Royal Winnipeg Ballet Presents Modern Classic ‘Carmina Burana’

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Dazzles this Winter with 

Electrifying Double Bill Featuring

– Carmina Burana and T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods – 

RWB marks its first BC tour in a decade with a beloved classic and 

Indigenous-led West Coast premiere

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) concludes its highly anticipated Winter 2026 BC Tour in Vancouver 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 February 9 & 10, 2026 at 7:30pm, at The Centre Vancouver (777 Homer St). This is the first time in a decade that Vancouver audiences will have the opportunity to see Canada’s longest-running ballet company perform repertoire outside of their annual Nutcracker performance, 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 Vancouver 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 in qathet (Powell River) 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 evening-length 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.

“In many Indigenous cultures, history is not written down but passed down through Elders, so it felt natural to share an oral history from my home, the Tla’amin First Nation,” shares Fraser-Monroe. “As a born-and-raised British Columbian, I am thrilled to bring this ballet home to its place of origin, and to have the opportunity to share my culture with Vancouver audiences and beyond.”

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.

In addition to Vancouver, RWB’s 2026 BC Tour includes performances in Powell River, Chilliwack, Vernon, Salt Spring Island, Courtenay, and Nanaimo. 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.