Named after the Professional Division’s Founding Director, the David Moroni School Endowment Fund was established with a $5 million goal to ensure the long term health and stability of the School’s Professional Division.
A fully resourced David Moroni School Endowment Fund will ensure that we continue to provide our students with a dance education that meets the highest standards of quality and excellence through initiatives such as the following:
• Exposure to guest teachers and choreographers
• Varied repertoire
• Exchanges with other international ballet schools
• Additional performance opportunities
• Attendance at major international competitions and conferences

Gifts to the David Moroni School Endowment Fund are eligible to be matched by the Federal government under the Endowment Incentives Component of the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program thereby increasing the impact of your support.
The ability to cultivate the creative spirit of the young artists within the Professional Division is crucial to the success of the RWB School. Please help us to ensure a bright future for our students!  

Download a pdf of our brochure.
 

Excerpts from the following article were published in the May2009 edition of Front of the Class

The Canadian School of Ballet began in Winnipeg in 1939, with six dancers training under the careful eyes of Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally. By 1943, The Winnipeg Ballet was formed and all dancers in the company were from the School. In 1955, the company now known as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet took over the School and it became known as the School of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet with Jean McKenzie as the Principal.

In 1970, the Board of the RWB and Artistic Director Arnold Spohr realized a new professional school model was necessary to further the Company’s growth and the RWB School Professional Division was established with former RWB Principal Dancer David Moroni becoming the Founding Director.

The David Moroni School Endowment Fund was established in 2005 with a $5 million goal to ensure the long term health and stability of the RWB School’s Professional Division.

Front of the Class sat down with Mr. Moroni to discuss the RWBS Professional Division and the Endowment that is named in his honour.

1. After a distinguished dance career, you retired from the RWB and became the RWB School Professional Division’s Founding Director. In the beginning what were your main goals for the Program. What did you want to accomplish?

The main goal was to provide the company with a choice of young, talented, well trained dancers who would reside in Winnipeg while training. Auditioning abroad had become less and less of a desirable choice. In keeping with Arnold Spohr's desire to encourage young Canadian talent the idea proved to be the right way to go. The unique style of the company under Spohr's talented direction set the scene for concentrated training that would complement the company. Most of the great companies of the world have drawn and benefited from the support of their schools.

Two representatives from the board of directors, namely Peter MacDonald and Justice Roy Mattis, approached me with an offer I couldn't refuse. "Would I be interested in founding a division of the school with the goal of training professional dancers for the company?" This was indeed an opportunity of a lifetime....... Mind you, it meant that I would have to step down from my position as a Principal dancer and concentrate totally on the mission at hand. Believe it or not, I realized early on that the process would likely take the rest of my working career to simply lay down the foundation. I was right on that count!! I had no budget, had no staff and very little infrastructure to speak of.

The dancers that would emerge from the newly formed professional division would demonstrate the warmth, the versatility, and the strength to endure and survive a rigorous touring schedule. There was however an additional demand that would become part of the training! In order to fully quantify our so called "versatility", the classical technique would have to improve! I felt that mixed programming did not provide enough challenges in the classical idiom, as the company had never performed a full length classic (which after all was and is still the standard). So the scene was set!!! The division had to produce in the first year what should have normally taken seven to eight years of daily rigorous schooling to achieve.  There were many hurdles to surmount. Would I be able to develop the infrastructure of a seven year program ??? Where would the money, the young students, the staff and the physical facilities (studios, equipment, budgets, residence etc. etc. come from?). Who would help me bring this enormous task to fruition?? It was very lonely in the beginning!!

2. The RWB School is recognized as a national centre of dance excellence. What are you most proud of in regards to the Professional Division?

In fact, there are several aspects of the School that I am very proud of!

The fact that the School is alive and well and continues to produce excellent young artists for Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and the world is in itself a crowning jewel.

The wonderful and rare team of staff members who continue to grow motivated by a strong desire to maintain high standards of excellence.

The endless support and hard work through many years of negotiations with the Manitoba Department of Education that established accreditation for the ballet students. This precedent setting achievement was made possible through the tireless efforts of Dr. Alice Cheatley.

The Residence, a huge undertaking, finally became a reality through the support of the citizens of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba and Canada.

3. Tell us about the young people who come to train at the School.  What qualities must they have to be accepted into the PD Program and what other characteristics must they develop to succeed?

First and foremost a passion and a distinctly obvious aptitude for dance.   A strong understanding and desire to embark upon a course of several years of intense professional training. It goes without saying that physical requirements must complement the total. The desire to study dance must also be supported and understood by their families.

Dance offers several opportunities for careers in various idioms such as musical theatre, modern and contemporary dance and choreography all of which are exciting. The promise of one or the other can only be fully determined as puberty sets in.  The staff is responsible for guidance and support toward all of the various idioms in the hope that the candidates will enjoy a career best suited to their particular talents.

In keeping with the company's style, individual characteristics and personalities are encouraged to emerge, grow and continue the legacy that is the RWB.

4. What are your hopes and dreams for the future of the RWBS Professional Division?

Of course I wish for ongoing support from the RWB, the community, and all levels of government.

One of my many dreams for the school is for it to continue it's commitment in nurturing a broad cluster of artists. By this I mean the development of future dancers, teachers, choreographers, coaches, directors, superstars, those drawn toward  the production aspects of the ballet such as designers, wardrobe and all technical aspects of the behind the scene world of the theatre.

For the School to keep an eye to the future on the world stage, by not being afraid of welcoming new and innovative ideas to promote the health and future success of the Ballet as the noble and exciting art we have come to appreciate.

 5. In your view, why is it important to support the PD School Endowment?

None of the above can happen without funding. I can't stress enough the importance of individual patrons and the monumental effect that their financial support provides. Contributions to the Endowment will help guarantee that the RWBS Professional Division will continue to flourish.

Your donation, which can be pledged over a number of years, is eligible to be matched by the Federal government under the Endowment Incentives Component of the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program thereby increasing the impact of your support.

While gifts of cash are the most common way to give, a donation of securities could offer greater tax advantages. Under the recent Canadian taxation rules, donors are no longer taxed on capital gains accrued on securities such as public company shares, bonds, mutual fund units and employee stock options, when donated to a registered charity such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Securities Transfer Form

Choices for a Future

I joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School at the age of 16. I remember it being one of the most difficult decisions of my life at the time with my older sister pregnant with her son and only one year left at my high school with all my friends in Edmonton. But I knew that if I wanted to pursue this career, there was no choice.

Now 15 years later I am a principal dancer with the company I grew up admiring, and I believe that I am here because of that decision. The RWB School is where the dreams of young boys and girls begin. It is by no means an easy road to take but the knowledge I gained during my two years of studies prepared me for the life I have now.

My teachers, Mr. Moroni, Mrs. Weber, Galina Yordanova and the late Ms. Julia Arkos all expected and demanded more from me than I ever thought I was capable of. Even when the frustration of being a perfectionist (as most dancers are) seemed impossible to handle, these teachers did not give up on me and kept pushing me to the limits. Now as a professional, I test those limits in every rehearsal and every performance I give.

My year in Level Seven coincided with the 25^th anniversary of the School; so much of the focus went towards the exciting production of Don Quixote at the concert hall in May. We rehearsed endlessly to put together the performance and it was a great success. This however was when I faced the biggest challenge of my life at that point. I tore the anterior cruciate ligament of my left knee one month before the show and one month before graduation. My surgery was scheduled the day after the performance so I watched my friends dance from the audience with my crutches beside my seat. The only way I got through the next year of recovery was by focusing on the goals that were ingrained in me during my studies. Determination, perseverance, discipline and the search for inspiration are all qualities that were taught to me and I believe I can use those qualities wherever my life takes me.

I graduated with distinction a couple of weeks after the surgery with the support and encouragement of all my teachers and I’ve only looked forward since then.

Vanessa Lawson, RWB Principal Dancer
RWBS Professional Division Grad 1996

The Best Way

I grew up in the small town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and began Ukrainian dancing when I was 6. At age 13 I auditioned for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division and at this time I had only studied ballet for a year. When I found out that I was accepted my parents, especially my Dad, were very hesitant to let me go. I know that my Dad had a long phone call with Arlene Minkhorst, Director of the RWB School and it definitely made him feel better about the whole situation. I come from a family of six so living in residence with 40 other kids wasn’t such a big deal, I was used to a busy living situation.

As a graduate of the RWBS Professional Division it was such an honour for me to be offered a position in the RWB Company.  I know that there are very few who are chosen to be company dancers, so to join the ranks of the people who had inspired me it was quite an amazing accomplishment. I can personally say that the training and experience I received while in the school prepared me for my professional debut. While at the RWB School I was given many opportunities that I am very grateful for. In the early levels you learn all the basic technique. In the later levels you are then presented with chances to use this technique and complement it with your artistry.  The Concert Hour Ballet program is one of the best performance opportunities of the year and I was fortunate enough to be cast in lead roles. I was also sent to perform principal roles at other schools, which happens frequently as a professional dancer. On several occasions my classmates and I had the pleasure to work with many guest teachers and choreographers including Anna-Marie Holmes, Ethan Brown, Marc Boivin as well as the Founding Director of the RWBS Professional Divison, David Moroni.

As a professional dancer you need to be able to adapt to all kinds of choreography. Working with as many people as possible is the best way to do this and I have the RWB School to thank for preparing me in such a manner.

Tristan Dobrowney, RWB Apprentice
RWBS Professional Division Grad 2008