Tara Birtwhistle
  Principal Dancer-Royal Winnipeg Ballet
 

Tara Birtwhistle was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta, later moving to Red Deer, Alberta. Tara credits most of her pre-professional training to the Sherwood Park School of Dance and Red Deer School of Ballet. 

In 1986, Tara left home to train professionally with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Professional Division. In 1991, she graduated from the Professional Division and joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet company as a corps de ballet member. In 1995 she was promoted to soloist.
 

Tara is fond of the RWB's varied repertoire. Her favourite roles include ‘Lucy’ in Mark Godden’s Dracula, the female lead in Stoolgame, ‘Arabian’ in Nutcracker, ‘Lilac Fairy’ in The Sleeping Beauty, ‘Tall Swans’ in Swan Lake and Mark Godden's La Princesse et le Soldat, Miroirs and The Rite of Spring. Tara enjoys performing everything from contemporary to classical and is best known for her dramatic interpretations and versatility.  

The 1999/2000 season was a busy one for Tara. Early in the year, she and RWB second soloist Paul De Strooper travelled to Ottawa to perform for Adrienne Clarkson, the newly appointed Governor General. Then she was named in Maclean’s December 20 issue as “One of 100 Young Canadians to Watch in the New Millennium”. A few months later, she made an astonishing debut as ‘Juliet’ in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet. Other debuts were ‘La Bonne Fée in David Nixon’s Beauty and the Beast, ‘Clara’ in Nina Menon and Galina Yordanova’s Nutcracker as well as in Shawn Hounsell’s Creaturehood and Nina Menon’s Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White.  

Tara was promoted to Principal Dancer for the RWB’s 2000/2001 season, and danced ‘Kate” in the RWB premiere of David Nixon’s Butterfly and lead roles in Nina Menon’s The Gitagovinda and Mark Godden’s As Above, So Below. During the 2001/2002 season she performed ‘Bathilde’ and ‘Myrtha’ in Giselle, ‘La Fée des Lilas’ in The Sleeping Beauty and one of the lead roles in the RWB premiere of Mauricio Wainrot’s Carmina Burana.
     

 

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