Royal Winnipeg Ballet: Powell River – MPMG Media Relations Campaigns

PRESS RELEASE

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Dazzles this Winter with
Electrifying Double Bill Featuring
— T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods and Carmina Burana —

RWB kicks off 2026 BC Tour in Powell River, with a West Coast premiere from Tla’amin Nation choreographer, Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe

POWELL RIVER, BC — Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) opens its highly anticipated Winter 2026 BC Tour in Powell River with an exhilarating mixed program, featuring RWB’s signature performance of the modern classic Carmina Burana, alongside the West Coast premiere of rising choreographer Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe’s T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods, on stage January 27, 2026 at 7:30pm, at Evergreen Theatre (5001 Joyce Ave). This is the first time in a decade that BC audiences will have the opportunity to see Canada’s longest-running ballet company perform repertoire outside of their annual Nutcracker performance in Vancouver, presented by Ballet BC.

“We are delighted to be returning to Vancouver as part of our Winter 2026 BC Tour, and are very excited to bring audiences two of RWB’s most lauded contemporary ballet works – Carmina Burana, a perennially popular favourite over the past 20 years, and T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods, RWB’s most recently commissioned work, which received enthusiastic praise from critics and audiences alike, upon its world premiere in 2024,” says Christopher Stowell, RWB Artistic Director. “A testament to RWB’s immense versatility and virtuosity, we are privileged to bring this compelling double bill to Powell River audiences for an unforgettable evening of visually stunning and breathtakingly daring choreography.”

Exploding with athletically-charged movement and sensual virtuosity, RWB’s trademark presentation of Carmina Burana will open the evening’s double bill, featuring German composer Carl Orff’s pounding, evocative score and Argentine choreographer Mauricio Wainrot’s bold, corporeal choreography. Performed in a series of five vignettes, the “highly visceral ballet…highlights the vitality of the company” (Winnipeg Free Press), moving from gravity-defying leaps and spins to primal urgency to romantic tenderness, aligned with the cantata’s texts celebrating all of life’s sensual pleasures. Originally commissioned by Belgium’s Royal Ballet of Flanders in 1998, RWB presented the work’s Canadian premiere in 2002, which has since become a popular audience favourite over the past two decades.

The evening performance will conclude with the West Coast premiere of the contemporary, Indigenous-led work T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods, choreographed by BC’s own Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe, a member of the Tla’amin Nation and an alumnus of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Hailed as “a powerful fusion of Indigenous storytelling, contemporary ballet, and classical music—rooted in tradition and elevated for the stage” (The Globe and Mail), T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods is a powerful retelling of the traditional oral tale of a young woman who ventures into the unknown to save her sister from the sinister T’əl, a dark figure who steals children under the cover of night. A gripping, heroic tale, the ballet is based on the oral history of Tla’amin Elder Elsie Paul, who narrates in both her native Ayajuthem and English. The fully Indigenous-led creative team also features an original score by JUNO-nominated, two-spirit composer Cris Derksen, and stunning costumes by New York-based Navajo designer Asa Benally.

“For thousands of years this story has been used to entertain, to connect, and to protect our children, and I am so excited to continue that tradition by opening the tour of this ballet in the Tla’amin Territory,” says Fraser-Monroe. “No matter where you go there is ‘someone in the woods,’ and it feels amazing to share this story throughout BC.”

Fraser-Monroe started his training at three years old, with Ukrainian dancing in Vernon, BC. He later studied Hoop and Grass Dance, as well as ballet, graduating from Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. He has since performed with Red Sky Performance, Dancers of Damelahmaid, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada, and Ballet Kelowna. As a choreographer, Fraser-Monroe has received commissions from the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Ballet Kelowna, among others. He has served as Artistic Director of the Winnipeg Summer Dance Collective since 2021, joined Ballet Kelowna as Artist in Residence for their 20th season in 2022-23, and joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet of Canada as Choreographer in Residence for the 2023-24 season.

Following Powell River, RWB’s 2026 BC Tour includes performances in Chilliwack, Vernon, Salt Spring Island, Courtenay, Nanaimo, and Vancouver. For full details and to purchase tickets, visit rwb.org

Special thanks to Peter and Maureen MacDonald, Jackson McKiee, and Dr. Marcel Van Woensel for their generous support in bringing the Royal Winnipeg Ballet to audiences on the West Coast.

About Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB.org)

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) teaches, creates, and performs—enriching lives through the transformative power of exceptional dance. With a legacy spanning over 85 years, the RWB is recognized for its versatility, technical brilliance, and captivating performance style. Now under the artistic leadership of Christopher Stowell, an internationally respected choreographer and arts leader, the RWB is entering an exciting new chapter—one that honours its legacy while embracing innovation and contemporary voices in dance.

In addition to its renowned Company, the RWB is home to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, which includes the Professional Division—an internationally respected training ground for aspiring professional dancers and dance educators—and the Recreational Division, Winnipeg’s largest dance school, welcoming students of all ages, levels, and interests.

LISTING INFORMATION	Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet presents *T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods and Carmina Burana*
Date:	January 27, 2026
Time:	7:30pm
Venue:	Evergreen Theatre 5001 Joyce Ave, Powell River, BC
Ticket Prices:	From $47.78 – $84.53 25% discount for groups of 10 or morePay What You Can for Indigenous patrons with code COMMUNITY
Tickets/Info:	RWB.org