Choreographer Cameron Fraser-Monroe says his new ballet is in many ways a reflection of the resilience and ferocity he has seen from leaders of the Tla’amin First Nation, where he hails from.Shannon VanRaes/The Globe and Mail
The uniquely Indigenous artistry of choreographer Cameron Fraser-Monroe is set to dazzle audiences in New York this month with šɛgatəm, a new production that comes after the historic premiere of his four-show T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet last season.
Representing Canada at the Fall for Dance Festival, a pre-eminent event on the global stage, seven dancers from the Winnipeg company’s 26-member troupe will perform Fraser-Monroe’s latest ballet.
šɛgatəm is a collaborative creation with Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley. The piece marks the first tour to the city in 45 years for the RWB, North America’s longest continuously operating ballet company.
“To be able to tell these stories – the ones my dad, aunties and elders grew up with – on such an incredibly big platform is the kind of thing I could’ve only dreamt about,” Fraser-Monroe told The Globe and Mail.
An RWB alumnus hailing from Tla’amin First Nation on British Columbia’s upper Sunshine Coast, the 25-year-old brought the company its first-ever production in an Indigenous language for its season finale in April.
The narration of T’əl by knowledge keeper, residential-school survivor and elder Elsie Paul sets it apart from most ballets, which rely solely on movement. Chronicled in English and Ayajuthem, a language native to Tla’amin, it pays homage to the traditions that were made illegal during Canada’s potlatch ban, which saw the government forbid Indigenous peoples from passing along their customs to their descendants from at least 1885 to 1951.
Now, inspired by those Tla’amin legends, Fraser-Monroe is bringing another tale to life.
šɛgatəm – pronounced “shay-ga-tum,” an Ayajuthem word that means to lift someone up – follows a leader who goes on a journey to learn the importance of community support.
In many ways, Fraser-Monroe said, it is a demonstration of the resilience and ferocity he has seen from Tla’amin leaders, who are unafraid to ask for help at the height of their power. The ballet opens with this concept: Standing on the shoulders of an ensemble, a lead dancer tumbles down, only to understand how to build up again with the assistance of community.
Premiering on Sept. 26 at the City Center in Midtown Manhattan, with another show the following day, šɛgatəm is not a narrative performance like T’əl. Featuring music by award-winning composer and tenor Jeremy Dutcher, a member of the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, its limited cast of seven also makes for a more intimate performance. The number of dancers is a nod to the Haudenosaunee philosophy that each decision we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future, and the seven sacred teachings among the Anishinaabeg.
But the character arc in the piece also speaks to Fraser-Monroe’s own voyage as a budding leader, said Simone Orlando, the artistic director and chief executive of Ballet Kelowna.
Just days before his work is shown in New York, Orlando’s company is bringing Fraser-Monroe’s choreography to the remote Max Cameron Theatre in his home territory. The entire community has rallied behind him, with a fundraiser arranged by his auntie, elder Betty Wilson, to keep tickets affordable, so that as many people possible can attend the showings of Fraser-Monroe’s taqəš and The Cowboy Act Suite, new versions of pieces originally performed in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
“It is a remarkable moment,” Orlando said, revealing that Fraser-Monroe has also been commissioned for another piece with Ballet Kelowna on stage in February, 2025: Ex Animo.
Accomplishing these goals in the same month feels like an alignment of his entire life’s work, Fraser-Monroe said. “This is exactly what I want for artists in Canada. We can be recognized at the top level while continuing our work at the important regional and community-based levels at the same time.”
The Fall for Dance Festival draws an audience of nearly 22,000 people. This year, it includes performances from the New York City Ballet, National Ballet of Ukraine, Boston Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet.
Fraser-Monroe was also commissioned to work with Bard College on a lecture to be held the week of šɛgatəm’s performance. “This academic side is a new realm for me, outside of my own with dance. Engaging with these students in this way allows me to think of my work beyond just the movement,” he said.
Elena Tupyseva, RWB’s executive director, said such commissions are a rarity because international dance events are usually looking to showcase distinct styles. “Canada often struggles with that,” she told The Globe.
“There’s a specificity lacking here,” she added. “As a country, we’re not unlike many others in the Western world. But with Cameron’s work, we find ourselves changing that course.”
Tupyseva said Fraser-Monroe’s choreography, which combines contemporary dance and First Nations knowledge with the conventions of classical ballet, provides Canada with an answer to that problem.
“Frankly, this Indigenous artistry gives us a voice that can allow the whole country to be more represented at the bigger stages, like this mecca of dance in New York.”
Sign up for The Globe’s arts and lifestyle newsletters for more news, columns and advice in your inbox.