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Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School kicks off its 2016-17 International Audition Tour Oct. 12 in Saskatoon with a stop in Kelowna on Tuesday, October 18th.
This year’s tour stops in various cities and venues a total of 17 times from October 2016 to January 2017. The tour exists to discover dancers fit for one of the RWB School’s Professional Division training programs: Ballet Academic Program, Aspirant Program, and Teacher Training Program.
Saeka Shirai, graduate of the RWB School and current RWB Apprentice, in partner with Yue Shi, current RWB Apprentice, won Silver in Varna’s 2016 International Ballet Competition. Held in Varna, Bulgaria, this competition is the oldest and dubbed as the most prestigious ballet competition in existence.
“I was nervous, but excited—I couldn’t be happier for Yue and myself,” states Saeka. “We thank the RWB for the continued support they give us.” Many RWB Professional Division students join the RWB Company after graduation and then make transitions into other areas of the dance profession upon retirement. Jorden Morris, for example, is a RWB School alumni, former RWB principal dancer, and current Artistic Director of Citie Ballet in Edmonton.
The graduates of the RWB School aren’t the only individuals worthy of awards, as the RWB School artistic faculty are unparalleled in their ability to train elite artists for the profession of dance. Anastasia Dunets, of the RWB School’s Professional Division, has a diploma as a ballet teacher, ballet tutor, and theatre repertoire coach from the Vaganova Ballet Academy. She is also in demand as an international guest teacher. A long-standing commitment to the RWB is a common trait seen in RWB staff; Ukraine-born Alexander Gamayunov, who has recently joined the RWB School’s Artistic Faculty, has 12 years of dancing for the RWB Company under his belt.
“We are very proud of our accomplished and talented staff,” states Arlene Minkhorst, RWB School Director. “They all have a true passion to see their students succeed.”
For more information about the International Audition Tour or to register, please visit rwb.org/school/professional-division/audition
