Student Alexa Kastellanos, Professional Division dancer
Canada’s most talented young dancers now have an academic campus to call home. Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and The University of Winnipeg Collegiate today signed a partnership agreement designating the Collegiate as the official academic partner for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division Ballet Academic Program (BAP) for students in Grades 9 to 12.
The agreement, signed today between President & Vice-Chancellor of The University of Winnipeg, Lloyd Axworthy, and the Executive Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Jeff Herd, formally recognizes the strength of the working relationship that has developed between these two influential organizations over the past decade.
“The University of Winnipeg Collegiate has been our ‘school of choice’ for Grades 9 to 12 since 2005 and we are delighted to now make that designation official,” said Jeff Herd. “We have long had a successful working relationship with The University of Winnipeg that has evolved and strengthened over the years, and we look forward to it continuing with a number of other exciting opportunities on the horizon.”
Executive Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Jeff Herd and President & Vice-Chancellor of The University of Winnipeg, Lloyd Axworthy, sign agreement.
Flexible study
“Our Collegiate offers a curriculum that broadens young minds while allowing dancers the flexibility they need to pursue their dreams in lock-step with their educational goals,” said Axworthy. “We are proud to partner with the RWB, which is both a pillar in the downtown community and one of Manitoba’s best ambassadors on the world stage.”
Artistic Director for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, André Lewis, is a huge supporter of this endeavour and says, “All of our artists can benefit from an academic education, and The University of Winnipeg is a natural partner to support our blossoming young talent.”
Both the Professional Division of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and The Collegiate concentrate on engaging students and preparing them for a future of successful lifelong development. For more than 40 years the RWB School Professional Division has fulfilled this mandate, training dancers and dance teachers for the RWB Company and other companies and schools around the world while launching the professional careers of countless young people. Under the vision and leadership of School Director Arlene Minkhorst, the Professional Division has continued to build a solid relationship with The Collegiate, which has created a comprehensive program for learning and development for its students in Grades 9 to 12.
The Collegiate at The University of Winnipeg has a proud tradition of academic excellence and accessibility, in an environment of critical thinking and community spirit. Continuing in its worthy traditions, the Collegiate is committed to offering Grades 9 through 12 students high school programs that provide a transition to post-secondary education. The Collegiate philosophy emphasizes the need for students to become mature individuals within an atmosphere of self-generated discipline, where students can discover freedom and its complement, responsibility.
http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/collegiate-index
For more Information on this partnership agreement or for interviews or images, please contact:
Rebecca McCauley
Publicity Manager
Royal Winnipeg Ballet
rmccauley@rwb.org
T: 204.957.3447
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer,
The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135
E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
