COMPANY  }  Choreographers

Sarah Slipper: Artistic Director / Northwest Dance Project
Sarah Slipper was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and received her professional training at the Royal Ballet School in London, England and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. In 1980, she made her professional debut with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as a corps de ballet member, and became one of the company's leading dramatic ballerinas. Ms. Slipper worked closely with many internationally renowned directors, choreographers and teachers, including Arnold Spohr, Rudi van Dantzig, Hans van Manen, Jirí Kylián, Agnes de Mille, Galina Yordanova, and Alla Savchenko. Ms. Slipper was noted for her classical line and dramatic abilities, dancing the principal roles in classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. In addition to the classical repertoire, she received worldwide acclaim for her performances of contemporary ballets, most notably Nobert Vesak's The Ecstasy of Rita Joe and the award winning Belong pas de deux. After Ms. Slipper left the stage, she continued her passion for music and drama, studying theatre at the honours level at the University of Winnipeg, and in Oxford, England. During the 1996/97 season, she served as ballet mistress of Alberta Ballet, and from 1997/99 as ballet mistress of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Ms. Slipper's command of classical and contemporary styles is demonstrated in her active role of teaching and coaching younger dancers. As a guest master teacher, Ms. Slipper has worked with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet Austin, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Jefferson Dancers and the Dance Departments of the University of Utah, Cornish College of the Arts, and the University of Iowa. An award winning independent choreographer, Ms. Slipper is presently based in Portland, Oregon, creating dance worldwide. She has worked with prominent dance companies including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Nashville Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet Jorgen, Louisville Ballet, Fugate/Bahiri BalletNY, Alberta Ballet, Ballet Pacifica, Cornish Dance Theater, the Northwest Dance Project and The Jefferson Dancers. She was awarded the Grand Prize for Choreography at the International Choreographic Competition Saint Sauveur 2000 for her ballet Shattered Night, which was created on the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. During her choreographic residency at Festival des Arts in Quebec, Canada, her ballet A River In A Dry Land, was described by the Montreal Gazette as "one of the finest choreographies produced in residency." Ms. Slipper's works have been described as "absolutely remarkable ... grippingly pits breezy romanticism against a sinister undercurrent." (The Oregonian) and "... a complete, enclosed world, a somber yet hopeful winter landscape across which the three couples thread in a long, smoothly unfolding skein of dance." (The New York Times) A Fine Balance, her pas de deux created during the inaugural NWDP, was a finalist for the prestigious Benois de la Danse award in 2006 and was performed at the Bolshoi Theatre as part of the award's gala celebration. Ms. Slipper is currently working on several new creations and serves as the Artistic Director of the Northwest Dance Project.

Wen Wei Wang: Artistic Director / Wen Wei Dance
Wen Wei Wang began dancing at an early age in China, where he was born and raised. He trained and danced professionally with the Langzhou Song and Dance Company. In 1991, he moved to Canada and joined the Judith Marcuse Dance Company, after which he danced with Ballet British Columbia for seven years. In 2000 he received the Clifford E. Lee Choreographic Award and since then has choreographed for the Alberta Ballet, Ballet Jorgen, and Dancers Dancing. Since 2003, he has served as Artistic Director of Wen Wei Dance. The company has performed at major venues across Canada, the Vancouver International Dance Festival, Dancing on the Edge Festival, the Canada Dance Festival, and the International Contemporary Dance Festival in Colombia, South America. Wen Wei is the recipient of the 2006 Isadora Award for Excellence in Choreography and the Rio Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award - Dance 2009. Wen Wei?s previous work for NWDP, the other-worldly, martial arts-inspired "Chi" created in 2009, is a riveting study in detailed movement and energy exchange The Oregonian reviewed as "the highlight of the show...a small feast of images."