40 years of Kittiwake, 40 years of history
Artistic Directors
Martin Vallée 2007-2023
Martin Vallée joined the Kittiwake team in 2003 as an artistic associate and choreographer, succeeding Rimsay and taking over as artistic director in 2007. He would hold this position until 2023 and during his time as AD he had several goals. Assuming the position with the aim to continue advancing the professional dance scene and cultural landscape within the province, he did so with a focus on three things: developing a returning audience, encouraging collaboration with other artistic disciplines, and creating opportunities for various artistic professionals such as choreographers and composers to create original works.
Yukichi Hattori 2024-present
Yukichi Hattori became artistic director of Kittiwake in 2024, taking over following Martin Vallée’s departure. Not intimidated by those who came before him, Hattori intends to honour the work Rimsay and Vallée have done previously, while bringing a fresh outlook to the table. What makes him stand out is his focus on refining the quality of movement produced by the dancers, pushing the limit while simultaneously highlighting proper science-based conditioning.
Linda Rimsay 1987-2006 (get real HS?)
Linda Rimsay founded Kittiwake Dance Theatre in 1987 after Newfoundland Dance Theatre dissolved and the Young Dancers Project transformed into KDT. She led the company as Artistic Director for 20 years until her departure in 2006. Under her direction, Kittiwake focused on showcasing dance as an art through a wide variety of performances across the province, while simultaneously sharing the artform through offering an assortment of workshops for locals. She aimed to create a launchpad for dancers to have a career without having to leave home to do so.
Early days
In the early days of Kittiwake, there was two goals: getting the word out about the company and fundraising.
During its founding, Kittiwake was not for teaching dance, but instead focused on performance. Dancers with Kittiwake studied elsewhere and then came to Kittiwake to develop their art and grow as performers. It was a chance to perform semi-professionally, as opposed to the foundational training students could receive at a traditional dance studio.
As you may know,the company is a non-profit organization and relies heavily on grants, donations, and fundraising to help keep our doors open, even more so in the beginning. Kittiwake utilized many avenues of fundraising, often advertised in the then-paper version of our newsletter Kittwake Konnections. Some recurring examples are the ‘pinching pennies’–Kittiwake would collect any scattered pennies people would be willing to donate–and ‘bottle blitz’–collecting recyclable plastics like drink bottles to recycle for money–initiatives. ADD MORE TO PAD THIS OUT?
The Nutcracker
Kittiwake has been performing this classic holiday ballet annually since its inception back in 1987, becoming a treasured tradition in St. John’s and across the province. With music by Pytor Illyich Thaikovsky and story by E. T. A. Hoffmann, the Nutcracker is timeless: it is Christmas at the Stalhbum house. The children, Clara and brother Fritz, are anxious to enter the parlour and see what is under the Christmas tree. After playing outside, the children are seen peeping through the keyhole as the family begins to decorate and prepare for the guests to arrive. Once the guests have arrives the party begins.
Drosselmeyer, a mysterious family friend, appears distributing gifts. A very special gift goes to Clara: a Nutcracker. In a fit of jealousy, Fritz grabs the nutcracker, breaking it. Clara is heartbroken, and after the guest leave, she comes back to the parlour where she had left the Nutcracker. She falls asleep, the Nutcracker tucked safely in her arms.
Dreams begin to blend with reality and she wakes to the sound of mice and rats all around her. Fritz appears. The Nutcracker and his army of gingerbread and toy soldiers defend them against the rats and mice. After winning the battle, the Nutcracker magically transforms into a prince and takes the children on a fabulous journey through a winter wonderland, and to the land of sweets, where they meet many magical characters such as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.
Mock-up for first (1987) Nutcracker production
While you may have come to associate The Nutcracker with the Arts and Culture Centre, in the beginning it was a much smaller production held in much more intimates venues. We started in the well-known pocket-sized LSPU Hall at the Resource Centre for the Arts which seats just under 200. When we outgrew there, we transitioned to The Reid Theatre at Memorial University. Eventually our production has grown so large that it demanded the big stage and we outgrew The Reid Theatre too. Since INSERT YEAR thanks to the constant community support, The Nutcracker has been held at The Arts and Culture Centre. In INSERT YEAR, in addition to the St. John’s shows, we’ve also taken The Nutcracker on tour across the province, providing more dancers the chance to perform and sharing the holiday magic with more audiences and communities.
In 2016, we started the tradition of partnering with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra to elevate the audience experience even more by incorporating live music (need to find a smooth way to incorporate this in to the text better; maybe as a caption to a poster with the NSO being featured?)
Mary-Clare Royle as Clara in The Nutcracker 1989
Melissa Hoskins as Clara in The Nutcracker 2000
Rebekah Rimsay as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker 2000
For 40 years Kittiwake has worked hard to bring The Nutcracker to our lovely supporters without fail. A wonderful aspect of the show is that while following the original story, there is lots of room to adapt and personalize the production. Throughout its almost 40 year run, you may have seen new characters or ‘acts’ that are not found in the typical performance or well-known story. Especially in the beginning when we were much smaller, Kittiwake’s Nutcracker’s program has changed and been tailored to the community cast from year to year, playing to the different strengths of those who come out to audition. We've had mummers, ice dancers, acrobats, and cats. Some years the Nutcracker prince, while other years Sugar Plum’s Cavelier. While the core characters have remained mostly untouched, we have always had fun with the extended cast and their roles. In addition to the community cast, Kittiwake has also been lucky enough to frequently feature semi-professional and professional guest dancers from dance schools such as The National Ballet School and the Atlantic Dance Theatre (double check!!) in the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.
insert 2026 NC poster
idea: 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th posters
Original Choreography
Staying true to creativity as one of Kittiwake’s values, for the last 40 years Kittiwake has always placed an emphasis on creating and showcasing original works and choreography. In addition to our past and current Artistic Director’s contributions, we’ve also had submissions from our dancers as well as up-and-coming choreographers through the RBC-Kittiwake Emerging Choreographer-in-Residence program. As a result Kittiwake boasts a sizable collection of original works. Scroll to see just a small sample of said works.
Originally created in collaboration between Kittiwake founder Linda Rimsay and Gail Innes while working for the Newfoundland Dance Theatre, premiering in April 1980, Flickers is a comedy show that blends mime and dance together to create multiple vignettes meant to mimic silent movies
Premiering in March 2008 and created by Martin Vallée, based on Newfoundland folklore, Mermaids of Avalon follows a young Newfoundlander fisherman named James in the 1800s. Itching for adventure, he joins the crew of Captain Cook and while at sea, James encounters what the older members of the crew called ‘the Mermaids’. Entranced by their beauty and songs, James chases them across the Avalon.
Created by Hattori and Johns(t)son-Hattori and premiering in October 2025, based on the 8th chapter of the book by A.A Milne Winnie the Pooh and the North Pole Expotition tells the story of the beloved bear, Christopher Robin, and the Hundred Acre Wood gang on their expedition, misunderstood to be ‘expotition’ by Pooh, to find the North Pole. Featuring original music by Robert Humber and accompanied by animations by Duncan Major and storytelling by local actors.
Premiering in 2000, Tiananmen Square dance is named after Tiananmen Square, China, and is an ode to the student protestors’ cause during the Tiananmen protests in 1989. Fighting for things such as democracy, freedom of the press, and other related social issues, student protestors bravely stood up for their beliefs and many lost their lives or were injured in the process. Collaborating with composer Paul Bendza to write the score, Rimsay created Tiananmen Square Dance to explore themes of fear, artistic expression, and freedom, all performed on a large chess board.
Premiering in 2018 and created by Vallée with help from Kittiwake pro Hannah Drover, based on the classic story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, this ballet follows Alice’s adventures as she falls down the rabbit hole and her encounters with classic Wonderland characters such as the White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, and Queen of Hearts.
Currently there have been 4 (maybe 5 by the time this publishes?) young choreographers who have been awarded the RBC-Kittiwake emerging choreographer title. Through this opportunity, the choreographer awarded would receive mentorship from Kittiwake’s artistic director, network with other established choreographers, and of course, choreograph an original work, all culminating in a performance of said work by Kittiwake dancers.
Three of them have been professional dancers with Kittiwake–Hannah Drover, Abby Rowe, and Cassidy Boone–while the other winner was local choreographer Robert Azevedo.
In the community
Another of Kittiwake’s core values is being community-centric. Due to its non-profit and charity status, Kittiwake by nature relies on the generosity of the community and its patrons to keep its doors open. However, it has always been with the intent to provide. Kittiwake has always been focused on increasing access to dance and uplifting dance and other forms of arts around the province.
In the summer between regular performance seasons, Kittiwake was still active in other ways. From 1993 to 2006, most summers meant Kittiwake was hosting our annual SummerDance festival (and sometimes tour). All about dance as a culture, the festival featured performances from amateurs and professionals and often included accompanying workshops for interested locals. In addition to SummerDance workshops, Kittiwake also participated in Performing Arts Camps. Started in 1979, Performing Arts Camps were sets of themed workshops for young artists to study various artistic disciplines such as mime, stage makeup, acting, and more. Today, Kittiwake still hosts open workshops for interested dancers throughout the year.
After many years of successful Summer Dance workshops and Performing Arts Camps, spearheaded by past artistic director and artistic associate respectively Martin Vallee and Jenifer Foley, Kittiwake began to offer a new opportunity for young dancers who wanted more serious and focused summer training: Summer Intensives. With classes in multiple dance styles, Summer Intensives offered young, experienced dancers the chance to develop and grow their skills, receiving instruction not only from Kittiwake staff but guest teachers as well. Started in 2007, Kittiwake continues to offer innovative Summer Intensives every year.
Kittiwake has always acknowledged the fact that collaboration between dance and other specialties can only strengthen performances and foster kinship and community with other creatives. Kittiwake has proudly and graciously collaborated with many fellow dancers and musicians over the last 40 years. We’ve hosted multiple residencies with recognizable names such as Denise Fujiwara and the National Ballet School, to name a few. Simultaneously, Kittiwake has also been collaborating with local musicians for just as long. From dancing alongside music students in the Memorial Music program to the Symphony Orchestra accompanying our annual performance of The Nutcracker, we have always jumped at the chance to work alongside fellow talented artists and uplift others.
Kittiwake Today
Kittiwake has come a long way since it first opened its door in 1987. With the largest amount of professional dancers on staff and a fresh, exciting trainee program, we will continue to strive to provide audiences with better and better performances.
We look back on every version of Kittiwake that has come and gone with fondness and respect. While we are proud of all the things we’ve accomplished under the name Kittiwake Dance Theatre, with the shift to professionalizing the company in 2018, and rebrand in 2025 centered on ballet to follow, we are so excited and pleased to usher in this new era and see where the future takes us as Kittiwake Ballet.
Gallery
Over the past 40 years, we have had the chance to make many wonderful memories. Too many to ever count or fully document but we invite you to explore our collection of photos, programs, and videos…?