Paul Daigle

Costume Designer

Paul Daigle has a first-hand understanding of the intricacies of designing for dance. A graduate of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Daigle went on to perform for two seasons with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet prior to launching his career in design in 1988.

Daigle has established a very creative and productive relationship with choreographer Mark Godden. Together they have collaborated on a variety of creations for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, including sets and costumes for Godden’s 1989 Clifford E. Lee Choreographic Award-winning ballet Sequoia, Godden’s two award-winning pas de deux, Myth and La Princesse et le Soldat, as well as Forms of Distinction, Rapsodie espagnole, Symphony No.1, Angels in the Architecture, Dame aux Fruits, La Folia, A Darkness Between Us, Shepherd’s Wake, Miroirs, The Rite of Spring and Anywhere But London. During the RWB 1997/1998 season he redesigned the sets for Antony Tudor’s The Leaves are Fading and the costumes for Paquita.

In 1998, Daigle designed the scenery and costumes for Godden’s first full-length ballet, Dracula. In 2003, he went on to win the Manitoba Motion Picture Industry Association’s Blizzard Award for best costume design for Guy Maddin’s film adaptation of Godden’s Dracula. Daigle also designed the costumes for RWB’s Nutcracker, which premiered at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre on December 2, 1999. In 2003, Daigle created the scenery and costume design of Godden’s full-length creation The Magic Flute.

Daigle has also created set and costume designs for ballet companies other than the RWB, including Ballet British Columbia, Canada’s Ballet Jörgen in Toronto, Alberta Ballet, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montréal and Campañía Nacional de Danza in Mexico. In 1999, he designed the scenery and costumes for Alexei Ratmansky’s full-length production of The Fairies Kiss for The Kiev Ballet. In 2009, he designed costumes for Mark Godden’s Wonder Wild for Milwaukee Ballet and did a redesign of costumes for Angels in the Architecture for Northern Ballet in Leeds, UK.

Daigle is involved in the artistic life of his home in the Maritimes; he is Past Chair for the New Brunswick Arts Board and continues his work as a designer. In 2002, Daigle designed the scenery and costumes for Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada’s debut production of Figaro; he has also designed for Theatre New Brunswick and Nova Scotia’s Neptune Theatre. In 2010, Paul designed costumes for Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius’ production of The Rocky Horror Show, and in 2011 designed costumes for Mark Godden’s ballet Svengali.