Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Ballet Ball, March 25, Winnipeg
In the late 1930s British immigrants and dance enthusiasts Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally settled in Manitoba and soon established the Winnipeg Ballet Club. By 1953 their tremendous effort was renamed the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the first royal title granted under the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The RWB remains one of Canada’s foremost ballet companies and North America’s longest in continuous operation. March 25 saw the company’s annual Ballet Ball, one of Winnipeg’s most important annual social gatherings, return to the Fairmont Winnipeg for the first time since 2019. Presented by TD and attended by more than 300 guests, an impressive $250,000 was raised. The funds will support the company’s artists, as well as students of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and its faculty and staff. Craig Ramsay and Catherine Wreford Ledlow, alumni of Royal Winnipeg Ballet School served as hosts for the evening (the latter performed at the company most recently in February as the Queen Mother in Swan Lake). The pair, who won television competition show Amazing Race Canada in 2022, spoke to their experience as students with the company and their admiration for artistic director and CEO, André Lewis. It was announced last month that come 2025, Lewis, who has been with the company for nearly 50 years, first as a student and dancer, will step down. A successor has yet to be announced. After dinner, Lewis introduced performances offered by students in the RWB School’s professional division, the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program (a two-year, postsecondary training program) and those taking part in the recreational division. Later, members from the company performed the world premiere of Bound, a work by American choreographer, Meredith Rainey, who was in attendance at the ball. Also out: the Honourable Anita R. Neville, Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba; the Honourable Gigi Osler, physician and Canadian Senator and her husband John, InterGroup CEO and vice-chair of the RWB board of directors; Canadian Senator and human rights activist the Honourable Marilou McPhedran; Councillor Markus Chambers; and Monique Lavoie, chair of this year’s ballet ball committee.
Ataf Khokhar, Anjali Patal and Emerito Guevarra.Meagan O'Donnell
Monique Lavoie, Anne Taylor and Judith Chambers.Meagan O'Donnell
Wab Kinew, Dr. Lisa Monkman and André Lewis.Meagan O'Donnell
Evan and Dustin Maydaniuk.Meagan O'Donnell
RWB company artists Jenna Burns and Kyra Soo.Meagan O'Donnell
Bryce Weedmark, the Honourable Gigi Osler, Chris Turyk, Tara Letwinkiuk and John Osler.Meagan O'Donnell
Craig Ramsay, Stephan Azulay, Jaimi Deleau and Catherine Wreford-Ledlow.Meagan O'Donnell
Grant and Robyn Koropatnick.Meagan O'Donnell