Sylvester Campbell and Arnold Spohr

Arnold Spohr, director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, noticed the talents of Campbell while he danced with the Dutch National Ballet. Spohr soon recruited him, and Campbell danced at a principal with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet from 1972-1975. Campbell noted in an interview from 1991, “Arnold Spohr could make anything successful. All he had to do was rehearse it and it was an instant hit. I don’t know what that was. Some of those ballets were lousy, but if he rehearsed, it would look like a jewel on the stage.”

More about Arnold Spohr

Arnold Spohr served as the artistic director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet for 30 years. He turned the Royal Winnipeg Ballet into an internationally renowned ballet company, ending his tenure as director in 1988. Spohr was known for presenting ballets with a particular appeal to Canadian audiences, including The Shining People of Leonard Cohen (1970) by Brian Macdonald and The Ecstasy of Rita Joe (1971) by Norbert Vesak. A dancer himself, Spohr was a principal with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet from 1947-1954, and he was also an accomplished pianist.

 

 

 

Sources:

Sylvester Campbell, LINES Ballet
Sylvester Campbell, acclaimed ballet dancer, 59, Baltimore Sun
A Conversation with Sylvester Campbell, Ballet Review, pg 25-26

Jack Shigeta