$3 Million Investment in Emerging Artists
WINNIPEG, MB, June 9, 2022 /CNW/ - Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet received a $3 million gift to invest in the lives and futures of young artists. This gift was made by Canadian philanthropist and Manitoba native, Donald K. Johnson in memory of his late wife; in recognition of this generous gift, the RWB will now refer to its post-secondary program as the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program.
Anna McCowan-Johnson's passion for ballet and dedication to teaching were inspirational. During her long career as a dance educator, including as founder and Artistic Director of Interplay School of Dance in Toronto, she influenced many lives and introduced generations of young people to the joy of dance, both as eager participants and budding audience members. McCowan-Johnson was always proud to see how lives were touched and enriched through creative movement. She was taught and mentored by one of the RWB's co-founders Gweneth Lloyd, enjoyed an enduring friendship with the RWB's Artistic Director Emeritus Arnold Spohr and was a fan of the RWB, often encouraging and supporting young dancers to attend the RWB School. "From good posture, balance and flexibility, to self-discipline, creativity, empathy and confidence, I understand firsthand the benefits of dance for young people."
- Anna McCowan-Johnson -
This gift will create an endowed fund at The Winnipeg Foundation, that will continue to grow and support the program indefinitely, while impacting countless dancers beyond measure. Naming the Aspirant Program after Mrs. McCowan-Johnson is a meaningful way to commemorate the magnanimous Johnson investment. This fund will become an additional source of revenue to allow the RWB to enhance the program, attract renowned guest choreographers to help enrich the educational experience and better prepare young dancers to perform on stages around the world.
"The Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program Fund is designed to help raise the bar and reach for this invaluable program and help the RWB enhance and accelerate its ambitious goals and results. Anna believed it was crucial to equip young artists with the necessary tools and resources to advance their professional dance careers, and this specific investment honours her vision and memory.
- Donald K. Johnson, O.C. -
"I am pleased our Aspirant program now bears the name of an exemplary leader and lover of dance - the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program. This is a tremendous advancement for the RWB School Professional Division and a substantial community investment. World-class training of our versatile, international artists in the heart of the Prairies reflects the high standards in our community, serves as a tribute to what our founders set out to accomplish and opens more doors to global company recruitment."
- André Lewis, Artistic Director & CEO -
"The Aspirant students are the young stars of the future, and their home is the stage. We are excited about this new partnership for our artists as more young students will be able to enter and experience the power of the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program. A heartfelt thank you to Don Johnson for this extraordinary opportunity gift…we are honoured that our Aspirants will forever be associated with Anna McCowan-Johnson and her passion for the art of dance."
- Vanessa Léonard, Director, Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program -
Don Johnson is a Canadian philanthropist, born and raised in Lundar, Manitoba and currently resides in Toronto, Ontario. Johnson is a Member of the Advisory Board of BMO Capital Markets and a former Vice-Chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns.
Johnson serves on the Advisory Board of the Ivey Business School at Western University. He is a Board Member of the UHN Foundation; Chairman of the Eye Institute Fundraising Campaign at Toronto Western Hospital; and a member of the 2022 Major Individual Giving Cabinet of the United Way Greater Toronto.
In 2007, Johnson made a $5 million donation to the Toronto Western Hospital Eye Institute. In 2015 he donated an additional $10 million to create the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute at the Toronto Western Hospital. In 2021, Johnson pledged a further $50 million to recognize the work done by those committed to advancing eye health, and to provide the Institute with the funds required to attract top international talent so that it can continue this important work. The Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute at the Toronto Western Hospital is the leading Eye Institute in Canada and one of the top five in North America.
Johnson was promoted to an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009 "for his key role in changing Canada's tax laws to eliminate the capital gains tax on gifts of publicly traded securities to registered charities, and for his support of health care research and the arts."
Don Johnson has made a remarkable cumulative gift of $16 million that celebrates the amazing life and ballet love of his late wife Anna McCowan-Johnson. In addition to Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet gift of $3 million for the establishment of the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program Fund, he has gifted Canada's National Ballet School (NBS) with $3 million for the naming of the Anna McCowan-Johnson Stage at the Betty Oliphant Theatre, located on the NBS campus and to support NBS' Dancing Opens Doors initiative; and The National Ballet Company with $10 million for the the Anna McCowan-Johnson New Creations Fund and the Anna McCowan-Johnson Director of Equity and Engagement.
The Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program is the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division's full-time intensive two-year post-secondary training curriculum, designed for advanced level classical ballet dancers (Aspirants) who are making the transition from student to professional dancer. The Program provides dancers with specially designed classes in ballet and pointe technique, modern, and classical variations, as well as the opportunity to collaborate with new and established choreographers and to create new works of their own. Supplementary classes may be offered in drama, character dance, and modern dance partnering. Aspirants are also supported in the preparation of audition photos, videos, applications, and other logistics, and are invited to participate in a variety of lectures such as finances, stress, and anxiety management in conjunction with the Dancers' Transition Resource Centre. The most important advantage of the Program is the close, daily contact with the world-renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company. Aspirants regularly attend Company classes and are frequently cast in the Company's full-length classical ballet productions, both in Winnipeg and on worldwide tours. Alumni of the Program enrolled at the University of Winnipeg can have their studio and course work recognized by the Faculty of Theatre and Film with up to 18 credit hours towards their degree.
Vanessa Léonard (nee Lawson) has been gracing the studios and stages of Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet since 1994 as a student, Principal artist, teacher, Company Ballet Master and Director of the Aspirant Program for the last year. Léonard received her early training from the Edmonton School of Ballet and the RWB School Professional Division before joining the RWB Company in 1997. During her 15-year career, Léonard portrayed the lead female role in many well-known works including Butterfly, Giselle, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Dracula, The Magic Flute, Carmina Burana, Val Caniparoli's A Cinderella Story, Peter Pan, Carmen, The Passion, Wonderland, Moulin Rouge® – The Ballet and Romeo & Juliet.
Léonard has appeared as a guest artist internationally, performing in galas with the Compania Nacional de Danza in Mexico City, the Benios De La Danse in Moscow, the 10th and 13th International Ballet Festivals of Miami, and the Encore International Dance Festival in Quebec.
She has also been invited to dance with various companies and schools in full-length productions of Nutcracker, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty in Canada, the USA and Spain. She has staged full length ballets for the RWB, Orlando Ballet and Louisville Ballet and is a sought-after guest teacher in Canada and around the globe.
Léonard has always believed in the importance of mentorship, as well as soaking in wisdom, technique, and advice from everyone who has crossed her path. In the prestigious role of the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program Director, Léonard strives to impart this knowledge to the many students and artists she works with in the RWB School and Company.
To hear more about the $3 million investment in young artists and watch dazzling dancers at their best, please join us at the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program season finale:
On The Edge
Thursday, June 9 and Friday, June 10, 2022
RWB Founders' Studio
380 Graham Avenue
7:30pm
Tickets at rwb.org
This media release is available in French on request.
For further media information and to arrange interviews in English or French, please contact:
Jo Magnifico | Communications & Public Relations Specialist
T 204.957.3456 C 204.509.8023 E [email protected]
SOURCE Canada''s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
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