Cameron Fraser-Monroe

#qotd: “I feel like I spend all my life up until I make a work working on it, and the rest of my life thinking about it.” —Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe, choreographer Tap the link in our bio for the @pointemagazineofficial article. #Choreographer #Ballet #Dance @cameron.fm

New York Times 🗞️ Honoured to speak with @marthaschabas for @nytimes on what it means to build a choreographic language rooted in First Nations storytelling, and what it asks of the artists willing to do that work alongside me. “Ballet is familiar. It’s the lure that lets me tell a very old story in a new format.” Link in bio. 📸: @jaida.greyeagle #indigenous #ballet #choreography #dance

NYC Baby Feeling incredibly lucky to debut “šɛgatəm” at @nycitycenter Talking about the leadership our Tla’amin Elders have modelled, on a stage this storied, while looking to the future is a privilege and an honour. Thank you to @smakishi @andrelewis.rwb & my new auntie @brandilouisenorton for your belief. And a delayed but well-earned congratulations to the dancers @logansavard @kyra.soo @michlavoie @emilielewiss @tyminkeown @juliannageneroux & @josh_hidson Music: @jdutchermusic Lighting: @at.moro PR: @itsjanepike Production: @christuryk_insta & Ryan Bjornson Co-commissioned by Fall for Dance, @rwballet & @bardcollege šɛgatəm premiered September 27, 2024. #indigenous #ballet #nyc #dance

FINAL PERFORMANCES - Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn at 1:30 PM and 7:30 PM at the Kelowna Community Theatre! “Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn arrives at a moment when the relationship between fire and the land is in crisis–particularly in British Columbia, where communities have lived through devastating wildfire seasons, evacuations, and loss. The work speaks directly to this reality but it does not treat wildfire as “natural disaster.” It connects the current crisis to a deeper history: the colonial suppression of Indigenous fire stewardship and cultural burning practices that maintained the health of the land for thousands of years. When these practices were criminalized and replaced by a policy of total fire suppression, the land accumulated fuel. The fires that result are the consequence of a severed relationship. This production asks audiences to reconsider what fire is, what has been lost, and what might be restored. It meets the fear of fire with respect and offers something more complex than reassurance: a different way of understanding, and a different way of being in relation.” -katey wattam Get your tickets via the link in our bio! Photo: Dave Mai / Artists of Ballet Kelowna

Ballet Kelowna’s Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn opens tonight! If you can’t make it this evening, we have two more performances tomorrow at 1:30 PM and 7:30 PM! “Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn is choreographed by Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe, a member of Tla’amin First Nation. cikilaxʷm means “prescribed fire” in nsyilxən, the language of the syilx (Okanagan) People. The work has been guided by syilx cultural advisors Tara Montgomery and Elliot Tonasket, who gifted the piece its nsyilxən title, and by Tla’amin Elders Betty Wilson and Elsie Paul, whose teachings Cameron has carried with him since childhood. The story is being premiered on syilx homelands, where wildfire seasons have grown more devastating each year.” - katey wattam Get your tickets via the link in our bio! Photo: Dave Mai / Dancer: McKeely Borger

šɛgatəm - “To lift someone up.” From its New York City Centre premiere, this work now comes home, landing at @rwballet in Winnipeg. Rooted in the fierce resilience of our Tla’amin Nation Elders, who build self-reliance, hold their community with strength, and know the wisdom of asking for help when it’s needed. I’m overwhelmed to have two premieres on the same weekend: šɛgatəm at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn at @balletkelowna . An extraordinary moment. 🎵: @jdutchermusic 💡: @at.moro 📸: @j_cervantes šɛgatəm was co-commissioned by @rwballet , @bardcollege , and the Fall for Dance Festival @nycitycenter #indigenous #ballet #choreographer

A member of the Tla’amin Nation on the West Coast of Canada, choreographer Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe (@cameron.fm ) is comfortable with a wide range of dance forms—as a child, he studied Ukrainian dance, Indigenous hoop and grass dance, and classical ballet before moving to Winnipeg to study at the @rwbschool . “This mix reflects what my choreographic voice is now,” he tells “Pointe.” “It’s a braiding of the traditional, the classical, and the contemporary into something uniquely my own.” Still only 27, Fraser-Monroe is now in high demand as a choreographer. His “šɛgatəm” (pronounced shAY-ga-tum), which appeared at @nycitycenter ’s Fall for Dance festival in 2024, will debut with the @rwballet on April 30. Then, “Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn,” his full-length for @balletkelowna centering climate crisis, premieres on May 1. In this interview, Fraser-Monroe speaks on his relationship to ballet and discusses his two back-to-back premieres. Read it at the link in our bio. 📸: Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe in rehearsal with Ballet Kelowna. Photo by @abigailundefined , courtesy Ballet Kelowna. 📸 (2–3): Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Fraser-Monroe’s “šɛgatəm” at New York City Center’s 2024 Fall for Dance Festival. Photo by @j_cervantes , courtesy RWB. 📸: Artists of Ballet-Kelowna rehearsing Fraser-Monroe’s “Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn.” Photo by Abigail Sawchuk, courtesy Ballet Kelowna. 📝: @hellokathleensmith #cameronfrasermonroe #choreographer #ballet

Happy Saturday! We couldn’t resist sharing this stunning long-exposure shot from our recent technical residency at the Kelowna Community Theatre, exploring the theatrical elements of Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn. This production has truly been a labour of love for everyone involved, and we can’t wait to share this incredible work created by some of the country’s finest artists, May 1 & 2 at the Kelowna Community Theatre. Don’t miss your chance to experience it. Thanks to the generous support of @odlumbrown , Ballet Kelowna will offer 150 accessible “Pay-What-You-Wish” seats at each of the three performances of Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn. Purchase your tickets today via the link in our bio! Photo: Abigail Sawchuk / Artists of Ballet Kelowna in tech rehearsal at the Kelowna Community Theatre

@cameron.fm ’s newest work for the company, Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, is a full-length narrative contemporary ballet that blazes across time and tradition and is set to original commissioned music by Cree cellist and composer @cris_derksen . Projections by Euro/Omushkego Cree artist @at.moro will bring to life sterile cities and scorched forests, while costumes by Navajo/Cherokee designer @asa_benally_studio layer each character with rich histories. Set in a dystopian future where wildfire season has no end, a young Indigenous firefighter’s beliefs are challenged when he meets Mothkʷ, a fierce protector of ancestral knowledge who carries out cultural burns. The word cikilaxʷm [tseekiLAHkwum] means “prescribed fire” in nsyilxcən, the language belonging to the syilx (Okanagan) People. It relates to traditional burning practices that nourish the land and community, bringing healing and rejuvenation. Get your tickets for May 1 + 2 now via the link in our bio!

Ballet Kelowna presents the world premiere of the company’s second commissioned, full-length work, Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, co-produced by the @nac.cna ’s National Creation Fund, on stage at the Kelowna Community Theatre on May 1 + 2, 2026. Choreographed by Ballet Kelowna Associate Artist @cameron.fm , the two-act narrative contemporary ballet is set in a dystopian future where wildfire season has no end. The work follows a young Indigenous firefighter, whose beliefs are challenged when he meets Mothkʷ, a fierce protector of ancestral knowledge who carries out cultural burns–a traditional Indigenous practice that nourishes the land by proactively burning debris, and thereby protecting trees, wildlife, and communities from the ravages of wildfire. Developed by an Indigenous-led creative team, Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn features an original score by award-winning Cree composer and cellist @cris_derksen , immersive digital projections from Euro/Omushkego Cree artist @at.moro , and costumes by Navajo/Cherokee designer @asa_benally_studio . Thanks to the generous support of @odlumbrown , Ballet Kelowna will offer 150 accessible “Pay-What-You-Wish” seats at each of the three performances of Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn. Get your tickets via the link in our bio! Photo: @coopersnaps / Dancers: McKeely Borger and MacKye White

t’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods - On Tour Eight performances across British Columbia, two closing nights in Vancouver. Bringing t’əl home to Tla’amin Nation, the land at the heart of this work, was a reminder of why we make dance that reaches beyond the stage. “Only the beginning of an entire new way of interpreting ballet, and signals a long, rich career to come.” — @stirvancouver Grateful for every collaborator who made this tour possible: Narration: Elder Elsie Paul Music: @cris_derksen Wardrobe Design: @asa_benally_studio Lighting Design: @scottld63 Artistic Director: @christopherstowell Company: @rwballet Rehearsal Direction: @balarinji2020 #indigenous #choreographer #dance #ballet

Ballet in the Tla’amin Nation 🌲 After nearly three years of hearing Elder Elsie’s voice guide and narrate t’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods, our 26 dancers finally made the journey to Ɂəms ʔayɛ, our Tla’amin cultural centre, to meet her in person, and perform for her. To bring this work home, to the land and community that maintained it, was something words can barely hold. t’əl was never just a ballet, it was always a bridge. 🧡 #indigenous #tlaaminnation #ballet