Saran
Slipper

Benois de la Danse nominee

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. Ms. Slipper worked closely with many internationally renowned directors, choreographers and teachers, including Arnold Spohr, Rudi van Dantzig, Hans van Manen, Jiri Kylian, Agnes de Mille, Galina Yordanova, and Alia Savchenko. Ms. Slipper 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 Ms. Slipper 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. Ms. Slipper's command of classical and contemporary styles is demonstrated in her active role of teaching and coa╛ching younger dancers. As a gu╛est master teacher, Ms. Slipper 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, Ms. Slipper is presently based in Portland, Oregon, creating dance world-wide. She has worked with prominent dance companies including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Nashville Ballet, Ballet Jorgen, Louisville Ballet, Fugate/Bahiri Ballet NY, Alberta Ballet, Ballet Pacifica, Cornish Dance Theater, the Northwest Professional 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 crea╛ted on the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. During her choreographic residency at Festival des Arts in Que╛bec, Canada, her ballet Л River In A Dry Land, was described by the Montreal Gazette as “one of the finest choreographies pro╛duced in residency”. Ms. Slipper's works have been described as «absolutely remarkable…grippingly pits breezy romanticism against a sinister undercurrent». (“The Oregonian”) and «…a complete, enclosed world, a somber yet hopeful winter landscape across which the three couples thread in a long, smoothly unfolding skein of dance.» (“The New York Times”).

Ms. Slipper is currently working on several new creations and serves as the Artistic Director of the Northwest Professional Dance Project.

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