (Peggie) Davies
Physiotherapist / Owner, Dance Physiotherapy (Calgary, AB), Physiotherapist, University Of Calgary Sport Medicine Centre And Alberta Ballet, Consultant Physiotherapist, School Of Alberta Ballet
Janine (Reid) Didyk
Physiotherapist (Winnipeg, MB)
Amanda Tyndall
Fellow At Canadian College Of Medical Genetics At University Of Calgary’s Cumming School Of Medicine, Post Doctoral Scholar At University Of Calgary (AB)
ARTS
Paul Daigle
Costume and set designer (NB)
Amanda Green
Chocolatier, Melt Chocolate Company (Winnpeg, MB)
Stephen Konopelski
Pastry Cook at North Fork Table & Inn, and Saxon and Parole (NY), Co-owner, Turnbridge Point B & B (Denton, MD), 2015 Finalist, and The Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship
Eva Lipman
Emmy Award-winning Producer, Film and Television (HBO, Netflix, CNN)
Mimi Pineau
Principal Designer, Mimi PIneau Design (Toronto, ON)
Danielle Sturk
Multi-disciplinary artist, filmmaker (Winnipeg, MB)
Stephen Terauds
Architect, Nycum & Associates (Halifax, NS)
BUSINESS
Joanna Ivey
Associate Director, Development at National Ballet of Canada (Toronto, ON)
Erik Johnson
Underwriter, Syndicate 2288 at Victor Insurance Holdings (London, UK), Sits on Council of Insurance Institute of London, Board of Inclusion at Lloyd’s and is National Forum Officer for Chartered Insurance Institute
Eric Nipp
Associate Investment Advisor, National Bank of Canada (Winnipeg)
GOVERNMENT
Jessie Gervais
Legislative Assistant, House of Commons (Ottawa, ON)
Brad Sykes
Communications Officer, Health Canada (Ottawa, ON)