Article

Betty Farrally

Published Online June 15, 2008

Last Edited December 15, 2013

Betty Farrally, née Hey, dancer, teacher, ballet director (b at Bradford, Eng 5 May 1915; d at Kelowna, BC 9 Apr 1989). As co-founder of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and later through her teaching, Farrally was a significant force in the development of ballet in Canada.

Betty Farrally

Betty Farrally, née Hey, dancer, teacher, ballet director (b at Bradford, Eng 5 May 1915; d at Kelowna, BC 9 Apr 1989). As co-founder of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and later through her teaching, Farrally was a significant force in the development of ballet in Canada. Following completion of dance studies in England, she immigrated to Canada with her former teacher Gweneth Lloyd in 1938. She was instrumental in helping Lloyd establish the Winnipeg Ballet (Royal Winnipeg Ballet) and, following her colleague's move to Toronto in 1950, remained artistic director until 1957 when she founded a new school in Kelowna, BC. Farrally was also longtime co-head and later artistic adviser to the Banff Centre's summer dance program. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981 and received the Dance in Canada Award in 1984.