Broadway Vet Catherine Wreford Finds Freedom from Cancer in Big-Time Return to Ballet Stage

A dancer since childhood and Broadway veteran, Catherine Wreford is taking the stage once again in Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet this weekend, but this time she’s six years into her journey with terminal cancer.

Wreford was diagnosed with brain cancer on June 24, 2013 when her daughter, Quinn, was only five weeks old and was given two to six years to live. "I had an awake Craniotomy radiation and four kinds of chemo for over a year,” Wreford tells Broadway.com. “It was on my speech center so I had to relearn how to speak, write and what the words meant." Through the struggles, frustration and therapy, Wreford has continued to find solace on stage.

Playing Lady Capulet in the current production of Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Wreford will be supported by her longtime friend and dance partner Craig Ramsay, who is taking on the role of Lord Capulet. The two first met when Ramsay got into the professional division at the very same ballet company over 20 years ago. “I was in the general division but was allowed to take a few of the men’s classes that Craig was in and we were both mentored by Arnold Spohr,” Wreford says. “We came together because of our mutual fondness of musical theater, but knew that ballet would help us be triple threats on Broadway.”

And triple threats they became. Wreford made her Broadway debut at age 21 in 42nd Street and also appeared in Oklahoma! and on the road with Annie Get Your Gun. Two years later, Ramsay began his Broadway career, appearing in Fiddler on the Roof and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Now, the duo is back together again and Wreford isn’t taking the opportunity lightly. "Growing up at the Roal Winnipeg Ballet I could never imagine that I would get the opportunity to dance in this gorgeous company," Wreford says. "To be playing Lady Capulet with my best friend in my sixth year after diagnosis is a dream come true. I can draw from all my experiences and use them to my advantage."

Although Wreford once took a hiatus from performing to run a mortgage company and later become a nurse, dancing is what truly fuels her passion. "To me, dance means freedom," Wreford says. "Freedom from my cancer, freedom to put aside everything and focus on what I truly love and freedom of the melody and rhythm that pours out of my body when I dance. I feel alive and extremely lucky. I try my best to take one day at a time."

While every day is a new battle, Wreford has a strong support system that helps her find new strength daily. "My family gets to see me happy and not depressed even though I have this terrible cancer that will kill me sooner rather than later," Wreford says. "They understand that I need to dance and that it keeps me positive and motivated to keep going and not give up."

Wreford and Ramsay can be seen in Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet through February 17.

Watch the heartwarming moment where Wreford is offered the role of Lady Capulet below.