“SARAH SLIPPER IS TRULY GIFTED. THIS IS WHAT
DANCE SHOULD BE ... SHE FOUND THE POINT AT
WHICH THE FORM OF DANCE (STEPS, TECHNIQUE,
FEET, PERFORMANCE) COMBINE TO CREATE A
WORK OF ART.”
–The News Record
Photo / Christopher Peddecord
Dancers / Andrea Parson + Franco Nieto
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR + CHOREOGRAPHER / SARAH SLIPPER
P4
Sarah Slipper was born and raised
in Vancouver, British Columbia, and
received her professional training at the
Royal Ballet School in London, England
and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.
In 1980, she made her professional
debut with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as
a corps de ballet member, and became
one of the company’s leading dramatic
ballerinas. Sarah worked closely with
many internationally renowned directors,
choreographers and teachers, including
Arnold Spohr, Rudi van Dantzig, Hans
van Manen, Jirí Kylián, Agnes de Mille,
Galina Yordanova, and Alla Savchenko.
Sarah was noted for her classical line
and dramatic abilities, dancing the
principal roles in classical ballets such
as Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Giselle,
and The Nutcracker. In addition to
the classical repertoire, she received
worldwide acclaim for her performances
of contemporary ballets, most notably
Nobert Vesak’s The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
and the award winning Belong pas de
deux. After Sarah left the stage, she
continued her passion for music and
drama, studying theatre at the honours
level at the University of Winnipeg, and
in Oxford, England. During the 1996/97
season, she served as ballet mistress
of Alberta Ballet, and from 1997/99 as
ballet mistress of Oregon Ballet Theatre.
Sarah’s command of classical and
contemporary styles is demonstrated
in her active role of teaching and
coaching younger dancers. As a guest
master teacher, Sarah has worked with
the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Washington
Ballet, Ballet Austin, Hubbard Street
Dance Chicago, The Jefferson Dancers
and the Dance Departments of the
University of Utah, Cornish College
of the Arts, and the University of
Iowa. An award winning independent
choreographer, Sarah is presently
based in Portland, Oregon, creating
dance worldwide. She has worked with
prominent dance companies including
the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Cincinnati
Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Nashville
Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet Jorgen,
Louisville Ballet, BalletNY, Alberta Ballet,
Ballet Pacifica, Cornish Dance Theater,
the Northwest Dance Project and The
Jefferson Dancers. She was awarded
the Grand Prize for Choreography at the
International Choreographic Competition
Saint Sauveur 2000 for her ballet
Shattered Night, which was created on
the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. During her
choreographic reside