Dance Mania 07
Friday, March 30 to Sunday, April 1, 2007
Dance Mania 07
Adjudicator:
Artistic Director
Saskatchewan Contemporary Ballet
Sarah
Nolan-Downs
 Now
residing in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Sarah was classically trained in
ballet having graduated from Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Professional
Division with Distinction.
She went on to dance professionally with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
for three years until an injury forced an untimely career change.
Sarah’s performances include Giselle, The Nutcracker, Les
Sylphides, Swan Lake, Concerto Barrocco, Les Patineurs, Seventh Symphony,
and Deuce Coupe.
She was also cast as the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty and
performed a solo variation in the ballet Paquita. In 1996, Sarah attended
the Professional Ballet Program at the Banff Festival of the Arts in
Banff, Alberta.
In
September of 2004 Sarah successfully founded the Saskatchewan Contemporary
Ballet (SCB), the province’s only professional ballet company. Sarah
produced and directed several shows throughout the past two years
including the Sugar Plum Gala.
This unique holiday celebration features dancers, singers,
musicians, actors and writers who come together for one special night to
raise money for the Royal University Hospital Foundation in Saskatoon.
This year’s featured performance was “Silent Night” performed by
dancers with SCB, the Amati Quartet, and Carrie Catherine, a local singer/
songwriter. In 2007 SCB will tour “Motion, Emotion” to schools around
the province in the Winter/Spring. This performance was created based on
stories written by grade six children in a Saskatoon school and composed
by a Toronto based musician.
Another
highlight of Sarah’s career includes being involved with Dance
Saskatchewan’s presentation of RBC Dominion Securities ‘Dare to
Dance.” This show gives the blossoming talent in the province of
Saskatchewan an opportunity to share the stage with professional working
dancers that originated from this province. For six weeks they work with
an internationally renowned director and choreographers to build a show
that has included up to 300 people. This fantastic opportunity is unique
to anything in the Country, and is a great opportunity for dancers to have
an experience beyond the commercial dance studio. Acting as rehearsal
mistress consecutively for 5 years Sarah has also been a guest
choreographer for 4 of those years.
Sarah’s
most recent endeavors include directing Celebrating Saskatchewan under the
Northern Lights, a performance that involved over 100 dancers in a
cultural celebration in LaRonge and working as the dance co-coordinator
for the Saskatchewan Centennial Gala, attended by the Queen and televised
Nationally by CBC. She was recently the lead choreographer on
Saskatoon’s Centennial Gala performance directed by Sean Hoy.
Sarah
is thrilled to be able to contribute to the dance scene in Saskatchewan
with the goal to inspire others to be passionate about dance as an art
form.
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