About Us

The founding of Ballet Kelowna continued the long-lasting ballet legacy of Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally, co-founders of The Canadian School of Ballet (1938) and Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (1939). The idea for starting a ballet company in Kelowna was initiated by then Canadian School of Ballet’s Directors (1985-2011) Melville Brown and Lori Larson. Under the leadership of Founding Board President Myles Bruckal, Founding Artistic Director David LaHay and Honorary Patrons Annette av Paul, Brian Macdonald, C.C., and Arnold Spohr, C.C., Ballet Kelowna gave its first performances with six professional Canadian dancers in the fall of 2003. Upon the retirement of David LaHay in April 2014, Simone Orlando was appointed the new Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2014.

Ballet Kelowna presents a dynamic repertoire of contemporary ballet each season and is a leader in commissioning works from emerging and established Canadian choreographers. The Company has toured to over 75 communities including recent debuts in Atlantic Canada and Quebec and has been invited to perform at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Toronto’s Fall for Dance North Festival, and Beijing’s China International Performing Arts Expo.

Notable collaborative productions include Tangazzo (2005), The Falcon’s Trumpet (2011), and Canadiana Suite (2017) with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Renaissance (2016) with Toronto’s Continuum Contemporary Music, John Alleyne’s A Streetcar Named Desire (2018) with emerging artists from the Victoria Academy of Ballet, and our first full-length commissioned work, Macbeth (2022), with choreography by Alysa Pires, an original score by Adam Sakiyama, and visual design by Jane Everett.

The move into a new dedicated facility in the fall of 2015 allowed the organization to launch new training and outreach programs: the IN MOTION Adult Ballet Program, the Okanagan Summer Dance Intensive for pre-professional dancers, and the Studio Series, a program offering open rehearsal showings with visiting choreographers.

Ballet Kelowna has been recognized for its contribution to the arts through numerous awards including the BC Touring Council’s Artistic Company of the Year (2008, 2024), the Okanagan Arts Award for Dance (2009, 2011, 2017), and the Lieutenant Governor’s Arts and Music Award (2022).