Ruth Carse

Margaret Ruth Pringle Carse

Margaret Ruth Pringle Carse, dancer, choreographer, teacher, director (born at Edmonton, Alta 7 Dec 1916; died at Ponoka, Alta 14 Nov 1999). Carse was a pioneer of professional dance in Western Canada. By founding the ALBERTA BALLET CO and its associated school she created an organizational foundation for dance in her region. Carse began Scottish dancing as a child. She later studied ballet and performed in Toronto with Boris VOLKOFF's Canadian Ballet and the NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA and as a member of Radio City Music Hall's ballet corps in New York; injury forced her retirement from dancing in 1954, and she retrained as a teacher with Gweneth LLOYD.

Carse returned to teach in Edmonton and choreographed for local operas and musicals. She also formed a small amateur troupe, Dance Interlude, which was renamed the Edmonton Ballet in 1960 and the Alberta Ballet Company in 1971. The same year (1971) Carse founded the Alberta Ballet School. She resigned as artistic director of the Alberta Ballet in 1975 but continued to be associated with the school as principal until 1983.

The school's Ruth Carse Library holds her collection of private papers and documents relating to the history of ballet in Alberta. Carse has choreographed more than 50 works for TV, opera and musical theatre and ballet. Her honours include the ORDER OF CANADA (1992) and the Dance Canada Award (1989).