RWB’s André Lewis appointed member of Order of Canada By: Jen Zoratti Posted: 8:09 AM CST Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023 Last Modified: 8:30 AM CST Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023 Updates

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André Lewis, the longtime artistic director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, has been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada.

The Order of Canada is one of the country’s top civilian honours, recognizing people who “make extraordinary contributions to the nation” and embody the Order’s Latin motto, desiderantes meliorem patriam, or “they desire a better country.”

More than 7,800 people have been named to the ranks within the Order of Canada since its creation in 1967 for the country’s centennial.

Lewis was pleasantly surprised to learn he would be one of the 78 new appointments to the Order of Canada made by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Thursday. He is one of two Manitoba-based appointees to make the list; the other is visual artist Yisa Folasele Akinbolaji, for his innovation as an artist and his mentorship of Manitoban youth. (Winnipeg-born Richard Burzynski was named an Officer of the Order for his leadership in shaping the worldwide repsonse to HIV/AIDS, while University of Manitoba grad Gen. Raymond Henault was recognized for his commitment to Canada’s defence and peacekeeping operations and policies. )

“When you do this job, it’s certainly not, ‘Oh, I’ll do this so that I can get the Order of Canada, or the Order of Manitoba,’” Lewis says in his office at RWB’s Graham Avenue studios. “But it’s always nice to be recognized. It means something.”

Lewis, who has been the artistic director of the RWB for nearly 30 years, was appointed to the Order of Manitoba in 2022. In 2017, he was awarded a Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal for his work on the groundbreaking ballet Going Home Star — Truth and Reconciliation, created in partnership with Tina Keeper, the late elder Mary Richard, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

“So, officially, I have three initials that I can put after my name,” he says with a smile.

But Lewis says his latest honour isn’t just about him.

“For me, it’s more about a recognition of what the RWB is doing, rather than what I am doing. It’s recognizing, also, what the arts mean,” he says.

“I know all kinds of people also get the Order of Canada for, let’s say, medical research or things of that nature, which is super important, but the arts are also important.”

“It’s always nice to be recognized. It means something.”–André Lewis

In a statement, former RWB board chairwoman and fellow Order of Canada member Susan Glass praised Lewis’s leadership style and his stewardship of the organization during his tenure at its artistic helm.

“André Lewis has carefully directed the RWB School and company, sensitively nurtured its artistic talent, taken great pride in the accomplishments of the artists, students, faculty and staff of the RWB and, most notably, stewarded the RWB’s important legacy as a Canadian cultural institution,” she said.

“He has built the RWB’s esteemed reputation to garner the recognition and admiration of other international dance companies and has made the RWB, and by association, Manitoba and Canada, the envy of artistic communities around the world.”

Earlier this year, Lewis announced he will be stepping down as artistic director in the spring of 2025, which will mark 50 years since he first arrived in Winnipeg as a ballet student in the RWB School’s professional division in 1975.

Lewis joined the company as a corps de ballet member and was promoted to soloist in 1982. Retiring from dance in 1990, he joined the artistic faculty as associate artistic director before assuming the role of artistic director in 1996. From 2018 to 2022, he held both the role of artistic director and CEO and steered the organization through the pandemic.

RWB’s current season has been presented under the theme Living the Dream, in celebration of Lewis’s career.

“André Lewis’s lifetime dedication to dance gives him a front-row seat to an art form that can awaken emotions and delight the senses — and many times change someone’s life journey in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and around the world,” said Charles Coffey, former RWB board member and an officer of the Order of Canada, in a statement.

“It is his passion to do what he does, as he is living the dream and sharing the dream with the nation.”–Charles Coffey

“It is his passion to do what he does, as he is living the dream and sharing the dream with the nation. His leadership and achievements are exemplary. André Lewis is someone who represents the Order of Canada, as he ‘desires a better country.’”

jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com