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Artistic Director Emeritus
William Thompson
 In the summer of 1999 Mr. Thompson was invited to return to Edmonton, Alberta as Artistic Director of the newly formed Citie Ballet. After seven years as director, Mr. Thompson retired at the end of the 2005-2006 season. The Board of Directors honoured his leadership with a promotion to Artistic Director Emeritus where he continues to provide artistic advice and counsel. Highlights of his leadership included the organization and production of an international gala event, World of Dance: A Gala Performance (2002), to showcase Citie Ballet and other ensembles with professional guest artists. Chan Hon Goh, National Ballet of Canada, Colin Dunne, Riverdance, and Saeko Ichinohe from New York, were engaged to perform in the Gala and to also teach open master classes in their particular discipline. The gala performance was hosted and introduced by Canadian dance luminary, Veronica Tennant. In 2005 Mr. Thompson produced an entire evening of dance to the poetry of Gerald St. Maur, Lips Love Legs. The evening featured seven world premieres, by seven commissioned choreographers, and was a sold out performance. The final performance of the 2005-06 season featured a highly successful production of Aurora’s Wedding and highlights from The Sleeping Beauty, with guest artists Robert Pleschke, Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Michael Vallencourt from the Alberta Ballet. The 2006-07 season began with an affectionate tribute to Mr. Thompson, Hommage à Billy-Bob, produced by the incoming Artistic Director, François Chevennement.
Mr. Thompson has enjoyed an international career as a dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, ballet master with the Zurich Opera and Pennsylvania Ballet and artistic director for the Colorado Ballet among others. As a teacher he has taught for many major ballet schools including the Zurich Opera, La Scala (Milan), Pennsylvania Ballet School, and L'Académie des Grands Ballets Canadiens. He has worked with several major dance artists including Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, Eva Evdokimova (Berlin Opera), Gelsey Kirkland and Patrick Bissell (American Ballet Theatre), Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun (Stuttgart Ballet), Wayne Eagling (Royal Ballet), Chan Hon Goh (National Ballet of Canada), and Evelyn Hart (Royal Winnipeg Ballet).
His ballets have been danced by companies in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Denver, Philadelphia, and at the gala performance of the International Ballet Celebration in Evansville, Indiana.
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