2015/16 Season Overview Fall Season November 14 – 22, 2015 Four Seasons Centre The Winter’s Tale* for the Performing Arts
November 25 – Four Seasons Centre Romeo and Juliet December 5, 2015 for the Performing Arts
Holiday Season December 12, 2015 – Four Seasons Centre The Nutcracker January 3, 2016 for the Performing Arts
Winter Season March 2 – 6, 2016 Four Seasons Centre La Sylphide for the Performing Arts
March 9 – 13, 2016 Four Seasons Centre Cacti* & Rubies & The for the Performing Arts Four Temperaments
March 16 – 20, 2016 Four Seasons Centre Romeo and Juliet for the Performing Arts
Summer Season June 4 – 12, 2016 Four Seasons Centre Le Petit Prince† for the Performing Arts
June 15 – 19, 2016 Four Seasons Centre Giselle for the Performing Arts
June 7, 2016 Four Seasons Centre MAD HOT BALLET Gala for the Performing Arts
Touring October 1 – 3, 2015 Montréal, Québec the second detail & Spectre de la Rose & Chroma
April 7 – 9, 2016 National Arts Centre La Sylphide Ottawa, Ontario
World Ballet Day October 1, 2015
† World Premiere * Company Premiere North American Premiere
The Winter’s Tale Ballet in a Prologue and Three Acts
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Staged by: Jacquelin Barrett and Anna Délicia Trévien Music: Joby Talbot Set & Costume Design: Bob Crowley Lighting Design: Natasha Katz Projection Design: Daniel Brodie Silk Effects Design: Basil Twist
Premiere: The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, London, UK, April 10, 2014 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: November 14, 2015
A co-production of The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet (UK).
Generously supported by The Monument Trust.
Lead philanthropic support for The Winter’s Tale is provided in part by The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, Richard M. Ivey, C.C., an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and The Producers’ Circle.
The Producers’ Circle: John & Claudine Bailey, David Binet, Susanne Boyce & Brendan Mullen, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Kevin & Roger Garland, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Rosamond Ivey, Hal Jackman Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Judith & Robert Lawrie, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Joan & Jerry Lozinski, The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., Lynda & Jonas Prince, Susan Scace & Arthur Scace, C.M., Q.C., Sandra L. Simpson and Noreen Taylor & David Staines, O.C.
Performance Dates: November 14 – 22, 2015 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Following the international success of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, renowned British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon returns with The Winter’s Tale, a ballet that is as lavishly imagined and entertaining as his earlier work. Based on the classic play by Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale is a story of the deterioration of a marriage and the complex emotions that follow. With an original score by Joby Talbot, set and costumes design by Bob Crowley and lighting design by Natasha Katz, the ballet is an engaging and deeply touching reflection on love, jealousy and the nature of family.
Quotes
“ /5 In embracing the king-sized emotions of The Winter’s Tale, Christopher Wheeldon has produced the most heartfelt and resonant full-length ballet seen in decades… his greatest triumph.” The Times, 2014
“Christopher Wheeldon’s new three-act version of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is a triumph. It is contemporary and classical, traditional and modern, narrative and abstract. It feels like something entirely new.” The Telegraph, 2014
“Christopher Wheeldon rises to the challenge of translating Shakespeare into dance, creating one of most fully achieved story ballets to be staged at Covent Garden in years.” The Guardian, 2014
“Like the play, the ballet has taken us through a large arc of human experience.” The New York Times, 2014
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Christopher Wheeldon Choreographer, The Winter’s Tale
Internationally acclaimed choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has received many awards for his work including the Martin E. Segal Award, American Choreography Award, London Critics’ Circle Award and two Olivier Awards. Mr. Wheeldon studied at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1991, winning the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne the same year. In 1993, he joined New York City Ballet and began his choreographic career with New York City Ballet in 1997 when he created Slavonic Dances for the company’s annual showcase. In 2000, he retired from dance to concentrate on choreography and served as New York City Ballet's first Artist-in-Residence, creating two ballets, Polyphonia and Variations Sérieuses.
In 2001, Mr. Wheeldon was named New York City Ballet's first Resident Choreographer and from 2007 to 2010, he was Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.
He has choreographed such works as Morphoses, After the Rain, An American in Paris and The Nightingale and the Rose. In 2010, his new version of The Sleeping Beauty had its premiere with The Royal Danish Ballet. His full-length ballet Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was created as a co-production of The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet and premiered at the Royal Opera House in 2011. His production of Cinderella (San Franciso Ballet & Dutch National Ballet) won the 2013 Benois De La Danse. In 2014, Mr. Wheeldon created a full-length version of The Winter’s Tale, a second co-production between The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet and will direct and choreograph a musical version of An American in Paris which premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet and is Broadway bound in 2015.
Romeo and Juliet Presented by Chloé Fragrances
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky Music: Sergei Prokofiev Set, Costume and Properties Design: Richard Hudson Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton
Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, November 16, 2011
Lead philanthropic support for Romeo and Juliet is provided by Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., with additional generous support from Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and Walter Carsen, O.C.
Performance Dates: November 25 – December 5, 2015 March 16 – 20, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Few of the many Shakespeare works that have been re-imagined for ballet have had the lasting impact and been embraced with as much affection as Romeo and Juliet. The story of two young lovers whose passion is tragically thwarted by the enmity of their respective families has inspired numerous choreographers over the decades, attracted by the enduring power of its themes and narrative and by its potential for dramatic and evocative dancing.
Celebrated Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, in his adaptation of the play, has given the familiar story a fresh and compelling re-telling. Created for The National Ballet of Canada in 2011, his version stays true to the play’s theatricality, romance and tragedy, plumbing the characters’ emotional depths and complexity with rare sensitivity. Mr. Ratmansky has created a Romeo and Juliet that is at once bracing and modern in its choreographic vigor, yet timeless in its dramatic urgency.
Quotes
“Gorgeous dancing fuelled by intricate choreography... the balcony pas de deux was ravishing." Los Angeles Times, 2014
“Finally, a Romeo and Juliet for our time” Los Angeles Register, 2014
“Of the six versions I have seen by choreographers alive today, this is much the best.” The New York Times, 2013
“Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet is a choreographic delight, rich in detail, subtle in its musicality and always dramatically expressive…. a Romeo and Juliet with soul." Toronto Star, 2013
Page 2 of 2 Alexei Ratmansky Choreographer, Romeo and Juliet
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Alexei Ratmansky is a choreographer and former ballet dancer. He is Artist-in-Residence at American Ballet Theatre and former Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet, having trained under Pyotr Pestov and Alexandra Markeyeva at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Prior to his appointment as Artistic Director, Mr. Ratmansky was a Principal Dancer with the Kiev Ballet, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and The Royal Danish Ballet.
Mr. Ratmansky has created ballets for the Mariinsky Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Australian Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, Kiev Ballet and the State Ballet of Georgia, as well as for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Nina Ananiashvili, Wendy Wheelan and Diana Vishneva. His 2003 work, The Bright Stream, created for the Bolshoi Ballet, led to his appointment as Artistic Director of the company the following year. For the Bolshoi, he choreographed full-length productions of The Bolt (2005) and Lost Illusions (2011) and re-staged Le Corsaire (2007) and Flames of Paris (2008). His works for Mariinsky Ballet include Cinderella (2002) and Little Humpbacked Horse (2009). In 2011, he created Psyche for Paris Opéra Ballet, Romeo and Juliet for the National Ballet and in 2013, he created Opera for Teatro alla Scala and The Tempest, a co-production between the National Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.
The Critics’ Circle in London named the Bolshoi Ballet Best Foreign Company under Mr. Ratmansky’s direction in 2005 and 2007 and he received their National Dance Award for The Bright Stream. He was awarded the 2005 Prix Benois de la Danse for his choreography of Anna Karenina for The Royal Danish Ballet. In 2011, Mr. Ratmansky received the New York Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Production for The Bright Stream. He was named a MacArthur Fellow and was selected as a Rolex Mentor by the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative in 2013.
His ballets for New York City Ballet include Russian Seasons, Concerto DSCH and Namouna and for American Ballet Theatre, On the Dnieper, Seven Sonatas, Dumbarton and The Nutcracker. TD Bank Group presents
The Nutcracker 20th Anniversary
Choreography and Libretto: James Kudelka, O.C. Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Set and Costume Design: Santo Loquasto Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton
Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, December 21, 1995
The Nutcracker is made possible by generous financial support from production underwriters Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., Lawrence and Ann Heisey and an anonymous friend of the National Ballet.
The National Ballet of Canada gratefully acknowledges its collaboration with Canada's National Ballet School in the production of The Nutcracker.
This production is dedicated to Celia Franca and Betty Oliphant. With respect, admiration and gratitude. – JK
Performance Dates: December 12, 2015 – January 3, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Nutcracker. The National Ballet of Canada’s comical and touching version of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Christmas tale has enthralled over 1 million Torontonians since 1995. Set in Imperial Russia, the ballet is revered for its natural wonder and dreamlike astonishment, all conveyed in breathtaking choreography.
Gorgeously designed by Santo Loquasto and buoyed by Tchaikovsky’s evergreen score, this is one of the most enchanting versions of The Nutcracker ever staged.
Quotes
“ /4 The holiday season theatrical event by which all others must be judged.” The Toronto Star, 2014
“Remains as fresh as the day it premiered in 1995.” The Globe and Mail, 2014
“The National Ballet of Canada’s annual production of The Nutcracker is sheer delight.” Digital Journal, 2014 “The National Ballet’s Nutcracker is for kids from one to 92” National Post, 2013
“ /5 A magical Christmas tapestry weaved out of threads spun by composer Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, author E.T.A. Hoffman, choreographer James Kudelka and designer Santo Loquasto.” 24 Hours, 2013
James Kudelka, O.C. Choreographer, The Nutcracker
James Kudelka is widely acknowledged as one of North America’s most innovative choreographers. His mastery of both classical ballet and modern, contemporary dance has earned him commissions from companies – some 25 in all – as stylistically diverse as American Ballet Theatre, Chicago’s Hubbard Street Dance and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal.
Even as a student at Canada’s National Ballet School, Mr. Kudelka demonstrated a choreographic interest in exploring innovative approaches. While adept in the classical ballet vocabulary, he infuses it with a contemporary sensibility acquired from his intense interest in modern movement idioms.
Mr. Kudelka’s work covers an impressive range, from virtuoso pas de deux, through large- scale and always arresting adaptations of such classics as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Cinderella, to boldly innovative creative collaborations with dancers, designers and musicians.
Mr. Kudelka has never been afraid to tackle psychologically challenging subject matter in his story ballets – he views dance as a primary medium of artistic discourse – and through his gift for movement metaphor infuses poetic, emotional meaning into his many non-narrative works.
After nine distinguished years as Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada (1996 to 2005), Mr. Kudelka continues to undertake collaborative projects that engage and challenge him as a choreographer.
La Sylphide A Romantic Ballet in Two Acts
Choreography: Johan Kobborg, after August Bournonville Music: Herman Severin Løvenskjold Set and Costume Design: Desmond Heeley Lighting Design: Robert Thomson
Premiere (Johan Kobborg, after August Bournonville): The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, London, UK, October 6, 2005 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: March 2, 2016
Premiere (August Bournonville): The Royal Danish Ballet, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 28, 1836 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: December 31, 1964
Performance Dates: March 2 – 6, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
La Sylphide is a historical landmark and thrilling example of the art of storytelling in dance. The ballet follows the story of a young Scottish famer, James, who, on the eve of their wedding, abandons his betrothed, Effie, after being enticed away to the forest by the ethereal Sylphide. When the Sylphide dies and Effie marries another, James is left tragically alone.
Renowned Danish choreographer Johan Kobborg brings his long and intimate knowledge of Bournonville technique to the restaging of one of the great Danish master’s most famous ballets. His expressive and attentive new staging of the ballet fully embraces the romanticism of the original and enlivens it in a way that few modern productions have.
Quotes
“utterly compelling… fabulous array of Copenhagen-school dancing, Kobborg is making a statement about his heritage.” The Guardian, 2007
“ /5 ... seamlessly good.” Financial Times, 2012
“Kobborg was raised in the Bournonville tradition and is considered one of its foremost interpreters.” Herald-Tribune, 2012 Johan Kobborg Choreography, La Sylphide
Johan Kobborg is a former Principal Dancer with The Royal Danish Ballet and The Royal Ballet in London. As a Guest Artist, Mr. Kobborg has performed with some of the most important ballet companies in the world.
An established choreographer, Mr. Kobborg works have been performed by The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet and several other companies.
In 2005, Mr. Kobborg staged August Bournonville’s La Sylphide for The Royal Ballet. The production was met with immense success and was reprised by the company during the opening of the 2006/07 season. He also staged La Sylphide for Bolshoi Ballet, National Ballet of Lithuania and Zurich Ballet, and in 2015, will stage the production for The National Ballet of Canada.
Mr. Kobborg has choreographed such works as Les Lutins for The Royal Ballet, Giselle for Royal New Zeland Ballet, Alumnus for The Royal Danish Ballet, Salute for the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Out of Denmark presented at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.
In 1993, Mr. Kobborg won The Third International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize. The following year, he received the Grand Prix City of Jackson at the 1994 USA International Ballet Competition and won first prize at the International Rudolf Nureyev International Ballet Competition. In 1996, Mr. Kobborg was nominated for the Benois de la Danse Award for his performance in La Sylphide. He won the Critics Circle Dance Award for Best Dancer in 2001 and was also nominated for two Lawrence Olivier Awards, one for his staging of La Sylphide and the other for his performance in Fleming Flindt’s The Lesson. In 2009, his staging of La Sylphide for the Bolshoi Ballet was nominated Best Show of the Year at the Golden Mask Awards in Moscow.
Mr. Kobborg was awarded the Order of the Dannebrog, one of the most important Danish distinctions, by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 2013.
In 2014, Mr. Kobborg was appointed Artistic Director of the National Romanian Ballet. Company Premiere
Cacti
Choreography and Costume Design: Alexander Ekman Staged by: Nina Botkay Music: Joseph Haydn, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Andy Stein and Gustav Mahler Set Design: Alexander Ekman and Thomas Visser Lighting Design: Thomas Visser Text: Spenser Theberge
Premiere: Nederlands Dans Theater 2, Lucent Dans Theater, Den Haag, Holland, February 25, 2010 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: March 9, 2016
Cacti is a co-production between The National Ballet of Canada, Boston Ballet and Atlanta Ballet.
Lead philanthropic support for Cacti is made possible by an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and The Producers’ Circle.
The Producers’ Circle: John & Claudine Bailey, David Binet, Susanne Boyce & Brendan Mullen, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Kevin & Roger Garland, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Rosamond Ivey, Hal Jackman Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Judith & Robert Lawrie, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Joan & Jerry Lozinski, The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., Lynda & Jonas Prince, Susan Scace & Arthur Scace, C.M., Q.C., Sandra L. Simpson and Noreen Taylor & David Staines, O.C.
Performance Dates: March 9 – 13, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Cacti, the first co-production between The National Ballet of Canada, Boston Ballet and Atlanta Ballet, is a witty, tongue-in-cheek, thought provoking work by Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman that satirizes modern dance and the critical response. The piece is a wonderful choreographic treat, full of startlingly inventive uses of space, sound, and physical design.
Quotes
“Cacti is a delight: witty, effervescent, playful, surreal and joyously physical.” The Australian, 2013 “Genuinely stunning choreography, clever stage design, a live string quartet and lashings of self-aware irony.” Time Out Australia, 2013
“A clever and original crowd-pleaser.” The Telegraph, 2012
Page 2 of 2 Alexander Ekman Choreographer, Cacti
Alexander Ekman is an internationally sought after choreographer producing entertaining works of artistic integrity within the contemporary and classical dance world. Mr. Ekman has created 35 works to date that have been performed worldwide by companies such as Boston Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, Norwegian National Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Dresden Semperoper Ballet, Wiener Staatsballet, São Paulo City Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet and Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. Mr. Ekmans's works are known for their clever ideas, fast-paced choreography and abundance of humor. He also composes music and creates set and costume designs for his own pieces.
Mr. Ekman also creates unique performances that integrate different artistic disciplines. In 2012, he incorporated pop singer Alicia Keys into his choreographic work Tuplet for her annual Black Ball event in New York City. This work was originally made for Cedar Lake Dance Company and utilized a score that was created with the dancers' own rhythmic impulses and employed their bodies as percussion instruments. In 2014, Mr. Ekman made his debut on the main stage of the Norwegian Opera House with a surrealist interpretation of the classic ballet Swan Lake. During this groundbreaking performance, with design by Hendrik Vibskov and a new musical score by composer Mikael Karlsson, Mr. Ekman transformed the stage into an actual lake. Rubies
Choreography: George Balanchine Staged by: Joysanne Sidimus Music: Igor Stravinsky Costume Design: Karinska Lighting Design: Robert Thomson
Premiere: New York City Ballet, New York City, New York, April 13, 1967 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: February 11, 2000
Rubies is a gift from The Volunteer Committee, The National Ballet of Canada.
The performance of Rubies, a Balanchine® Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine TrustSM and has been produced by arrangement with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique® Service standards established and provided by the Trust.
Performance Dates: March 9 – 13, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Rubies is the centrepiece in George Balanchine’s masterwork Jewels, a three act plot-less ballet inspired by the beauty of three rare gems – Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds. Set to Igor Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, Rubies is Mr. Balanchine’s love song to America, his adopted homeland, and showcases his choreography at his best.
Quotes
“Rubies is a perfect piece to show off a company’s adherence to neoclassical style, and [The National Ballet of Canada] danced it splendidly.” Ballet Review, 2008
“What a joy to see the great Balanchine’s brilliant ballets on home turf danced with exquisite perfection by The National Ballet of Canada.” The Hamilton Spectator, 2006
“One of the greatest repertoire works... the dancing is sexy, sassy, brash, energetic and très moderne.” The Globe and Mail, 2003
“As breathtaking as the jewels that inspired it.” Toronto Star, 2003 The Four Temperaments
Choreography: George Balanchine Staged by: Joysanne Sidimus Music: Paul Hindemith Lighting Design: Ronald Bates
Premiere: Ballet Society – Central High School of Needle Trades, New York City, New York, November 20, 1946 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: March 24, 1969
The performance of The Four Temperaments, a Balanchine® Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine TrustSM and has been produced by arrangement with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique® Service standards established and provided by the Trust.
The Four Temperaments is a gift from The Volunteer Committee, The National Ballet of Canada.
Performance Dates: March 9 – 13, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
George Balanchine is the gold standard of modern choreography. His fertile, expansive dance imagination is incomparable, seemingly effortless and has forged a new and unique vocabulary for ballet. Set to a rich and evocative score by Paul Hindemith, The Four Temperaments is a series of variations based on the ancient concept of the four humours – melancholic, sanguinic, phlegmatic and choleric.
Deliberately evasive and abstract, The Four Temperaments is Mr. Balanchine's most beautifully accomplished and interesting ballets.
Quotes
“Sleek, streamlined and startling in its modernity, this work continually amazes with its innovative reworking of the classical choreography.” The Globe and Mail, 1997
“The Four Temperaments… gut wrenching, velocity driven ballet, demanding dance of mercurial perfection.” The Hamilton Spectator, 1997
“/5 The Four Temperaments… offers yet another vehicle for this talented company to strut the breadth of its riches” Toronto Sun, 1993 George Balanchine Choreographer, The Four Temperaments, Rubies
George Balanchine was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1904. He joined Mariinsky Ballet as a member of the Corps de Ballet at the age of 17. In 1924, Mr. Balanchine was invited by Serge Diaghilev to join Ballets Russes in Paris and was hired as Ballet Master in 1925, holding this position until the company was dissolved in 1929. Mr. Balanchine formed his own company, Les Ballets 33, in 1933 in Paris and shortly thereafter met the American dance connoisseur Lincoln Kirstein, which led him to move to the US. In collaboration with Mr. Kirstein, Mr. Balanchine formed the School of American Ballet and American Ballet, which later became the resident ballet company at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Mr. Balanchine was choreographer for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1944 to 1946, and in 1946, he formed Ballet Society, which later became New York City Ballet. He held the position of Artistic Director with New York City Ballet until his death in 1983.
A major artistic figure of the 20th-century, Mr. Balanchine revolutionized the look of classical ballet. Taking classicism as his base, he heightened, quickened, expanded, streamlined and even inverted the fundamentals of the 400-year-old language of academic dance. This had an inestimable influence on the growth of dance in the US. Although at first his style seemed particularly suited to the energy and speed of American dancers, especially those he trained, his ballets are now performed by all the major classical ballet companies throughout the world. World Premiere
BMO Financial Group Presents
Le Petit Prince
Based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Choreography: Guillaume Côté Composer: Kevin Lau Set and Costume Design: Michael Levine Lighting Design: David Finn Projection Design: Finn Ross Creative Concept: Guillaume Côté and Michael Levine Produced by special arrangement and with the permission of Editions Gallimard Special Advisor: Michael A. Levine, Esq. Project Coordinator: Etienne Lavigne
Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, June 4, 2016
Produced and commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada
Lead philanthropic support for Le Petit Prince is provided in part by an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and The Producers’ Circle.
The Producers’ Circle: John & Claudine Bailey, David Binet, Susanne Boyce & Brendan Mullen, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Kevin & Roger Garland, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Rosamond Ivey, Hal Jackman Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Judith & Robert Lawrie, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Joan & Jerry Lozinski, The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., Lynda & Jonas Prince, Susan Scace & Arthur Scace, C.M., Q.C., Sandra L. Simpson and Noreen Taylor & David Staines, O.C.
Performance Dates: June 4 – 12, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
One of the world’s most-beloved and popular children’s stories, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince has enthralled and touched millions of readers since it was first published in 1943. Adapted by Principal Dancer and Choreographic Associate Guillaume Côté, Le Petit Prince is the first full-length ballet by a Canadian creative team commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada in 20 years.
Working with renowned designer Michael Levine, with an original score by Kevin Lau, Mr. Côté brings to life the story of the aviator who encounters the enigmatic Little Prince and learns of his travels through the universe and of the wondrous, perplexing and illuminating
people he has met. As visionary as the work that the book is based on, the ballet presents audiences young and old a portrait of humanity in all its wisdom, folly and mystery.
Page 2 of 2 Guillaume Côté Choreographer, Le Petit Prince
Best known to audiences of The National Ballet of Canada as one of the company’s most gifted and dynamic performers, Guillaume Côté is also a choreographer of unique vision and talent. In 2013, in addition to his position as a Principal Dancer, Mr. Côté assumed the role of Choreographic Associate with the company.
As a dancer, Mr. Côté’s versatility, accomplished technique and strong sense of the theatrical moment have made for a large number of powerfully etched performances in his time onstage. He brings those same virtues to bear on his choreography, which is characterized by a rich physicality and a complex and often suddenly shifting emotional tenor. As a composer, Mr. Côté understands both the technical and dramatic centrality of music in the condition of the dance work and as a consequence, his ballets are forged with a careful attention to the symbiosis of musical and physical effect.
Mr. Côté’s work No. 24, set to music by Paganini, won third prize at Ballet Society Hanover’s 25th International Competition in 2011 and entered the National Ballet’s repertoire in 2013. In 2012, his work Enkeli won the Audience Choice Award for Best Choreography at The Tenth International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize and Silence Screams Venom was performed at the company’s Diamond Anniversary Gala. That same year, his work for ProArteDanza, Fractals: a pattern of chaos, was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography. Mr. Côté’s most recent works include Being and Nothingness (Part 1) (2013), Dance Me To The End Of Love (2014), Tonight Will Be Fine (2014) and Body of Work (2014), which made its world premiere at the 2014 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. The full version of Being and Nothingness will debut during the National Ballet’s Summer Season in June 2015 and Mr. Côté’s first full- length ballet, Le Petit Prince will debut during the National Ballet’s 2015/16 season.
In 2012, Mr. Côté choreographed and starred in the short film Lost in Motion, which was presented at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film’s sequel, Lost in Motion II which was released in 2013, was also choreographed by Mr. Côté and made its film festival debut at the Dance on Camera Festival in New York City in February 2014. Both films received rave reviews and have been viewed more than 2.5 million times online. Giselle Presented by KPMG LLP
Choreography and Production: Sir Peter Wright after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa (Based on the book by Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Gautier and Coralli) Music: Adolphe Adam, revised by: Joseph Horovitz Set and Costume Design: Desmond Heeley Lighting Design: Gil Wechsler
Premiere: Paris Opéra Ballet, Paris, France, June 28, 1841 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: April 16, 1970
Giselle was produced as a memorial to the late William P. Walker and was made possible through the courtesy of many generous friends of the National Ballet.
Performance Dates: June 15 – 19, 2016 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Created during the great Romantic Era of ballet, Giselle premiered at the Paris Opéra Ballet on June 28, 1841. The story is of a young peasant girl who is overcome with grief and madness by her lover’s deception. Upon her death, she is transported into the ghostly world of the Wilis, the spirits of betrayed young women.
The principal roles of Giselle and Prince Albrecht have always been a signature piece in dance, testing not only a dancer’s technical skills but also placing enormous demands on their dramatic abilities. Equally, the Corps de Ballet is featured prominently too with the ethereal procession of the Wilis, one of the most famous and haunting images in all of ballet.
Quotes
“A show that the National Ballet does superbly well… an endless thrill.” The Globe and Mail, 2012
“The National Ballet of Canada’s Giselle is a timeless masterpiece, worthy of returning to again and again. It is pure classical dancing at its finest.” National Post, 2012
“evocative and beautiful.” Danceview Times, 2012
“ /4 A dance anyone could love… full of the big ballet tricks that thrill the balletomane.” Toronto Star, 2009 Sir Peter Wright, CBE Choreographer, Giselle
Sir Peter Wright made his debut as a professional dancer with the Ballets Jooss during World War II and appeared with several dance companies in the 1950s including Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet.
In 1959, Sir Peter was appointed Ballet Master to Sadler’s Wells Opera and teacher at The Royal Ballet School. Two years later, he went to Stuttgart Ballet and was a teacher and Ballet Master of the company being formed by John Cranko. There he choreographed several works, including The Mirror Walkers and Quintet, and mounted his first production of Giselle. His other interpretations of the classics include The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Coppélia. In 1969, Sir Peter returned to The Royal Ballet as Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Associate Director. In 1977, he was appointed Director of Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, taking the company to Birmingham in 1990 when it became Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Throughout his career, Sir Peter has won many awards. He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1985, was knighted in 1993 and gained the title of Director Laureate of Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1995.
the second detail
Choreographer: William Forsythe Music: Thom Willems Costume, Set and Lighting Design: William Forsythe White dress: Issey Miyake Répétieurs: Peter Ottmann, Rex Harrington and Shaun Amyot
Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Toronto, February 21, 1991 the second detail is a gift from The Volunteer Committee, The National Ballet of Canada.
Performance Dates: October 1 – 3, 2015 Place des Arts, Montréal, Québec
Iconoclast choreographer William Forsythe, has proven himself time and again to be a master of forging a choreographic world distinctively his own. the second detail is quintessentially Forsythe and as with much of his work, it has evolved since it was first created for the National Ballet in 1991. Beneath the anarchic comedy and random-seeming surface of the second detail there lurks a defiant elegance and a vision of dance that forces us to rethink ballet’s meanings and potential.
Quotes
“Forsythe’s the second detail is still saucy, cheeky and sly. It is dance with attitude, filled with crisp and precise total-body moves that announce an in-your-face world.” The Globe and Mail, 2014
“The chaos forms a beautiful, cohesive whole, showing off remarkable ensemble work and challenging the audience with notions of perception, focus, and attention... as poetic as it is enlivening.” Broadway World.com, 2014
“a wonderful spectacle of impeccable footwork and light, precise port de bras; these are dancers working at their peak, and it was an impressive start to the evening.” Dance International, 2012
William Forsythe Choreographer, Costume, Set and Lighting Designer, the second detail
William Forsythe is recognized as one of the world’s foremost choreographers. His work is celebrated for reorienting the practice of ballet from its identification with classical repertoire into a dynamic 21st century art form.
Raised and principally trained in New York, Mr. Forsythe arrived on the European dance scene in his early 20s as a dancer and eventually as Resident Choreographer of Stuttgart Ballet. In 1984, he began a 20-year tenure as Director of Ballett Frankfurt and in 2004, he established his own company, The Forsythe Company.
Mr. Forsythe has won several awards including a Bessie, Laurence Olivier Award, the German Distinguished Service Cross and Wexner Prize. In 1999, he was named Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Government of France. He has been chosen as Choreographer of the Year several times by the international critics’ survey.
Mr. Forsythe has also been awarded an honorary fellowship from the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London and holds an honorary doctorate from the Juilliard School in New York.
Spectre de la Rose
Choreography: Marco Goecke Music: Carl Maria von Weber Costume Design: Michaela Springer Lighting Design: Udo Haberland Dramaturge: Nadja Kadel
Premiere: Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo, Monaco, July 14, 2009 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: Toronto, May 28, 2014
Lead philanthropic support for Spectre de la Rose is provided by an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and The Producers’ Circle.
The Producers’ Circle: John & Claudine Bailey, David Binet, Susanne Boyce & Brendan Mullen, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Kevin & Roger Garland, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Rosamond Ivey, Hal Jackman Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Judith & Robert Lawrie, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Joan & Jerry Lozinski, The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., Lynda & Jonas Prince, Susan Scace & Arthur Scace, C.M., Q.C., Sandra L. Simpson and Noreen Taylor & David Staines, O.C.
Performance Dates: October 1 – 3, 2015 Place des Arts, Montréal, Québec
Michel Fokine’s landmark 1911 ballet Le Spectre de la Rose has been re-imagined by Marco Goecke, Choreographer in Residence with Stuttgart Ballet since 2005 and Associate Choreographer with Nederlands Dans Theatre. While he preserves qualities from the original, Goecke has added more dancers and different music to create a broader thematic and choreographic context in which the work can unfold. This version is a fresh modern take on a great modern classic.
Mr. Goecke’s Spectre de la Rose premiered in 2009 at Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and was later performed by Stuttgart Ballet that same year. He has created works for such ballet companies as The Hamburg Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin and the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of New York City Ballet.
Quotes
“The hallmark of the choreography is an astonishing and complicated series of lightning-fast arm and hand gestures that make the dancers look like human semaphores on speed… Goecke’s anti-romantic rebellion.” The Globe and Mail, 2014
“A fascinating rumination on death, melancholy and the afterlife, the work is flecked with romantic, religious, and mystical flavors” Broadway World.com, 2014
Marco Goecke Choreographer, Spectre de la Rose
Marco Goecke was born in Wuppertal, Germany. He trained as a dancer at the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung in Munich as well as the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and worked at the Staatsoper im Schiller Theater Berlin and Theatre Hagen.
After choreographing works in Hagen and for Stuttgart Ballet’s Noverre-Society, Mr. Goecke created ballets for New York City Ballet (Mopey, 2004) and Stuttgart Ballet (Sweet Sweet Sweet, 2005). Mr. Goecke became Choreographer in Residence at Stuttgart Ballet in 2005. His interpretation of the ballet classic The Nutcracker (2006) was met with high acclaim as were his works Alben (2008), Fancy Goods (2009), Orlando (2010), in sensu (2011), Black Breath (2012), Dancer in the Dark (2012) and On Velvet (2013).
His solo works, Äffi and Mopey entered the repertory of Stuttgart Ballet and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and have been performed at galas around the world. Mr. Goecke has also created works for The Hamburg Ballet, Leipziger Ballett, Nederlands Dans Theater, Norwegian National Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, The Berlin State Ballet, Sao Paulo Companhia de Dança and Ballet Zurich.
After having worked with Scapino Ballet Rotterdam for more than seven years as Choreographer in Residence, Mr. Goecke accepted the position of Associate Choreographer with Nederlands Dans Theater in 2013. In his most recent creation for Nederlands Dans Theater, Hello Earth, his dancers performed on popcorn. Chroma
Choreography: Wayne McGregor Music: Joby Talbot and Jack White, The White Stripes Set Design: John Pawson Costume Design: Moritz Junge Lighting Design: Lucy Carter
Premiere: The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, UK, November 17, 2006 The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: November 24, 2010
Chroma is produced in association with The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
Performance Dates: October 1 – 3, 2015 Place des Arts, Montréal, Québec
An undeniable sensation when it made its company premiere in 2010, Chroma, choreographed by Wayne McGregor, is set to a score by British composer Joby Talbot and includes unique orchestrations of songs by The White Stripes alongside Talbot’s own original compositions. A luminous exploration of “the architecture of the human body”, Chroma is a rare work that redefines the future of modern dance.
When it made its world premiere at The Royal Ballet in 2006, Chroma received a Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Best Choreography, Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, South Bank Show Award for Dance and two additional Laurence Olivier Award nominations in 2007. The National Ballet of Canada was the first company outside of The Royal Ballet to perform this thrilling work.
Quotes
“Chroma, a dazzling example of cutting-edge, pushed-to-the-extreme ballet by Wayne McGregor...” The Toronto Star, 2012
“Chroma clearly ranks among the greatest classics of contemporary ballet.” The Globe and Mail, 2012
“An edgy, sexy romp that gives the audience a chance to savour the artistry of dancers” Toronto Sun, 2012
“muscular poetry that socks you in the gut…” The Hamilton Spectator, 2012 Wayne McGregor Choreographer, Chroma
Wayne McGregor is a multi award-winning British choreographer, renowned for his physically testing choreography and ground-breaking collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. He is the Artistic Director of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, Resident Company at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, for whom he has made over thirty works including Entity, Amu, Nemesis and AtaXia. He is Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet, where his works include Limen, Infra, Chroma and Qualia, and the UK government’s first Youth Dance Champion.
Mr. McGregor is also a frequent creator of new work for Paris Opéra Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theatre, San Francisco Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet. Other work includes movement director for theatre and film including, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Mr. McGregor made his directorial debut at The Royal Opera in 2009 with a Baroque double bill of Dido and Aeneas and Acis and Galatea – combining both The Royal Opera and Royal Ballet companies.