Local dance pioneers leap, pirouette into hall of fame

CBC sitcom The Newsroom, created by Winnipeg-born Ken Finklemen, is unjustly forgotten, despite being years ahead of its time in terms of its shaky handheld-camera style and its biting parody of Toronto-centric CBC culture.

“But Winnipeg’s supposed to have a great symphony,” one character reassures a despondent colleague who has been reassigned to anchor in the Manitoba capital.

“Hear Winnipeg’s got a great ballet. You’ll have a good time, I swear,” says another.

Empty encouragement this may be, but Finklemen’s characters were spitting facts: Winnipeg’s orchestras and dance companies have among Canada’s most significant lineages.

It doesn’t seem to surprise Catherine Wreford, then, that the first hall of fame ceremony held outside Toronto for Dance Collection Danse — a national arts organization that safeguards the country’s dance archives and artifacts — would be hosted by Winnipeg and recognize the Prairies’ contributions to shaping Canadian dance.

After all, Arnold Spohr (1923-2010) — inducted this year into the hall of fame — is much more than just the former artistic director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

“He’s father of ballet in Canada,” Wreford says, given that through his 30-year tenure at the RWB he effectively established Canada’s first globally recognized ballet.

“He (also) trained me every morning before school, like from the time I was like a preteen until I graduated high school. It’s gonna be really special inducting my mentor.”

The Winnipeg-based dancer, actress and singer — whose career has ranged from Broadway theatre to film — is one of three presenters at this year’s event, alongside RWB artistic director Christopher Stowell and prima ballerina Evelyn Hart.

Other inductees include Rachel Browne, Brian Webb, Ryan Richard, Canada’s Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, Odette Heyn, Faye Thomson and Ashley (Colours) Perez.

Wreford observes that this list of inductees, in many ways, reflects the evolution of Canadian dance — from classical to modern to a more multicultural and post-colonial direction.

“(Rachel Browne) came from a ballet world and sort of changed it into contemporary when it didn’t really exist,” she says.

The classically trained pianist and choreographer (1934-2012) founded Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers in 1964, making it Canada’s oldest contemporary dance company.

She’s been called the matriarch of modern dance in Canada, completing the parental role Winnipeg choreographers have played for Canada’s classical and modern dance cultures.

Among living inductees, Wreford highlights Richard, the two-spirit drag queen also known as Miss Sandi Bay, considered one of the province’s most accomplished jiggers.

Jigging ensemble United Thunder, which joins the RWB and WCD in performing at this year’s event, further highlights the Prairies’ impressive jigging tradition.

“(The performances) are going to be amazing. It’s all going to be a ton of fun,” says Wreford.

“And I’m a really fun host,” she adds with a laugh. “It’s a room full of joyful people.”

conrad.sweatman@freepress.mb.ca