About a month ago, the National Ballet held a contest called “Release Your Inner Critic.”  I won!  My review of Innovations can be read here.
Thanks to Adrienne for picking the perfect prize: Swan Lake, framed and matted.  A month later, I’m still debating on the right wall.

This month, Toronto ballet goers were treated to a world premiere, lectures by experts, a ballet competition and a 2-week classical finale.  A highlight of this lineup was Clement Crisp’s lecture on the dire state of ballet companies, worldwide.  A shortage of classical choreographers combined with timid company management has led to repetitive repertoires and [...]

Before every performance at the Four Seasons Center, the National Ballet of Canada hosts a short lecture on the ballet about to be shown.  Sometimes the speaker is a historian, sometimes a costume designer or, if you’re lucky, a dancer from the company.   The idea is brilliant.  At once, new comers are put at [...]

How do I know when the end of winter is near?  When the National Ballet returns from the post-Nutcracker hibernation.  Finally!  Tomorrow night the dancers hit the stage with the highly anticipated, world premiere of the Innovations mixed program. I’ll be seeing the show on Thursday following of course, my favourite and free Ballet Talk [...]

With any classical ballet company, the full-length, narrative ballets always provide the predictable framework for a season. We know that in a given year, it’s fair to expect Giselle or La Sylphide, The Nutcracker at Christmas and some version of Swan Lake. In recent years contemporary works have interspersed the classics and have, as Karen [...]