Prolific choreographer, mentor ‘a champion for dance’ Obituary: Stephanie Ballard
By: Jen Zoratti Posted: 6:07 PM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

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This article was published 23/09/2025 (303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stephanie Ballard, the glamorous, sharp-witted Winnipeg contemporary dance icon, is being remembered as a community builder who believed deeply in art and the people who make it.

Ballard died Sunday after a period of declining health, peacefully in her own home, “surrounded by her dance daughters and sisters: myself, Gaile Petursson-Hiley, Faye Thomson and Robyn Thomson Kacki,” says Winnipeg dancer and choreographer Kathleen Hiley, daughter of dancer, choreographer and educator Petursson-Hiley. She was 76.

“Stephanie was our matriarch, a champion for dance, for the arts, and for the many lives she touched through her mentorship,” Hiley says. “She carried herself with a grace that was both timeless and striking: always elegant, perfectly put together in a sleek black outfit, impossibly large sunglasses, a string of pearls, lipstick and a glass of Chardonnay.”

Born in San Francisco in 1949, Ballard arrived in Winnipeg in 1972 at the age of 23 and began what would be decades-long association with both Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers — where she inhabited many roles, including that of apprentice, company member, associate artistic director, archivist and artist in residence — and the School of Contemporary Dancers.

It was also at WCD that Ballard began her prolific and celebrated career as a choreographer, creating a massive body of work that is still performed today.

Ballard was not only a deeply influential figure in the local contemporary dance scene, she also had a huge national and international presence.

She choreographed on such Canadian soloists as Margie Gillis and Peggy Baker. She was an artistic advisor for Peter Quanz and Q Dance.

She was fêted with Canada’s most prestigious awards for choreography, including the Clifford E. Lee Award, the Jean A. Chalmers Award and the Jacqueline Lemieux Prize.

“Stephanie could have built a career anywhere she chose, but the personal bonds she forged in Winnipeg were something she valued deeply,” says Michael Crabb, Toronto Star dance critic and author of a biography of former Royal Winnipeg Ballet artistic director Arnold Spohr. “And so she stayed; a gain for her and for the city she came to love.”

Faye Thomson, co-director/co-founder of the professional program at School of Contemporary Dancers with Odette Heyn, met Ballard as WCD apprentices; a lifetime of artistic collaboration and friendship followed.

“Gaile, Odette and I were honoured to perform in Stephanie’s many brilliant and luscious choreographic works,” Thomson says. “Our intimacy as choreographer and dancer deepened when she created a beautiful solo for me, Prayer. This became known as one of her iconic pieces.

“In later years, my daughter Robyn (Thomson Kacki) performed her works and Stephanie was so deeply delighted with this multi-generational legacy.”

Gaile Petursson-Hiley remembers Ballard as both her best friend and her favourite choreographer.

“I was very lucky. Just about every milestone moment in my life was connected to Stephanie — she just made things happen for you,” Petursson-Hiley says.

“As an artist, to do any of her works, you really worked with her. She really figured out who you were as a dancer and you were able to bring that to the work. She made you take risks.”

For Petursson-Hiley’s daughter, Ballard was family — her godmother and, later, her mentor.

“I grew up watching my mom dance her works, as I mimicked the movements in our living room and dreamed up my own,” recalls Hiley, who has been performing Ballard’s works as a solo artist since 2010.

“She became my mentor when I was only 13 and, for two decades, I have had the honour of dancing for her professionally, continuing to carry her vision forward.”

Indeed, Ballard was a big believer in legacy, a quality that was also reflected in her relationships with her own mentors. She forged deep connections with WCD founder Rachel Browne, who died in 2012, as well as Spohr, who died in 2010, and worked hard to keep their legacies alive through various archival and preservation projects.

“Together we started the Arnold Spohr Society — which was her, myself and my children — as a way to remember him,” recalls former RWB artistic director André Lewis, who was also mentored by Spohr.

“Stephanie was such a significant part of Winnipeg dance culture. She contributed enormously to contemporary dance, in particular, and she was a great friend of the RWB also. I will miss her sense of humour,” Lewis says.

Michael deConinck Smith, managing director of Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre in Toronto, also remembers Ballard for her sharp, quick wit.

“Stephanie caught me going on once about the wonders of back-country camping under a blanket of stars, etc., etc.,” he recalls via email. “She drily observed, ‘The only stars I’ll sleep under are five-stars.’”

“Stephanie could come across as what used to be described — impolitely, perhaps — as a tough cookie,” says Crabb, who has known Ballard for more than 50 years. “It was something she could turn on at will to guard, I believe, a very tender, vulnerable and emotional side of her character.”

Current WCD artistic director Jolene Bailie, who performed such Ballard-choreographed works as the mermaid-inspired solo Mara during her career as a dancer, recalls Ballard’s unwavering support and passion for the organization where she launched her career.

“Stephanie continued her connection to WCD all throughout last season, our 60th anniversary. She Zoomed in to watch show runs. She had a keen interest in what we were doing, especially our tribute to Rachel Browne, and who was dancing with the company. She offered to donate money so we could buy new costumes. She really had a love of the Winnipeg dance community.”

Ballard’s work will continue to live on in the dancers she brought up behind her. Just two weeks ago, Hiley returned from touring Ballard’s work A Gathering through Mexico and the United States.

“Though created more than 30 years ago, its celebration of the cycle of womanhood resonated profoundly with audiences everywhere,” Hiley says. “People sought us out, eager to know more about Stephanie. Some told us they went home and searched for her, wanting to watch her dances over and over again.

“When I shared this with her, she was deeply touched, humbly saying how it meant the world to her that her work was alive, ‘carried with grace and artistic integrity, making even a small difference to people and places.’

“And now, just as in her work A Gathering, I know the Bird Goddess is watching over her, protecting her spirit and guiding her into the next great passage.”

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca