David Lee Moroni (born 14 March 1938) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former dancer and teacher. Moroni was born in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He studied dance at the Classical Ballet Company with

Nesta Toumine Nesta Toumine (October 28, 1912 – February 1, 1996 (pdf)) was a dancer, choreographer, artistic director and teacher in Canada. She was born Nesta Williams in Thornton Heath, Croydon, England, the daughter of Alfred Edward Williams and Agnes ...

and performed with her local company where he also taught.''David Moroni fonds''. Finding aid available through the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Archives. He also taught at the Lindenlea Municipal Ballet. In 1964, he joined the

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

, was promoted to soloist in 1966, and became principal dancer in 1967. In 1970, he joined the staff at the

Royal Winnipeg Ballet School The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

where he helped to establish the Professional Division program and became its principal. He also served as Associate Artistic Director of the

from 1976 to 1988. He retired in 2003.''Moroni gala planned''
Excerpt from

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

, May 19, 2004 Moroni received the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1990 and received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Winnipeg in 2014. His students included: *

Evelyn Hart Evelyn Anne Hart (born April 4, 1956) is a Canadian ballerina and former principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Life and career Born in Toronto, Ontario, Hart studied dance at the Dorothy Carter School of Dance in London, Ontario, Cana ...

David Peregrine David Peregrine, OC (September 19, 1954 – c. June 7, 1989) was a Canadian dancer and actor. Life He was born David Alan Evans in Llay, Wales and grew up in Ottawa. Peregrine studied ballet with Nesta Toumine in Ottawa, going on to study at ...

Tara Birtwhistle The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

Jennifer Welsman Jennifer Welsman was born in Penticton, British Columbia. At an early age, she got involved in dance at the Penticton School of Dance, later becoming a member of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in 1993. In 2001, she had her first lead role in a b ...

Moroni, who regularly performed the role of Drosselmeyer in the ballet company's production of ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', appeared as Van Helsing in the film '' Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary'', based on a ballet by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Moroni now lives in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

with his partner, Paul Daigle.

References

Entry from the Canadian Encyclopedia

External links

copy archived May 18, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Moroni, David 1938 births Canadian male ballet dancers Living people Members of the Order of Canada People from Ottawa