Samara Rittinger

She/Her

Samara Leila Rittinger joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as a Company Artist in 2026.

Originally from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Samara began dancing at the age of eight at the Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts before continuing her training at Goh Ballet Academy. At 13, she moved to Winnipeg to study in the RWB School Professional Division, where she trained for four years and performed in numerous Royal Winnipeg Ballet productions, including Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Princess and the Goblin, working closely with choreographer Twyla Tharp.

In 2016, following the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, Samara joined the trainee program at The Washington Ballet under the direction of Julie Kent. She was promoted to The Washington Ballet Studio Company at the end of the 2016–17 season and to the main company in 2018.

Her repertoire includes Julie Kent’s stagings of Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty, Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker, Sir Frederick Ashton’s The Dream, John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Alexei Ratmansky’s Bolero, Jerome Robbins’ The Concert, George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Serenade, Allegro Brillante, Theme and Variations, Concerto Barocco, and Apollo, as well as Choo San Goh’s Fives and Les Sylphides.

She has also performed works by Silas Farley, John Heginbothom, Mthuthuzeli November, Jessica Lang, and Edwaard Liang, including Alice, Murmurations, Seasons, Giselle, and Cinderella.