Loving every step Pursuing his passion, far from home
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Oliver Sinex, 12, is like any other boy in Winnipeg. He attends school during the week and enjoys sleeping in on the weekend. The only difference is he’s training to become a professional ballet dancer and lives far from home.
Oliver is a student in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School’s Professional Division, and lives on the school’s downtown campus, surrounded by other students with similar goals.
He attends regular school from 8:30 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. before catching a ride back to the RWB to begin his first dance lesson of the day.
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Oliver Sinex, 12, takes part in a dance class. He hopes to join a ballet company one day after graduating from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Professional Division program.
After that, there’s a second lesson and sometimes a third.
At 6 p.m., he eats a quick dinner in the campus cafeteria, does his homework in the students’ lounge and calls his parents in Calgary. He then packs his lunch for the next day, followed by a stretching session in the dance studio before heading to bed at 10 p.m.
His dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer took form when he was only six years old. He discovered he liked ballet by accident.
“All of the girls (at an after-school program) always went to Alberta Ballet afterward and I wanted to go too,” he says. “I tried quite a few sports and I wasn’t great at most of them, so I thought I’d give ballet a shot.”
He was the only boy in the first ballet class he took, but he immediately knew he wanted to attend more. Being the only boy was a pattern that would continue for the next three years in his dance education.
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After Oliver is done with academic school, Oliver receives instruction from RWB Professional Division vice-principal Kelly Bale, who is also an instructor for the Level 2 class.
“I would enjoy having some other boys (in my class), but I’m used to it by now,” he says.
His role models are legendary Russian-American dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and current RWB principal dancer Yue Shi.
Until last year, he lived in Calgary with his parents — Brad and Katherine Sinex — where he trained at the Alberta Ballet and Hattori/Williamson School of Ballet in the recreational division.
He danced two to four times a week and was about to change to a more intensive ballet program before being accepted into the RWB’s professional program.
In addition to talking on the phone every night, his parents visit as often as they can.
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In the mornings, Oliver rides down the elevator with fellow students who get to their schools via a van driven by a staff member of the RWB. The van leaves promptly at 8:10 am, so that Oliver can arrive on time to his school by 8:30 am.
“I miss having them around… but I enjoy being here and dancing every day,” Oliver says.
The RWB school is an intensive program, with classes every day except Sunday.
On Saturdays, the students are allowed to sleep in a bit, but are in the studio by 9 a.m. for another dance lesson, followed by classes in wellness and music theory. They get afternoons off; Oliver often likes to spend his free time at The Forks.
Oliver has five more years until he reaches Level 7, where he will graduate to the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program, a full-time post-secondary program in the professional division.
He will be 17 by then and one step closer to fulfilling his dream.
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Oliver uses a thermometer to check the temperature of fellow student Teodora Dvoretski, 17. Before starting the day, each student has their temperature checked, usually by a staff member. The staff member was not present, so Oliver happily stepped in.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Oliver attends regular school, but he leaves at 1:50 p.m. when an RWB staff member drives him and other dancers to the RWB for his first dance class of the day, which begins at 2:45 p.m.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
After school, Oliver gets ready to dance as soon as he arrives back at RWB. He is usually in the studio a half hour before class begins so that he can stretch.
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Kelly Bale indicates with her hand three feet above Oliver’s height and measures how high he can jump.
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Oliver attends a school outing on the weekend to Zoo Lights at the Assiniboine Zoo with boarding advisor Bob Pleschke (right) and Josh Sado, activity worker (left). During the weekends after dance class he likes to visit The Forks and walk around.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Oliver stretches before class with fellow students in the Level 2 Professional Division.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Oliver helps another student stretch her feet.
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Oliver and his classmates use the stairs to move between the studios on the four levels of the RWB. Some evenings, Oliver has two to three dance classes, each lasting between 45 and 90 minutes.
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Oliver packs his lunch for the next day using leftovers in the school cafeteria.
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Katherine Sinex, Oliver’s mom, hugs Oliver at his school while his dad, Brad, watches. They haven’t seen each other for a few weeks. The Sinexs live in Calgary and visit Oliver during holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving.
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Oliver eats a quick dinner of salad at the Student Living Centre after dance class and a rehearsal for The Nutcracker. Oliver, along with Dorothea Liu (right), was cast as Dieter, the younger brother to Clara. Each dancer performed four of the eight shows.
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Oliver calls his parents from a quiet room in the Student Living Centre. He calls every night and updates them about his day. This is his first time living so far away from home.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Oliver and Dorothea Liu rehearse the role of Dieter for The Nutcracker with Kendra Woo.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Oliver was cast as Dieter in The Nutcracker. During the show’s run, his parents flew in from Calgary and attended all four performances he appeared in.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Jessica Lee
Photojournalist
After freelancing from abroad and in Toronto for most of her career, Jessica Lee moved to Winnipeg from Toronto in 2021 to join the Free Press.
History
Updated on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 6:53 AM CST: Corrects reference to Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program
