Company
Samara Leila Rittinger, from North Vancouver, Canada, started her training at Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts when she was eight years old and then continued her studies at Goh Ballet Academy. She left home at the age of 13 to study at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Professional Division School for four years. She performed with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s company in multiple productions while in the school. Some including Clara in the Nutcracker, a cygnet in Swan Lake and had the opportunity to work closely with Tywla Tharp in her ballet Princess and the Goblin. After graduating, she was then accepted into the trainee program at TWB under Artistic Director Julie Kent in 2016 after attending the ABT Summer Intensive. Rittinger was promoted to studio company at the end of the 2016.17 season and to full company in 2018.
Throughout her years with TWB, she has performed Julie Kent’s staging of Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty, Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker, Sir Frederick Ashton’s The Dream, John Crankos Romeo and Juliet, Alexei Ratmansky’s Bolero, Jerome Robbins The Concert, George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Serenade, Allegro Brillante, Theme and Variations, Concerto Barocco, Apollo, Les Sylphides and Choo San Gob’s Fives. She has also performed repertoire choreographed by Silas Farley, John Heginbothom, Mthuthuzeli November and Jessica Lang. Samara is beginning her 7th season as a company member with TWB.
Learn more about Samara!
Who inspired you to dance?
My mom; she was a professional dancer with Canadas Royal Winnipeg Ballet. I grew up watching her tapes and fell in love with ballet
What is your favorite performance you have been a part of?
Concerto Barocco corps! One of the absolute hardest ballets I’ve ever done but also the most rewarding!
Photo by XMB Photography.
