Who's Who Women in Business

Staying on Pointe { Marketing the royal WinniPeg ballet } By Pat St. Germain l arah Luna leaped at the opportunity to join the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as marketing and communications director in June 2013. "It was a perfect fit for me because I've always been a ballet fan," she says. The 75-year-old company is finding a new footing in the social media age, and Luna brought fresh ideas for nurturing connections and creating deeper engagement with audiences. One of her primary goals is to convey to new generations the RWB's values and mission — as an advocate for art as a vehicle for social change that maintains a tradition of excellence in teaching, performing and creating outstanding dance. She works with artistic director André Lewis and executive director Jeff Herd to plan new seasons, blending classics with audience favourites and dynamic new works such as Going Home Star — Truth and Reconciliation, which opened the 2014-15 season. Under Luna's leadership, the marketing and box office team launched Pay What You Can Thursday and the Access Pointe program, which offers $30 tickets for ages 30 and under — and which has attracted more than 1,100 members since the fall of 2013. "I think Winnipeg is falling in love with the RWB all over again. There's this different excitement that we've been feeling this whole entire season. It started with Going Home Star, which is such a profound work." Luna developed multi-faceted promotional and media campaigns for the ballet, which is based on a story by Joseph Boyden and inspired by the stories of residential school survivors. Working with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and guided by Tina Keeper, she initiated cultural awareness training for RWB staff and dancers, and outreach activities with inclusive student matinee programs. "This ballet and the collaboration that surrounded it represent something much greater than the work itself; it is an artistic expression of the movement towards a greater understanding of this part of our Canadian history," she says. Going Home Star was a life-changing experience. She spoke with survivors and the marketing team arranged for many to receive tickets to the ballet. And she pored over moving photographs from the TRC, many of which were included in lobby displays, along with an exhibition created by the Legacy of Hope Foundation and an expression of reconciliation presented in TRC's Edmonton convention — ballet slippers intertwined with a small pair of moccasins in a glass box. The RWB is taking Going Home Star on tour, starting in Ottawa in January. Its 2015-16 season will also feature classical ballet Giselle, the swinging Val Caniparoli's A Cinderella Story and perennial holiday hit Nutcracker. For children, Nutcracker is often an introduction to the world of ballet, and Luna wants to maintain that connection throughout the audience's life. She and her husband, Gary, have two children in ballet, so working with the RWB School's Recreational Division is a natural. And she's highlighting the company's interconnectivity with the Professional Division, making performances part of the subscription package for the first time during the 75th anniversary season. Luna points out that past students include retired principal dancers Tara Birtwhistle and Vanessa Lawson, who are now RWB School ballet masters. "It's so fulfilling to be working at the RWB. I'm surrounded by creative and passionate individuals who are all dedicated to seeing RWB grow beyond its 75 years." • Lifelong ballet fan Luna found a perfect fit with the RWB. PHOTO By DARCy FINLEy Larah Luna, Marketing & Communications Director at Royal Winnipeg Ballet

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