Beginning and ending with the last performance of Vaslav Nijinsky, widely considered one of the greatest dancers of the twentieth century, choreographer John Neumeier’s “biography of the soul” is a contemporary ballet masterpiece. Nijinsky draws its audience in from the beginning. There is no reminder to turn off your cell phone, no dimming of […]
Featuring vivid characters and a dramatic story of jealousy, love, and redemption, The National Ballet of Canada’s adaptation of The Winter’s Tale is a beautifully choreographed, magical ballet that absolutely everyone should see at least once. Like the Shakespeare play on which it is based, the ballet opens with Polixenes, King of Bohemia, visiting […]
A mixture of ballet and theatre can be enjoyed at Lilian Baylis Studio until June 29th. Dancing with the Devil tells the story of the famous Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Diagnosed with AIDS, he spends the last years of his life hallucinating and dreaming of the past. The audience is able to follow his […]
Somewhere at the intersection of a contemporary art piece and a classical narrative ballet lives the National Ballet of Canada’s new production, the world premiere of the first full-length work from homegrown company star Guillaume Côté. This is a big deal. A bigger deal than is being made, I think. The National is no […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2015 MyTheatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. The National Ballet of Canada’s newest principal dancer is one of those ethereal presences that makes little girls dream of being a ballerina. As Hermione in Christopher Wheeldon’s new version of The Winter’s Tale, Jurgita delivered […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2015 MyTheatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. National Ballet first soloist Robert Stephen is a beautiful ballet dancer but in Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland he played the Mad Hatter and what’s more mad than tap dancing in the middle of a […]
The new musical An American in Paris is less a musical than a ballet with a few Gershwin numbers sprinkled about a dance-laden plot. “New” is also a bit of a misnomer – An American in Paris is based upon the 1951 musical film of the same name with Gene Kelly. Like most Gene Kelly […]
I heard about director Jody Lee Lipes’ Ballet 422 because, during its run at Toronto’s Hot Docs Cinema, it was preceded by a short dance film choreographed by the National Ballet of Canada’s wunderkind choreographic associate Robert Binet and directed by My Theatre Award winner Dylan Tedaldi (one of my favourite dancers in the company). To my […]