Just so you know this is a fun film – yes!

And it’s ballet!

My older brother worked for the Royal Winnipeg in the early 1970s. He was one of the many road crew that toured with the company. He married one of the dancers and they had three daughters. And as a young teenager I had the opportunity to meet dancers, production and artistic staff and too Arnold Spohr, who was a very memorable character and the long standing artistic director of the company. They all made an impression on me. 

For myself the best part of the RWB’s story is how they began with nothing and then how they made something from that nothing. I call them scrappy and they were. They were a tough lot and they stuck with their own vision. They took their inspiration from the geography, culture and people of their home of Winnipeg. They became celebrated in international dance centres in Russia, England and across the United States for their unique style which was often called ‘Prairie Freshness’. They made much of their honest performances and integrity. In those years they made their own rules, their own guidelines and their own goals. Though the company did have as much bad luck as good, they endured not one but two fires, numerous setbacks, many of them financial and they just hauled themselves up by their britches and kept on with it.

So they could have been any group of people pursuing any dream. They just happened to be dancers pursuing their dream to dance. This film is certainly by far not the whole story. There are so many key figures not even mentioned in this film! But this is a salute to the perserverance of the company, the dancers, tech people and their audiences.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada’s first professional Ballet company and surprisingly the oldest continuously running company in North America. They were the first Canadian ballet and dance company to tour Russia, the United States, South America, Australia, Czechoslovakia, Israel, the Caribbean, Egypt, and post revolutionary Cuba, oh and also across Canada. 

The idea of ballet began in earnest in Winnipeg Manitoba in 1938 with the arrival of two English ladies. In 1939 the Winnipeg Ballet club was founded by 36 year old Gweneth Lloyd and 23 year old Betty (Hey) Farrally. The other key figure was David Yeddeau who stage managed and really was the general manager of this scrappy little company that would take on any challenge. Between Gweneth, Betty and David the young company was in firm hands.

David Yeddeau conceived and production managed the 1st Canadian Ballet Festival in 1948 which was held in Winnipeg.  On a side note – the National Film Board of Canada made a film about that first Ballet Festival. And they state in the film that it was held in Toronto! Which is a completely false statement. The second year it was held in Toronto, which became the inspiration for a group of uppity Torontonians to organize a ballet company for Toronto. That group became the National Ballet of Canada.

Another snowball effect of Yeddeau’s brain child was when Anatole Chujoy experienced the fabulous festival Yeddeau pulled together, Chujoy returned to New York city and pressed for a similar US Regional Ballet festival which first premiered in Atlanta in 1956.

MAX WYMAN! I would like to point out my appreciation to the author and dance critic, Max Wyman, who wrote what I think of as the most readable and well researched portrait of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. His book is called simply, “The Royal Winnipeg Ballet – the first forty years”. This book was published in 1978 by Doubleday Canada.

It is nothing short of brilliant.

It was certainly my own inspiration in making this film portrait of the RWB and why Max is so featured in this film. So if you are a fan of the company or just like dance. I highly recommend searching this book out. It is a great read!

THANK YOU MAX WYMAN for all of your help with this film and for all you’ve done for documenting and inspiring dance in Canada.