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![\"Rita](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/4578598_web1_Christopher-Stowell-and-Chris-Lorway-photo-by-Rita-Taylor..jpg\")
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Rita Taylor photo<\/p>\n
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Christopher Stowell (left) of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Chris Lorway, president of the Banff Centre, are excited about the new endeavours their respective organizations are planning for the season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re very hungry to perform, and I want to offer them more opportunities and more access to different works, so I can add more pieces to the season,\u201d Stowell says.<\/p>\n
That includes the jazzy, joyful Who Cares? which premi\u00e8red in 1970 with the New York City Ballet and is a crowd-pleaser.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sort of like a tap dance on pointe,\u201d as original dancer Karin von Aroldingen once described it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho Cares? is one of the few Balanchine ballets that I never danced, but always really, really loved,\u201d Stowell says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great combination of using classical technique, but really through the spirit of Gershwin songs. One needs to have the sense of being in a musical comedy or a golden age of Hollywood movie \u2014 that kind of esthetic, that spirit, those are the kind of characters who are dancing Who Cares? but they have to be excellent ballet dancers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancers Elizabeth Lamont and Marco Lo Presti rehearse.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n And, in a departure from tradition, Gershwin\u2019s works will be performed as songs, not instrumental arrangements, by singer Karly Epp, pianist Will Bonness, bassist Karl Kohut and drummer Fabio Ragnelli.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to explore doing it differently \u2014 and have people remember that these are songs originally, so I got in touch with the Balanchine Trust (the entity responsible for licensing the works of the late Russian-American choreographer) and said, \u2018I would like to do this with only a jazz trio and a singer, so we can hear the lyrics again.\u2019 And they agreed to it. As far as I know, this is the first time the ballet has been done this way,\u201d Stowell says.<\/p>\n The Studio Series isn\u2019t the only new thing about this season.<\/p>\n Nine new dancers \u2014 including principal dancer Skylar Campbell, a former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada \u2014 have joined the company, while seven dancers received promotions within the ranks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always fun to have new artists in the company, bringing a different energy; it sort of mixes things up. I have to say, the dancers of this company \u2014 and I inherited this culture, which I\u2019m so grateful for \u2014 are so welcoming and supportive of new members,\u201d Stowell says<\/p>\n Eagle-eyed balletomanes will notice that one of the ranks has been renamed. Dancers who were once members of the \u201ccorps de ballet\u201d are now called \u201ccompany artists.\u201d This change better reflects both the size and ensemble nature of the RWB, Stowell says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not a huge company. I mean, it\u2019s one thing if you have 80 dancers and literally 30 of them are always in what is called the corps de ballet, but that is not the case with us. Everyone has the opportunity to do leading roles. We do a lot of repertoire that isn\u2019t ranked the way a traditional classical ballet is. So I really wanted dancers joining this company to not feel like they were being relegated to the back row, because that\u2019s not in fact what they\u2019re going to do at all,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I want our public to understand that they\u2019re all high-quality artists capable of doing a broad range of roles.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The Royal Winnipeg Ballet rehearses on Tuesday for its Studio Series show. The studio series is designed to let audiences have a more intimate experience of the art of ballet as well as get the dancers in front of more people.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The RWB also has a new look. The organization worked with Toronto\u2019s Bruce Mau Design to create a contemporary new logo and branding, retiring the creative that had been in place for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just felt important, with the cultural changes and direction the company is going and new priorities and, I would say, new energy and approach to things, that that was visible to anyone connecting with us,\u201d Stowell says.<\/p>\n jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Studios named for visionaries <\/p>\n The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity has named two dance studios after the visionary women who co-founded the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and helped establish the Banff Centre\u2019s dance program.<\/p>\n \u201cThe history of dance at Banff Centre is inseparable from the vision of Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally,\u201d said Chris Lorway, president and CEO of Banff Centre, in a media release.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir leadership helped establish foundations that continue to shape artists and audiences today. Naming these studios in their honour recognizes a remarkable legacy while inspiring future generations of artists who come here to create, learn and collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n The naming occurred in tandem with this summer\u2019s inaugural Banff Centre residency as part of the Northern Lights Project, a new national initiative focused on collaborative, interdisciplinary ballet creation led by the RWB in partnership with the National Arts Centre, the Banff Centre and Fall for Dance North.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s participating artists include:<\/p>\n Toronto choreographers Esie Mensah and Alyssa Martin, and Canadian-born, Netherlands-based choreographer Charlie Skuy; The group was led by Robert Binet, artistic director and co-CEO of Fall for Dance North.<\/p>\n Work developed during the residency will be debuted in Winnipeg by the RWB later in the 2026\/27 season.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Jen Zoratti Jen Zoratti is a columnist and feature writer working in the Arts & Life department, as well as the author of the weekly newsletter NEXT<\/a>. A National Newspaper Award finalist for arts and entertainment writing, Jen is a graduate of the Creative Communications program at RRC Polytech and was a music writer before joining the Free Press in 2013. Read more about Jen<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Jen produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2013 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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\nCanadian-born, New York-based sound designer Ben Sellick;
\nWinnipeg sound artist\/musician Ashley Au;
\nWinnipeg playwright\/director\/actor Debbie Patterson;
\nVancouver-based designer Evan Ducharme;
\nand Plains Cree musician Jason Burnstick.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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