In 1964, choreographer, dancer and teacher Rachel Browne had a dream. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * In 1964, choreographer, dancer and teacher Rachel Browne had a dream. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? In 1964, choreographer, dancer and teacher Rachel Browne had a dream.
Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers ● Rachel Browne Theatre, 211 Bannatyne Ave. ● Thursday to Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
; Sunday, 4 p.m. ● $29-$37 After retiring as a company dancer from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Browne — born Ray Minkoff in Philadelphia in 1934 — believed Winnipeg could sustain a professional modern dance company.
And so, she founded one. In those early days, the doggedly determined Browne had to wear many hats: artistic director, choreographer, dancer, teacher, administrator, publicist and fundraiser. But Contemporary Dancers, as it was then called, quickly became a cornerstone of modern dance in Canada, a vital launching pad for boundary-pushing choreographers and artists who, like Browne, had a dream.
Browne died in 2012 at the age of 77, but her legacy lives on. Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers is now this country’s oldest and longest-running modern dance company. And 60 years later, within the black box of the Rachel Browne Theatre, a new generation of WCD dancers will perform five of their founder’s choreographic works in , which opens tonight and runs through Sunday.
Rachel Browne f.
