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24-616: The National Ballet of Canada was formed in 1951 by the English ballet dancer Celia Franca , who had previously been a dancer with ballet companies in the United Kingdom. Franca immigrated to Canada in 1951 and founded the National Ballet of Canada that same year, also hiring the English ballet teacher Betty Oliphant to work with the company. As the National Ballet became established, Franca and Oliphant decided to create

48-704: A ballet academy to train dancers for the company. The school, modeled after Britain's Royal Ballet School , opened in 1959 in a former Quaker meeting house at 111 Maitland Street in Toronto, a building purchased for the school by the National Ballet Guild at a cost of $ 80,000. Oliphant became the school's first Artistic Director. In 1983, students at the school were featured in the Academy Award -winning National Film Board of Canada dance film Flamenco at 5:15 . In 2000, 400 Jarvis Street , in

72-411: A new version of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet by Alexei Ratmansky . The National Ballet of Canada remains Canada's largest and most influential dance company. In June 2020, Kain stepped down from the company. The following month, it was announced that Hope Muir will succeed Kain, effective January 1, 2022. The Canada's National Ballet School was founded in 1959 by Celia Franca and Julia Bondy and

96-677: Is used for multiple purposes. Twelve dance studios of various sizes, some of which are facing Jarvis Street, are visible to passersby. The Franca Celia Centre also includes a coffee shop, library/ resource centre, study areas, and seating zones. The Betty Oliphant Theatre has change rooms, dressing rooms and wardrobe all encompassed within the Franca Celia Centre. The Façade of the Celia Franca Centre consists of glazed curtain walls combined with cultured stone tiles tied by steel grate panel sub-structures. The choreography of

120-733: The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts , which was purpose-built for ballet and opera, and is shared with the Canadian Opera Company . In 1976, Alexander Grant, former Principal Dancer with London's Royal Ballet and Artistic Director of Ballet for All, became the Artistic Director of the National Ballet. Under his leadership, the company added a number of works by Frederick Ashton to its repertoire. The National Ballet of Canada became

144-689: The Company), Veronica Tennant , Martine Lamy , John Alleyne , Emmanuel Sandhu , and Mavis Staines (Artistic Director and Co-CEO of the School). Rudolf Nureyev danced with the company in 1965 and returned in 1972 to stage his version of The Sleeping Beauty . His work is credited to raising the standards of the company. He was responsible for bringing the Company to Lincoln Center 's Metropolitan Opera House in New York City where he showcased

168-691: The Royal Winnipeg Ballet. His first televised performance after coming out of temporary seclusion in Canada was with the National Ballet of Canada in a version of La Sylphide . More recently the company co-produced Christopher Wheeldon ’s The Winter’s Tale with The Royal Ballet in London. The New York Times ’ Alastair MaCauley declared that he admired it more in The National Ballet of Canada’s performance than when he "saw

192-566: The Wellesley-Church district, was acquired from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for one dollar. The existing buildings on the site were restored and redesigned by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects (GBCA). Three new buildings, dubbed Project Grand Jete , were planned and built by GBCA, along with Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB). Construction began in 2003, and in 2005,

216-444: The ballet’s first performances in London, principally because of Evan McKie ’s eloquent interpretation of Leontes." Macaulay also highly praised Francesco Gabriele Frola , Svetlana Lunkina & Jurgita Dronina ; all four dancers being Kain recruits. A duet between Hermione (Dronina) and Leontes (McKie) was "a particular breakthrough for Mr. Wheeldon" as well. Frederick Ashton Too Many Requests If you report this error to

240-708: The company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets, as well as the development of Canadian dancers and choreographers. The company's repertoire includes works by Sir Frederick Ashton , George Balanchine , John Cranko , Rudolf Nureyev , John Neumeier , William Forsythe , James Kudelka , Wayne McGregor , Alexei Ratmansky , Crystal Pite , Christopher Wheeldon , Aszure Barton , Guillaume Côté and Robert Binet. The National Ballet tours in Canada and internationally, with appearances in London, Paris, Hamburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg, New York City , Washington, D.C. , Los Angeles , and San Francisco . In 1951,

264-557: The company. The Ballet met with rave reviews and this was a pivotal point in receiving recognition internationally. Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn , two members of NBC, received the prize for best pas de deux at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1973. The following year, in 1974, while on a tour in Canada, Mikhail Baryshnikov defected and requested political asylum in Toronto and joined

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288-411: The continued funding cuts from the government, and the directorship was taken up in 1996 by choreographer James Kudelka . In 2005, Karen Kain , former Principal Dancer, became Artistic Director of the company. In 2009, Innovation debuted, a mixed programme featuring three world premieres by Canadian choreographers Crystal Pite , Sabrina Matthews and Peter Quanz . In 2011, the company premiered

312-532: The dance community and had been to Canada only twice at that point, as artistic director. Franca at first showed little interest in heading this new company; she had refused similar invitations in Australia and South Africa and liked living in the United Kingdom . Nevertheless, when she came to Canada in 1951 to attend a festival, the founders again asked her to consider the position. Franca accepted

336-566: The dancers to be properly judged by the international dance community. The first performance was in the Eaton Auditorium on November 12, 1951. The program included Les Sylphides and Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor . The company toured Canada extensively, with Franca, Lois Smith and David Adams as its stars. In 1964, the National Ballet adopted the 3200-seat O'Keefe Centre (now known as Meridian Hall ) in Toronto as its home venue. The company moved in 2006 to new facilities at

360-899: The first Canadian company to perform at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden, London in 1979. In 1981 the company participated alongside Les Grands Ballets Canadiens , the Royal Winnipeg Ballet , le Groupe de la Place Royale, the Danny Grossman Dance Company, the Toronto Dance Theatre , Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers and the Anna Wyman Dance Theatre in the Canadian Dance Spectacular, a dance show at Ottawa's National Arts Centre which

384-594: The job and became the first artistic director, while Volkoff was appointed as Resident Choreographer. Conductor George Crum acted as Musical Director. In August 1951, what was then The National Ballet Guild of Canada launched its first cross-country audition tour. By the end of the month, the ballet had chosen 29 dancers for the troupe and was rehearsing for their first performance in the St. Lawrence Hall . For The National Ballet Guild of Canada's early performances, Franca chose classic ballets, as she believed this would allow

408-594: The opening scene of The Nutcracker is visible in the suspended frit glass of the south pavilion facade in Benesh notation. National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto , Ontario, with Celia Franca , the first artistic director . A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 by artistic director Hope Muir . Renowned for its diverse repertoire,

432-429: The original buildings with three new buildings, using contemporary construction composed of glass, steel, metal panels, and concrete blocks, which appears transparent from the street façade. The three new buildings were completed in 2007: the Celia Franca Centre, a "Bar" building, and a six-storey "North Tower" building, which consists of three large studio spaces, each stacked on top of the other. The Celia Franca Centre

456-585: The school is a heritage building – the 1856 home of Sir Oliver Mowat , the longest-serving Premier of Ontario , a Father of Confederation , and later Ontario's Lieutenant-Governor. The mansion, originally named Norfield House (used by Havergal College from 1913 to 1932, and then by the CBC), was renamed Lozinski House and now houses the school's artistic and administrative offices. The architectural firms of Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects (GBCA) and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) integrated

480-510: The school relocated there. The major expansion to the school was completed in 2007 at a cost of $ 100 million. 111 Maitland, now known as Currie Hall, became the school's dining hall. The Margaret McCain Academic Building was built for and originally housed Havergal Ladies' College from 1898 until 1932, and then housed the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 's main radio studios in Toronto from 1945 until 1996. Included as part of

504-472: The time, were responsible for the initial fundraising, which enabled the company to attract its first dancers, choreographers and artistic director. Both Lloyd and Volkoff were interested in being the first artistic director of the company, but the organizers agreed that the only way to ensure an unbiased selection of dancers for the new ballet company was to hire an outsider. They chose British dancer and choreographer Celia Franca , who had many connections within

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528-663: The two major ballet companies in Canada were the Royal Winnipeg Ballet headed by Gweneth Lloyd, and the Volkoff Canadian Ballet founded by Boris Volkoff , which was based in Toronto. With the aim of creating a more widely based Canadian ballet troupe, following the example set by the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet , a group of Canadian ballet enthusiasts set out to create the National Ballet of Canada. English ballet enthusiasts Sheila Bloom, Rosemary Winckley and Patricia Barnes (née Winckley), who were living in Toronto at

552-462: Was directed for many years by co-founder Betty Oliphant . The primary goal of the school is to train dancers for the National Ballet of Canada and also for companies across Canada and around the world. Graduates of the School include Frank Augustyn , Neve Campbell , Anne Ditchburn , Rex Harrington , Karen Kain (former Artistic Director of the Company), James Kudelka (former Artistic Director of

576-474: Was filmed by the National Film Board of Canada for the 1982 documentary film Gala . In 1989, Reid Anderson became the artistic director. He led the company through a difficult economic recession by choreographing traditional ballet pieces while also commissioning Canadian and international choreographers to create contemporary pieces. In 1995, he left the company citing a frustration of

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