School Culture & Commitments

​The RWB School is committed to fostering training, working, and living environments that are positive, healthy, inclusive, respectful, and reflective of contemporary best practices. We work in service of creating safe spaces where individual abilities are celebrated and nurtured, and every person feels valued and supported.

On the first day of every session, students participate in an orientation and are encouraged to speak to any adult at the RWB at any time on any subject. This gives students the freedom to reach out to the person they feel most comfortable with and reminds them that there are many people “in their corner,” regardless of what they may be facing. Our Student Care Counsellors facilitate regular individual and group student check-ins and go to great lengths to ensure they are always available and easily accessible. Students may also seek support from the RWB Medical Support Team who work collaboratively to provide front-line care in medical emergencies and regular support to students managing specific issues; the Medical Support Team may consult with and/or refer students to other health care professionals.

We also have in place a Healthy Dancer Policy which details our open communication principles. This policy allows the adults in the different areas of our students’ lives – dance, boarding, home, academics, medical, etc. – to share information and provide support as a team, while being sensitive to privacy considerations. The School Code of Conduct and Student Boarding Code of Conduct define our expectations for student and parent/guardian behaviour.

All RWB staff and Company dancers receive child protection training when joining the RWB and are required to acknowledge and sign off on both our Child Protection Policy and Procedures Manual and the affiliated Child Protection Code of Conduct. These documents have been carefully crafted with input from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and leading child psychologists. Our School Advisory Committee and Crisis Management Team Protocols detail specific staff roles, responsibilities, and obligations pertaining to issues of student safety and well-being, and in situations involving a breach of School rules, policies, or procedures. We also have an extensive Background Checks Policy in place.

All RWB staff and Company dancers receive respectful workplace training when joining the RWB and are required to acknowledge and sign off on our Respectful Workplace Policy. This document affirms every employee’s right to work in a safe, healthy, and respectful environment that supports well-being and is free from harassment, objectional conduct, discrimination, violence, bullying, disrespectful behavior, and disruptive conflict, and the RWB’s responsibility to provide this. The RWB complies with the Manitoba Human Rights Code and the Workplace Safety and Health Act and is a signatory on the Canadian Code of Conduct for the Performing Arts.

The following RWB documents are available for review and download:

The following sections of the RWB School Professional Division and Student Boarding Handbooks are available upon request:

  • Healthy Dancer Policy
  • Medical & Other Support Services
  • Privacy

For more information about RWB School culture and commitments, please contact RWB School Managing Director Kate Hodgert-Fennell at kfennell@rwb.org