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Recreational Division Staff Arlene Minkhorst Director Ms Minkhorst was instrumental in implementing RWB School’s integrated academic and ballet program and worked closely with select Winnipeg schools to develop the current academic/dance structure. She is a member of the jury for the Youth America Grand Prix in New York, NY and has worked as a guest teacher and adjudicator for dance festivals and dance competitions across Canada and the United States.
Director of School Business Operations Ms Zoerb has also worked at various arts organizations in Winnipeg, having held positions with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts. Additionally, she has volunteered within the local arts community with a number of organizations including the Manitoba Theatre Centre and serving over eight years on the board of directors for the Osborne Village Cultural Centre and its Gas Station Theatre where during her two terms as president saw the inauguration of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival.
Kelly Bale, AISTD (Cecchetti Diploma), ARAD, RAD RTS Principal, Recreational Division Ms Bale received her classical ballet training in her hometown of Regina, SK and at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. She went on to study at various esteemed programs/schools such as the Quinte Ballet School, the Banff Centre for the Arts and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division. Ms Bale is a graduate of the RWB School Professional Division Teacher Training Program and currently holds her Associate with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (Cecchetti faculty). She is also a registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and holds her Advanced 2 certificate. Ms Bale currently sits on the board as secretary/treasurer for the Alliance for Arts Education in Manitoba and has been monumental in the coordination of several arts education conferences. She has coordinated and taught in the Quantum Arts Program through the Winnipeg School Division. Ms Bale has sat as a jury member for the First Steps Choreographic Competition and has taught within the Teacher Training Program of the Professional Division of the RWB School. She has adjudicated at the Eastern Manitoba Arts Festival in Steinbach, MB and has guest taught for many schools. Several of her students have gone on to train in professional dance programs across Canada. Over the course of her teaching career, she has taught in various schools and programs across the country including the Conservatory of Music and Dance in Regina, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. She is pleased to be supporting the school as Principal of the Recreational Division and looks forward to a successful year.
Suzanne André, AISTD (Cecchetti-Diploma) Since joining the RWB School staff in 1998, Ms André has taught in both the Recreational and Professional Divisions. The classes she taught in the Professional Division include ballet, pointe, exercise and creative movement in the junior levels. Ms André currently teaches pedagogy, creative movement and pre-ballet within the Teacher Training Program. She is the academic liaison for the school and works with the Professional Division students to obtain school credits for their work in First Steps, the student choreographic workshop. Happy to be working within the Recreational Division again, Ms. André will be teaching levels 3, 4 and 6A Ballet this season, while also doing choreography for RWB School Dance Ensembles.
Scott Andrew Mr Andrew has been privileged to train with many of Canada’s leading professional dance training institutions, such as l’Ecole Supérieure de Danse, Montréal, the National Ballet School of Canada, Toronto and his home away from home, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School’s Professional Division. Upon graduating from the RWB School’s professional division with Distinction, Mr Andrew became an apprentice dancer with the RWB Company. He has performed across Canada and on many international stages. Mr Andrew will be teaching ballet in the Professional and Recreational Divisions of the school as well as coaching and teaching pas de deux classes for the PD students. He will also be instrumental in choreographing and rehearsing dancers for performances in both divisions.
Katrin Benedictson
Aimee Brasko An avid dancer since the age of four, Ms Brasko teaches tap dance at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. She has choreographed many pieces for the Manitoba Provincial Dance Festival and has been a judge for the Red River Exhibition’s Kidz Quest Junior Talent Search. Ms Brasko is also the Assistant Entertainment Coordinator for the Czech & Slovak Pavilion at Winnipeg’s Folklorama. Ms Brasko is a competitive performer, with numerous competition awards to her credit. She placed first in tap and second in jazz at the 2001 Canadian Regional National Dance Championships. At the 2000 Triple Threat Dance Convention, she was awarded the title of Most Promising Performer. In 1998, she was recipient of the Dance Manitoba Senior Tap Scholarship.
Darilyn Burdeniuk As head of jazz and tap at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Ms Burdeniuk has proven to be an accomplished teacher of both disciplines. Of her 29 years of teaching experience, 20 have been at the RWB School where she has taught and choreographed for the Teacher Training Program, the Recreational Division and the Professional Division. Ms Burdeniuk has trained extensively in dance, beginning with jazz and tap at age three and continuing with 15 years of ballet training at the RWB School. She has also trained in New York, Minneapolis, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver. In addition to her dance education, Ms Burdeniuk also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba. Ms Burdeniuk has choreographed for the Variety Club Telethons, the opening of the Lyric Theatre at Assiniboine Park, and a variety of other events. She has taught the performing arts dance program at Isaac Newton School and the Winnipeg School Division’s Quantum Arts Program and also has experience as a professional dance adjudicator. Over the last several years, she has danced in a number of Rainbow Stage productions, has had the opportunity to tour with Ray St. Germain, and has won both tap and jazz scholarships at the Manitoba Dance Festival and at the Canadian and World Baton Twirling Championships. Ms Burdeniuk’s devotion to dance is shown through her choreography and in the way she cares for her students. She hopes that her students will become technically strong dancers, while finding joy and fulfillment in their dancing.
Laurie Cahoon-Alston, ARAD Ms Cahoon-Alston’s career in dance spans the globe as a performer, teacher and choreographer. Originally from Edmonton, she received extensive training in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and musical theatre. She holds her Advanced 2 certificate with the Royal Academy of Dance and performed professionally with Ballet North, which included a tour of Mainland China as principal dancer. Ms Cahoon-Alston’s industrial credits include Calvin Klein, Lancôme, Tommy Hilfiger, the Grand Opening of Casino Niagara, and Club Firestone in Florida. She has appeared as a guest singer on the TV show Day By Day, the Tokyo AKOM commercial, the Berenstein Bears Christmas Show with Paramount Pictures, and many others. Ms Cahoon-Alston has also worked numerous contracts as a lead singer and dancer in Japan at Tokyo Disneyland, playing such fun-loving characters as Belle, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. In addition to teaching and performing, Ms Cahoon-Alston is also a sought after award-winning choreographer, who has taught at many conventions and workshops and has also adjudicated throughout Western Canada and the United States on many different dance faculties. She enjoys meeting and teaching young dancers who continue to inspire her with their determination and love of dance.
Patti Caplette, ARAD, RAD RTS Ms Caplette, former soloist with the RWB, brings inspired classes of ballet technique, Pilates, and choreography to the Intensive Ballet Program. She shares world-class performance and choreographic experience with her students, perpetuating the love of dance. Ms Caplette started training at the age of 3, and launched her professional performance career by age 17 as a founding member of both Vancouver’s Ballet Horizons, and Dance and Dancers. She moved to Montreal in 1973 to join Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, where she performed much of the Balanchine repertoire. In 1976, she joined the RWB, and for over a decade she performed works from the classical repertoire, including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. While at the height of her career, the desire to develop her own choreographic voice began to manifest, and so she accepted an offer to join the Artistic Staff of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Ms Caplette has since choreographed a prolific diversity of work for dance companies, opera, television, cabaret, special events and even the circus! In 1988, her dance film, Journey ~a Mythical Dance Fantasy, garnered both a Blizzard and Gemini Award. In addition, Ms Caplette and her husband built KOBA Family Entertainment, now Canada’s largest producer of family entertainment. Ms Caplette is a registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance, andis versed in the Vaganova, Bournonville, ISTD, and Chechetti methods ofclassical ballet, as well as Limone, jazz, tap, and Pilates conditioning. She is a member of Canadian Actor’s Equity, ACTRA, the Manitoba Writer’s Guild, and is a founding member of The Dancer Transition Resource Centre.
Maritel Centurion, AISTD (Cecchetti Diploma) Ms Centurion has been with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School since 2001 where she teaches ballet, pointe, Spanish, pilates and body conditioning. She has also served as a coaching assistant for the children participating in RWB's Nutcracker production. Ms Centurion has worked in the RWB School Satellite program and currently teaches in the Recreational Division, the Professional Division and the Aspirant program. Before coming to the RWB School, Ms Centurion had several years of professional dancing in Argentina and had taught in the Junior Recreational Division of the National Ballet School and the Quinte Ballet School in Ontario. Ms Centurion has collaborated and performed in an extensive number of dance productions as a freelance performer in Ontario and in Winnipeg. As a member of Tango Silhouette, she performed with Metatango in Quebec tours, at the Museum of Civilization and at the Argentinean Embassy. She also performed at the 2004 Canada Dance Festival as part of a collaborative work with Claire Marchand and Theatre Flamenco. Ms Centurion holds a Teaching Diploma from the National Ballet School of Canada, a Stott Pilates Certificate, an Associate Diploma in the Cecchetti method of ballet, and has completed studies in National Dances ISTD up to an Advanced level along with extensive studies in all aspects of Spanish dance. Always committed to endless learning, she continues to seek further studies in the teaching of classical ballet, Pilates and in Spanish and Flamenco dance.
Jacqueline Davidson, AISTD (Cecchetti- Associate Diploma) Ms. Davidson is currently developing the ExploreAbility movement program at the RWB School for adults with disabilities. Participants will have the opportunity to explore their movement potential in a dance, music and fitness class designed to meet their varying movement abilities. To further her experience working with individuals with disabilities, she spent the past summer working as an assistant at The Movement Centre of Manitoba, Inc. working with children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida and autism, as well as with adult stroke patients.
Krista-Rae Dorman Ms Dorman has been an enthusiastic and devoted dancer since the age of three. She trained in Kamloops, BC at the Kamloops Dance Academy as a young student. Through the National Association of Teachers of Dancing (N.A.T.D) she studied ballet, jazz, contemporary jazz, tap, lyrical and musical theatre. She’s performed in Disneyland, participated in numerous dance conventions, such as Groove Street Productions in Vancouver, and has danced in recitals where she’s performed solos. Ms Dorman became interested in teaching at a young age and her ability to bond with children as well as adults has propelled her towards a teaching career. She began as a teacher’s assistant at the age of 13 and then it 2006 received her Associates degree in both ballet and jazz. She is currently teaching creative movement, ballet, and jazz in Gimli, MB through the RWB School Satellite Program as well as teaching ballet, musical theatre and tap in Stonewall, MB. She is excited to share with her students her love of dance. Nicole Egeland , AISTD (Cecchetti - Diploma) Ms Egeland is a graduate of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division’s Teacher Training Program and currently holds her Associate Diploma qualifications through the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, Cecchetti Faculty. In June 2009, she completed her Advanced 2 majors examination through the Cecchetti Society of Canada. Ms Egeland is a certified ADAPT (Associated Dance Arts for Professional Teachers) teacher, having graduated from the ADAPT Teacher Training School in July 2009. Ms Egeland’s choreography has received honourable mention in the RWB School’s First Steps Choreographic Competition and was taken on tour with the Professional Division’s Concert Hour Ballet in 2003. During the summer of 2005 she was invited to choreograph, set, and perform Mona the Vampire at Canada’s Paramount Wonderland in Toronto, ON. Ms Egeland spent the 2005/2006 season working in children’s theatre, performing across Canada and in the United States with The Big Comfy Couch, Caillou and Franklin the Turtle. As a student in British Columbia, she was part of Dancestreams, Vancouver Island’s Youth Professional Dance Company, where she worked with award winning choreographers and had the opportunity to travel throughout the province of British Columbia and tour to Los Angeles. Currently Ms Egeland is a member of council for the Manitoba Branch of the Cecchetti Society of Canada. She is actively working to coordinate workshops in the Winnipeg area and is part of a committee for the Cecchetti National Conference to be hosted in Winnipeg Summer of 2010. Ms Egeland brings ten years of teaching experience from various schools in Winnipeg and the Vancouver Island area. Along with teaching ballet, she also teaches jazz, modern and creative movement to students of all ages.
Karin Giesbrecht Ms Giesbrecht is thrilled to teach at the RWB School Recreational Division, where she spent the majority of her years training in ballet, jazz, modern, tap and musical theatre. Her love of dance began at the age of 5 which led to her to the Contemporary Dancers Senior Professional Program and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks in Calgary, AB. Ms Giesbrecht has had much success in ADAPT exams and competitions at the Manitoba Dance Festival. She is an accredited ADAPT syllabus teacher and has prepared many students for ADAPT exams. She began her career as a teacher and choreographer in 1990 teaching jazz for the RWB School’s Satellite Program, and enjoys choreographing pieces for her students Ms Giesbrecht has been teaching a variety of styles at many schools throughout Manitoba. She has done choreography and workshops for dance and drama departments in various Winnipeg schools and has been the head of Elmwood High School’s dance program. She has also sat as a board member of Dance Manitoba and has traveled to Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Mexico and Hawaii to take classes and workshops. She continues to broaden her dance education with conferences like Triple Threat, L.A. Danceforce, Alberta’s Dance Educators, ADAPT syllabus and the RWB School’s Teacher Training Seminar.
Brenda Gorlick An accomplished choreographer and performer, Ms Gorlick has been teaching musical theatre with the RWB School and creating award-winning pieces with her students since 1990. She is a regular guest instructor throughout the province as part of Manitoba Arts Council’s Artists in the Schools program, and is a sought after adjudicator nationwide. Ms Gorlick is a graduate of the RWB School Professional Division, holds a degree in Theatre from the University of Winnipeg and is a Royal Conservatory of Music silver medalist in voice and piano. She is a guest professor in the U of W's Dept. of Theatre and Film. Ms Gorlick has directed and choreographed many large-scale projects, including the 1999 Pan Am Games ceremonies. This past summer, she music directed and co-choreographed the number one Winnipeg Fringe Festival hit show, Altar Boyz and choreographed the sold-out run of Strike! the musical. As a performer, she has starred in Rainbow Stage’s production of Beauty and the Beast, Dry Cold’s production of Nine, and Manitoba Theatre Centre’s Evita amongst others. Ms Gorlick has also choreographed for and performed on film, working with such luminaries as Shirley Maclean, Jennifer Lopez , Richard Gere, and Brad Pitt. Ms Gorlick is deeply connected to the local performing arts community. She has worked with major arts groups including MOA, WSO, RWB, and Cercle Molière and has created over 100 productions at every theatre throughout the city. She is also committed to the growth of her new youth musical company, Brenda Gorlick’s Young Stars, in par tnership with the School of Contemporary Dancers and Manitoba Conservatory of Music. Brenda is the Manitoba representative for the DTRC (Dancer Transition Resource Centre), serves on the regional committee for CAEA (Canadian Actors Equity Association), and is a member at large for ACTRA Manitoba. Julie Gregorchuk Ms Gregorchuk has been dancing since the age of three and has been teaching since 2001. Although tap is her forte, she has also trained in jazz, ballet, lyrical, hip hop and Irish dance. Challenging herself to continue to excel as a dancer, teacher and choreographer, Ms Gregorchuk continually attends dance workshops and conventions, bringing fresh ideas to her students and building her extensive knowledge of the art form she loves. In 2005, Ms Gregorchuk moved to New York City where she studied dance at the world renowned Broadway Dance Centre for six months. Being a part of their International Student Visa Program, she took a minimum of 12 classes per week studying with highly acclaimed teachers such as Germaine Salsberg, Sheila Barker and Tracie Stanfield. Ms Gregorchuk was also given the opportunity to choreograph and perform for the program’s “Performance Project” where she was given feedback on her work from various teachers and industry moguls. Ms Gregorchuk has a strong love and passion for dance and feels privileged to have the opportunity to pass that along to dancers of all ages! Amanda Hemmaway As a young student, Miss Hemmaway studied at Andy & Tina’s Dance FX in Alberta. In Winnipeg, she has studied Al Gilbert Tap Syllabus, RAD Ballet, as well as a number of different jazz styles, lyrical, modern and musical theatre. Over her years of training she has traveled to New York City, Los Angeles, Kelowna, Calgary and Edmonton performing and taking classes and gaining more teaching and dance experience. Miss Hemmaway has performed in Disneyland, as well as in a number of fundraising events and was a Canadian National Finalist in 2007. In 2006, Miss Hemmaway was selected to participate in the Emerging Choreographer Mentorship Program, where she studied with Deanne Walsh from Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. Miss Hemmaway is looking forward to the start of a great new season. Sandra Holtzappel Ms Holtzappel was accepted into the Royal Conservatory of The Hague’s Professional Ballet School in The Netherlands at the age of 10. While her classical ballet training is Vaganova-based, she has also studied Russian character dance and the Graham technique for modern dance. At 17, Ms Holtzappel received a full scholarship to attend the Dance Academy of Budapest. She has received diplomas from both academies and upon graduation worked as a freelance dancer. She has performed several times for Dutch royalty and attended galas and competitions. Ms Holtzappel retired from the stage at the age of 30 and turned her attention to teaching. She has coached young professional artists in The Netherlands and taught at various recreational schools in The Netherlands and Italy. Ms Holtzappel joined the RWB as part of a mentorship program in 2006, and then in 2008 she joined the artistic faculty full-time. Ms Holtzappel teaches senior ballet technique, pointe and repertoire for the Professional Division, as well as senior ballet, Stott Pilates and workshop classes for the Recreational Division. She also choreographs for both.
Kira Kjear Ms Kjear has been involved in both dance and gymnastics since age five. As a student at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School she received extensive training in jazz, lyrical, ballet, tap, pointe and African dance. She has also received training in hip hop at other studios in Winnipeg and at conventions across North America. Ms Kjear has acquired further schooling in dance education within the Kinesiology Department at the University of Winnipeg. As a competitive jazz dancer, Ms Kjear has received numerous awards and titles. She traveled to Germany as a member of the Canadian National Jazz Team and took home the bronze medal. In 2005, she represented Canada as a soloist at the World Jazz Championships in Orlando, Florida and was awarded the silver medal. In addition to these achievements, Ms Kjear has received various jazz and variety scholarships at the Manitoba Dance Festival and gold medals at the National Dance Championships and Centre Stage Productions.
Claire Marshall Ms Marshall is happy to be back at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School! Over the past season, she has taught several workshops across Canada, completed a residency with Delfos Danza Contemporenea in Mazatlan Mexico, and she has further developed her relationships with Young Lungs Dance Exchange and Gearshifting Performance Works. She also completed two film projects with Director Coral Aiken. Ms Marshall began her performing career in her hometown of Toronto with the Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre. Throughout her nine seasons with the company, she performed works by some of Canada’s leading choreographers, such as David Earle, Danny Grossman, Carol Anderson, Bill Coleman and Rachel Browne, and participated in many national tours. It was Ms Browne who encouraged Ms Marshall to continue with her training and teaching, which in effect lead her to the wonderful dance community in Winnipeg. Since her graduation from the Senior Professional Program at the School of Contemporary Dancers in 2001, she has performed with local choreographers Casimiro Nhussi, Coral Aiken, Adesola Akinleye, Paula Blair, Lesandra Dodson and Josee Garant. Ms Marshall is also proud to sit on the Board of Directors for Dance Manitoba. Nicole Owens After graduating from the Senior Professional Program of Contemporary Dancers in 1998, Ms Owens began her professional career as an independent dancer, working with choreographer Gaile Petursson-Hiley. She received her jazz and tap training through the ADAPT syllabus and her ballet training through the Royal Academy of Dance. She also continued her training with the J. Tokaryk Dance Centre in a myriad of styles. Ms Owens was a founding company member of Nafro Dance Productions, which completed a performance tour in Maputo, Mozambique in August 2004. After her experience in Maputo, she was inspired to use her traditional training in modern and jazz and her experience of working in the fusion of African and modern to create a style of her own, breaking the traditional boundaries of the disciplines. Ms Owens teaches and choreographs in the Adult Program for the RWB School Recreational Division and The School of Contemporary Dancers. She is also the Executive Director of Dance Manitoba.
Gabriela Rehak Ms Rehak is proud to have been a company dancer with the Shumka Dancers of Edmonton, AB under the direction of John Pychlik and Victor Litvinov and was one of eight dancers chosen for the first Nutcracker joint tour with the National Ballet of Kiev. Her festival experiences include Vancouver’s Dancing on the Edge in 2002 and 2003 and the Kaun Du Arts Festival in Taipei, Taiwan. Her works have been featured in the Manitoba Dance Festival and the Folk Arts festivals in Manitoba and British Columbia. Ms Rehak was also a company dancer with Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers for five seasons. During that time, under the direction of Tom Stroud, she had the great opportunity to work with many guest choreographers, including Rachel Browne and Peter Bingham. Her featured solos include Old Times Now, Songs that Dance and Maxine. Ms Rehak adjudicated at the SVOBODA Dance Festival in Saskatchewan in 2008 and the B.C Provincial Dance Festival in 2009. She has also been a guest instructor at the AUDA dance camps in Edmonton, AB. In 2009, her choreography was featured during In Concert, the RWB School’s year-end showcase, as well as during On the Edge, the aspirant’s showcase. A selection of her works, entitled Down and Out, also hit the stage at this year’s Ballet in the Park, which is a summer performance by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company and School that attracts thousands of Manitobans and tourists annually. Ms Rehak is delighted to be teaching in the Professional and Recreational Divisions at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and is excited to be once again coordinating First Steps.
Cheyenne Schroeder Ms Schroeder is thrilled to be heading into her eleventh year of teaching at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. While she has taught Musical Theatre in the Recreational Division for ten years, she has also worked in the Professional Division teaching Music Appreciation. Ms Schroeder was Musical Director for the Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s 2003 holiday production of Pippi Longstocking. In 2007, she co-wrote with Kent Suss and directed the musical, The Dog Party, a MTYP student production performed on the mainstage. Ms Schroeder has choreographed award winning pieces for the Manitoba Dance Festival, Los Angeles Dance Force, The Red River Exhibition Stars of Tomorrow Talent Competition and The Maccabi Games. Ms Schroeder is a proud mother of two children who both love dancing at the RWBS.
Ms Schroeder joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School’s Professional Division at the age of ten. During her seven years of classical training with the RWB School, she had the joy of performing with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Corps and in several Manitoba Opera Association productions. Ms Schroeder continued her studies with The School of Contemporary Dancers during which time she performed and choreographed for The Allied Beauty Association fashion shows in Toronto. In 2001, Ms Schroeder moved with her family to Morden, MB where she began her teaching career at DanceWorks Studios. She enjoys promoting arts and dance in the rural communities of southern Manitoba. She has choreographed for many rural productions such as the Chautauqua Spirit Festival’s production of When the Stone Speaks, Garden Valley Collegiate’s production of The Mikado and Candlewick’s Production of Fiddler on the Roof. Ms Schroeder continues to update her skills in dance and conditioning. This fall she will be working toward completing her yoga alliance certification. She currently holds certificates in Resist-a-Ball training and Maureen Rae’s fast track yoga levels one to three. With the desire to bring the best to her students, Ms Schroeder joined the RWB School Teacher Training Program in 2008. She will enter her second year with the Program this fall. She looks forward to sharing her love of dance with the parents and students of the RWB School.
Keri-Lee Smith Ms Smith is a well rounded performance artist with training and credits in dance, voice and theatre. She started her training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Recreational Division training in jazz, ballet and musical theatre. She continued her studies in the Triple Threat Program at Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts in Toronto and the Acting Program at The National Theatre School of Canada in Montréal.
Marijka Stanowych, AISTD (Cecchetti Diploma) For 18 years Ms Stanowych was a member of Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble where she danced lead roles, instructed and choreographed for numerous Ensemble productions. As such, she has become a highly respected and much sought after guest instructor and leader in the Ukrainian arts community. Most recently she was appointed Artistic Director of Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. Presently, Ms Stanowych teaches ballet, Pointe and character in both the Professional and Recreational Divisions of the RWB. Along with her teaching duties in both divisions, she has also prepared and rehearsed Professional Division students for performances with the RWB, and has choreographed pieces on Recreational Division students for Manitoba Dance Festival and for Professional Division school productions. Ms. Stanowych is also the Manitoba Provincial Representative for the Cecchetti Society of Canada.
Romeo Suban, BA, B.Ed Mr Suban is excited to bring hip hop to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. As a member of Sisler High School's Most Wanted, he won numerous Manitoba Dance Festival gold honours and performed for her majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He has also been awarded the Manitoba hip hop adjudicator’s choice award and placed as a finalist for International Power Dance. Mr Suban’s professional career began with appearances in Rainbow Stage’s productions of the King and I and Miss Saigon. He was also an artist for Learning Through the Arts with Winnipeg School Division No. 1. He has taught on staff with the hip hop program at Contemporary Dancers, Promenade and L.A. Dance Academy. Finally, he has been a guest adjudicator for the South-Eastern Manitoba Dance Festival. Mr Suban continues to train with the best and most renowned choreographers and has been involved with the Justin Timberlake World Tour Workshop, MTVs’ Dance Life Workshop, Dance Fuzion, Triple Threat and Pulse Dance Convention. In addition, he has completed his first year of the ADAPT Program. Recently, Mr. Suban has begun sharing his knowledge and experience with students at General Wolfe Junior High School where he teaches dance, physical education and English. Mr Suban is the founder, director and choreographer for Un1te Dance Company (UDC), which has travelled to the Artist Emerge National Hip Hop Dance Competition in Edmonton and was honoured with the Adjudicators’ Choice Award. In addition, Mr. Suban and his company has performed on the Americas’ Best Dance Crew Tour with the Jabbawockeez, Super Crew, Fanny Pak and Supreme Soul. Lastly, with UDC, he hosts the largest hip hop dance competition in Manitoba called In The Zone!
Heather Taschuk Ms Taschuk is a graduate of the Teacher Training Program at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Originally from Vancouver Island, BC, she started dancing at age three, taking classes in ballet, tap, jazz, modern and musical theatre. She studied under Linda Klassen L.I.S.T.D (C.B.) at the Parksville Ballet School for 15 year before being accepted into the RWB School’s Teacher Training Program. Ms Taschuk has competed in dance festivals on Vancouver Island with group and solo pieces and has also has had the opportunity to be involved in productions with PBS, such as Totally Tap, Annie, Peter Pan, and Willy Wonka. Throughout her years at PBS, Ms Taschuk completed up to her Advanced 1 Cecchetti Ballet Exams and Advanced 2 ISTD Tap exams. In her senior years at PBS, she also had the opportunity to substitute teach, which she found extremely rewarding. Ms Taschuk is looking forward to the year ahead and is excited to be teaching in the Satellite Program.
Crystal Tkach, AISTD (Cecchetti) Ms Tkach is a graduate of the RWB School Professional Division’s Teacher Training Program and holds her Associate Teaching degree from the I.S.T.D. In addition, she has completed her CDTA exams at the Intermediate level in both jazz and tap and has studied the advanced CDTA tap and jazz syllabus. She also holds a certificate in Applied Anatomy and Physiology for Dancers. Currently Ms Tkach is working towards her ADAPT teaching certification in tap and jazz.
Leanne Veale, AISTD (Cecchetti) Miss Veale started her dance career as a Ukrainian Dancer. She began her studies at St. Anne’s Ukrainian Dance School and Rossdale School of Ukrainian Dance. She later became a soloist with Romanetz Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and finally, Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. She performed extensively with each of them, both in Canada and abroad. Miss Veale was a senior teacher at the Ukrainian National Federation School of Dance and Senior Dance Academy for 9 years. She taught a variety of ages throughout the school and Academy, as well as the Zorya Dance Ensemble. She has set large and small choreographic numbers featuring any number of students, from two all the way up to forty! Her works have been presented each year at Folklarama’s Kyiv Pavilion as well as a variety of other venues. In 2004 Miss Veale was accepted into the RWB School’s Teacher Training Program. Through the program she obtained her Intermediate Cecchetti exam, Advanced 1 Cecchetti exam and her Associate with the International Society of Teachers of Dance, Cecchetti Branch. She graduated from the RWB School in 2008. She has also just recently completed her Advanced 2 Cecchetti exam and is now one of only 6 people in Manitoba to have successfully completed this exam. Miss Veale is a much sought-after teacher of children’s work, which twice earned her the Kally Kennedy Scholarship through the Professional Division of the RWB School, as well as a position in the Recreational Division. She has since taught varying levels of children’s work and ballet in the Recreational Division. She also taught the Altona Satellite Program for the past three years. The program featured varying levels of creative movement, ballet and jazz. Miss Veale is currently working towards her ADAPT Jazz certification and hopes to attain her Stott Pilates Level 1 certification in the coming year.
Rachelle Vermette, AISTD (Cechetti Diploma) Ms Vermette, who started dancing at the age of four, is a graduate of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program. In 2004, she was awarded her Associate Diploma and her Part 1 Applied Anatomy and Physiology, both with the Cecchetti Society of Canada. Ms Vermette has been very involved with the RWB School’s Satellite Program, having taught creative movement, ballet and jazz in Elm Creek, St. Jean Baptiste, Gimli and Eriksdale. From 2001 to 2004, she taught ballet for the RWB School’s Quantum Program and has taught for the Adult Summer Dance program and Dance Intensive for several summers. Ms Vermette has also had the opportunity to teach at Marquis Dance Academy, l’Ecole de Danse Classique, the Winnipeg Winter Club, l’Ecole Precieux-Sang and Kids Etc’s Youth Movement Company. She taught movement classes to post-graduates of the School of Music of the University of Manitoba. She has been a judge on several occasions for Salsa in The City Productions and was also an adjudicator for the Biggar (Saskatchewan) Invitational Dance Festival. Ms Vermette was also Assistant Director to Patti Caplette for the 1998 YPE production of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
Kristina Washchyshyn, AISTD (Cecchetti Diploma) Ms Washchyshyn is a 2000 graduate of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School's Teacher Training Program and has been a part of the RWB School staff since 2003. She has taught creative movement, character, ballet and Pilates at all levels, including the adult program and the Teacher Training Program. She has also been a teacher with Summer Dance Intensive and Adult Summer Dance. In 2002, Ms Washchyshyn moved to Italy to further her Cecchetti training at Ateneo Danza, under the direction of Stefania Sansivini. During her ten-month stay, she taught and had the opportunity to work with many Italian and English dance teachers and choreographers. She received her ISTD Intermediate Modern examination before returning home to complete her Advanced 2 Cecchetti examination. In the fall of 2004, she was appointed as Manitoba Representative of the Cecchetti Society of Canada, which she served until the end of her term in the fall of 2007. Much of her time is spent within the Ukrainian community as Ballet Mistress for Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and Director of Sopilka School of Dance. In the summer of 2009 Ms. Washchyshyn travelled to Kyiv, Ukraine to take the International Summer School of Ukrainian Dance which is in conjunction with the School of Choreography at Virsky National Dance Company and the National University of Arts and Culture in Kyiv, Ukraine.
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Arlene Minkhorst
Debra Zoerb
Kelly Bale
Suzanne André
Scott Andrew
Katrin Benedictson photo awaiting update
Aimee Brasko
Darilyn Burdeniuk
Laurie Cahoon-Alston
Patti Caplette
Maritel Centurion
Jacqueline Davidison
Krista-Rae Dorman photo awaiting update
Nicole Egeland
Karin Giesbrecht
Brenda Gorlick
Julie Gregorchuk
Amanada Hemmaway photo awaiting update
Sandra Holtzappel
Kira Kjear
Claire Marshall
Cheyenne Schroeder
Marilee Schroeder
Keri-Lee Smith
Marijka Stanowych
Romeo Suban
Heather Taschuk
Crystal Tkach
Leanne Veale
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