Former Ballet BC dancer Kirsten Wicklund to take helm at Ballet Edmonton
Vancouver’s Wen Wei Wang will leave position as artistic director of the Alberta company at the end of this season
Wen Wei Wang and Kirsten Wicklund (photo by Cindi Wicklund)
WELL-KNOWN VANCOUVER dance artist Kirsten Wicklund will step in as Ballet Edmonton’s new artistic director for its 2024-25 season.
She replaces Wen Wei Wang, another Vancouver dance talent who has transformed the company as its artistic director for the past six years.
Wicklund has spent the past two years performing with Belgium’s Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. Before that, she had been a full-time artist at Ballet BC since 2014, first under the direction of Emily Molnar, and most recently under Medhi Walerski. She danced in Wang’s work while there.
Wicklund trained at Pacific Dance Arts, Danzmode Productions, Goh Ballet Academy, Modus Operandi, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She has also danced with the Washington Ballet Company. More recently, Wicklund has worked as a choreographer, both for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and Ballet BC’s Take Form showcase, as well as for the Dutch National Ballet Company, Ballet Kelowna, MOVETHECOMPANY, Dancing on the Edge, Dances for a Small Stage, and elsewhere. In early February, she saw a world premiere staged at Ballet Edmonton.
Wang will step down at the end of this season, in May.
“Wen Wei has devoted himself to this organization and we appreciate his dedication to developing our company artists, creating an outstanding canon of repertoire, and establishing critical artistic relationships across this country,” the company said in yesterday’s announcement. “Wen Wei will return to his beautiful home in Vancouver, BC, and continue his work with his own company, Wen Wei Dance.”
“I am honoured to be entrusted with the remarkable opportunity to guide Ballet Edmonton towards a future marked by growth and commitment to artistic innovation,” Wicklund said in the same press announcement. “Reflecting on Wen Wei Wang’s invaluable contributions to Ballet Edmonton, I hope to build upon his vision by fostering a culture of dance excellence, exploration, and dedication and his commitment to amplifying diverse voices across Canada and internationally.”
Like Wicklund, Wei also danced for Ballet BC, performing for the troupe in the 1990s. Beyond his own Vancouver company, the China-born Wang has choreographed works for Alberta Ballet, Ballet Jörgen, Ballet BC, Ballet Kelowna, NW Dance Project, Les Ballets Jazz Montréal, and others. His last local work, a collaboration with an artist in Siena, Italy, premiered last July during Dancing on the Edge. 
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