Ballet teacher faces nude photo allegations

Underage students at prestigious Winnipeg school say he persuaded them to pose, magazine reports

A teacher at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School has lost his job over a police investigation into allegations he took explicit photographs of underage female dancers about two decades ago.

Bruce Monk, who worked at the prestigious dance institution for 28 years, also developed a reputation as a photographer for his intimate portraits of ballerinas.

An article in the latest issue of Maclean’s magazine says five of his former students have come forward to police with allegations that he persuaded them to pose in nude or seminude photos when they were under 18.

Monk declined to comment in the article and called the allegations “ridiculous.” Attempts to reach Monk on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Winnipeg police raided Monk’s apartment, which he shares with his wife, Gail Stefanek, on Jan. 7, the article states. Stefanek is a former dancer with the RWB.

“‘I’m kind of invisible, because I’m there all the time. You stop being observed and just become the observer.” BRUCE MONK WHO WORKED AT THE ROYAL WINNIPEG BALLET SCHOOL FOR 28 YEARS, SPEAKING IN 2010

Police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen told the Star the force’s investigation is ongoing and that no charges have been laid. “I can tell you that we are continuing to investigate,” he said.

“We will be consulting with the Crown with regard to potential charges.

“I can tell you that we have received reports from multiple victims that date back 20 or so years,” he added.

Jeff Herd, executive director of the RWB, confirmed that the school has severed ties with Monk, after placing him on administrative leave in January.

“We met with him on Tuesday just to end our relationship,” Herd said.

The director of the ballet company, Canada’s oldest, declined to comment further on the police investigation, and said the school would not be conducting its own internal probe.

“That’s not our job to conduct the investigation,” he said. “We’re very comfortable leaving this with the authorities. They have the tools. We do good ballet.”

Herd, who has two young daughters of his own, said word of the allegations against Monk was a “surprise.

“I think it would be a shock for all of us. Again, this was the first we heard of it.”

Police notified the school of their investigation on Jan. 7, at which point the RWB put Monk on paid leave. Monk had taught and choreographed at RWB for close to three decades. He built a name for himself as a fine art photographer whose images of dancers evoked Edgar Degas’ famous ballerina paintings. His work was dependent on a unique level of access to the pupils in the school’s professional stream, where Monk taught beginning in 1987. Most of the school’s students are female, and many are boarders.

“‘I’m kind of invisible, because I’m there all the time,” Monk told the Winnipeg Free Press in 2010, when he was 56.

“You stop being observed and just become the observer . . . you can catch those between-the-heartbeat moments when people, in some cases, are working so hard, they can’t be anyone other than themselves.”

Herd said he was confident the company and its school remained safe places.

“I know in my heart of hearts, that our teaching staff, their first concern is always going to be the safety and well-being of our students,” he said.

“We should always be vigilant and on guard about what can happen to our children, no matter what the environment.”