I was born (and grew up) in Edmonton, Alberta, and attended elementary and two years of junior high school at Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts (in Edmonton). In addition, I lived in Malaysia for my grade one year and briefly lived in the Philippines earlier in my childhood. I pursued a career in dance for much of my life; I began dancing as a child and attended multiple month-long summer intensives at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB), The Portland Ballet, and the Boston Ballet. In 2014 I moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to spend my ninth and tenth-grade years in the professional division at the RWB and attended the University of Winnipeg Collegiate. In 2016 I moved back to Edmonton to finish high school at Strathcona Composite High School, while continuing my dance training at Shelley’s Dance Company. After I graduated high school, I moved to Vancouver in 2018 to train in the graduate program at Arts Umbrella; however, after suffering the last of many consecutive serious injuries I decided to end my professional pursuit of dance and shift my focus on post-secondary studies.
Currently, I am an undergrad student at Capilano University, as a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Liberal Studies. I am also working and volunteering for Capilano University, as a Digital Student Ambassador (at CapU’s Centre for Teaching Excellence) and Peer Tutor (at the CapU Writing Centre), respectively. I hope to transfer into the International Relations program at UBC (Bachelor of Arts with a Major in International Relations at the University of British Columbia); my academic interests include Political Science, English, and Sociology. I am also hoping to pursue a Minor in English Literature at UBC. Some of my other interests include meditation, guitar, and philosophy.
Contact Information:
Email (work/school): etiennerutkowski@my.capilanou.ca
Phone (mobile): (780) 884-5755
LinkedIn: Etienne Rutkowski