David Lucas
Born in Chorley, England, and raised in Kelowna, B.C., Canada, David unveiled his passion for dance at age nine. The Canadian School of Ballet is where he began training under the direction of Betty Farrally, the co founder of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company. He later trained in Toronto and graduated from the National Ballet School and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. David joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company in 1988 and danced for 14 years before retiring in 2000. He danced many lead roles such as: Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Tarantella, David Nixon’s Beauty and the Beast, Butterfly, Mark Godden’s Dracula, Paquita, Don Quixote’s Pas de Deux and Brian McDonald’s Pas D’Action. It was with the RWB that he met his lovely wife, Lissette Salgado, and was honored to partner and perform many lead roles with her throughout his career. David has also performed in five made for television dance movies as well as the popular Children’s TV show “The Toy Castle,” where he played the Strongman. He has also been invited as a guest artist to perform in Japan with the Reiko Yamamoto Ballet Company. David was also the Artistic Director for the Canadian School of Ballet Summer program, which he and his wife, Lissette, directed for four years. David and Lissette choreographed and staged performances each year for the students. David later founded ‘The Stars of Canadian Ballet’ Company, which brought together the best artists in Canada from the National Ballet Company, The Alberta Ballet Company, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company. This renowned group toured in Canada and performed in the closing ceremonies for the Pan Am Games in 1999. In 2012, David co-founded Shake The Ground with his wife, Lissette, and in 2013, Universal Ballet Competition. Both competitions offer over $200,000 in scholarships to inspiring young dancers, annually, to assist each of them in reaching their remarkable potential, catapulting them to the next level of their dance careers.