SELECTED BIOGRAPHIES

from House Programme - Romeo and Juliet

SYNOPSIS

Hope Muir is an acclaimed dancer, teacher and director whose 33-year career spans two continents and a range of classical and contemporary styles. Born in Toronto, she is one of the first graduates of Peter Schaufuss’ London Festival Ballet School and a former dancer at English National Ballet, Rambert Dance Company and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In 2009, Hope assisted Crystal Pite with the creation of Emergence for The National Ballet of Canada and has since helped to stage the work internationally. She has assisted numerous choreographers in this capacity, staging work by Christopher Bruce, Javier De Frutos and Helen Pickett, among others. Hope is the former Assistant Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet and in 2017, she was appointed Artistic Director of Charlotte Ballet in North Carolina, where she expanded the repertoire and established the highly successful Choreographic Lab. She assumed the role of Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada on January 1, 2022.

Barry Hughson Executive Director

Barry Hughson joined The National Ballet of Canada in 2014. Since that time, the company has accelerated its trajectory of artistic growth, fiscal responsibility, community engagement and international acclaim. In 1988, Barry began his professional career as a dancer with The Washington Ballet, performing at the Kennedy Center and internationally. As an arts executive, he has led a variety of arts institutions in the US, including The Warner Theatre, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and Boston Ballet. For nine years, he served on the board of Dance/USA, North America’s largest service organization for professional dance. In partnership with Dance/USA and The Royal Ballet, Barry spearheaded the first meeting of international executive dance leadership in 2015. In Canada, Barry was a member of the Coordinating Committee for Respectful Workplaces in the Arts, where he chaired the working group responsible for the development of a nationwide Code of Conduct for the Live Performing Arts. He currently serves as a member of the Steering Committee for the Canadian Arts Coalition and as a member of the Advancement Committee for the International Society of Performing Arts.

David Briskin is recognized as one of contemporary ballet’s most accomplished conductors and has served as Music Director and Principal Conductor since 2006. David lived and worked for 23 years as a conductor in New York City in opera, ballet and in concert. He conducted for seven years with American Ballet Theatre and was a seasonal conductor for three years with New York City Ballet. He served for 13 years as conductor for The Juilliard School’s Dance Division and has appeared with nearly all the major North American ballet companies. Internationally, he has appeared with The Royal Ballet, The Royal Swedish Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet and Hamburg Ballet. Earlier this season, he served as Music Director for the Nureyev Legend and Legacy Gala in London which was filmed for Marquee TV and screened in cinemas across Japan. David recently led an all-star cast, including Cynthia Dale and Eric McCormack, in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at Koerner Hall. He has appeared with orchestras and opera companies in North America and abroad including Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras, as well as Calgary, Manitoba, and Opera Carolina, among others.

Alexei Ratmansky was born in St. Petersburg and trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School. His performing career included positions as Principal Dancer with Ukrainian National Ballet, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and The Royal Danish Ballet. He has choreographed ballets for Mariinsky Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Het Nationale Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Kyiv Ballet and the State Ballet of Georgia, as well as for Nina Ananiashvili, Diana Vishneva and Mikhail Baryshnikov. His 1998 work, Dreams of Japan, earned a prestigious Golden Mask Award by the Theatre Union of Russia. In 2005, he was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse for his choreography of Anna Karenina for The Royal Danish Ballet and was made Knight of Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 2001. In 2014, he won his second Prix Benois de la Danse for Shostakovich Trilogy. Alexei was named Artistic Director of The Bolshoi Ballet in January 2004. Under his direction, The Bolshoi Ballet was named Best Foreign Company in 2005 and 2007 by The Critics’ Circle in London and he received a Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for The Bright Stream in 2006. In 2007, he won a Golden Mask Award for Best Choreographer for his production of Jeu de Cartes for The Bolshoi Ballet. In 2009, Alexei choreographed new dances for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Aida. He joined American Ballet Theatre as Artist in Residence in January 2009 and is due to depart in June 2023. He will become Artist in Residence of New York City Ballet beginning in August 2023. In 2013, Alexei was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Born in Zimbabwe, Richard Hudson trained at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed operas for Glyndebourne, Covent Garden, The Metropolitan Opera, New York, Teatro alla Scala, Maggio Musicale Florence, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Kent Opera, Opera North, Wiener Staatsoper, Munich, Chicago, Copenhagen, Athens, Bregenz, Amsterdam, Zurich, Barcelona, Madrid, Brussels, Houston,Washington, Venice, Pesaro and Rome. He has also designed for the Aldeburgh Festival, The Royal Ballet, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Royal Court, Almeida and the Young Vic. In 1988, Richard won an Olivier Award for a season of plays at the Old Vic and a Tony Award for The Lion King. Richard is a Royal Designer for Industry. In 2003, he won the Gold Medal for set design at the Prague Quadrenniale and in 2005, he was given an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Surrey. Recent work includes Leopoldstadt (West End and Broadway), The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty (American Ballet Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (The Bolshoi Ballet), Le Coq D’or, La Bayadère and Raymonda (The Royal Danish Ballet), Das Rhinegold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (Teatro Massimo, Palermo), Versailles (Donmar Warehouse), La Bohème (Bologna), Peter Gynt (National Theatre), Morgen und Abend (Royal Opera, Covent Garden and Deutsche Oper, Berlin) and Ballo in Maschera (Verdi Festival, Parma).

Jennifer Tipton is well known for her work in theatre, dance and opera. Her recent work in theatre includes To Kill A Mockingbird for London and on tour, Samuel Beckett’s First Love for Zoom and all of Richard Nelson's Rhinebeck plays. Her recent work in opera includes Ricky Ian Gordon's Intimate Apparel with libretto by Lynn Nottage, based on her play by the same name, at the Lincoln Center Mitzi Newhouse Theater; her recent work in dance includes Liz Gerring’s Harbor at ICA in Boston and Amy Hall Warner’s Somewhere in the Middle for the Paul Taylor Company. Among many awards she has received the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 2001, the Jerome Robbins Prize in 2003 and in 2008, she was awarded the USA “Gracie” Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship.

Known for his versatility across a broad spectrum of genres, dynamic interpretations and meticulous technique, American-Canadian conductor Julian Pellicano is Principal Conductor of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Associate Conductor of Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Bringing an incisive musicality and collaborative spirit to every performance, he has built a wide-ranging international career. As a guest conductor he has performed with Seattle Symphony, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Cincinnati Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Orquestra de València, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Vermont Symphony Orchestra. He studied conducting at Yale School of Music, Royal College of Music in Stockholm and holds a degree in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University.

Jeff Morris joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1995. Born in Toronto, he studied technical theatre production and administration at Ryerson’s Theatre School. From 1990 to 1995, he was Production Stage Manager for Toronto Dance Theatre. Since joining the National Ballet, Jeff has stage-managed a wide range of the company’s unique classical and contemporary repertoire, including the world premieres of The Four Seasons, Cinderella and An Italian Straw Hat (Kudelka), Emergence and Angels’ Atlas (Pite), Le Petit Prince (Côté) and Frame by Frame (Côté/Lepage). Company premieres include The Seagull, A Streetcar Named Desire, Nijinsky and Anna Karenina (Neumeier), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale (Wheeldon). He is an adjunct faculty member at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre, a board member of SMArts, and Festival Co-Director for dance:made in Canada/fait au Canada

Jeff Morris Stage Manager

Liliane Stilwell Stage Manager

Liliane Stilwell joined The National Ballet of Canada in 2015 and has stage managed The Merry Widow, Onegin, Giselle, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio Previously she served as stage manager for the Canadian Opera Company for 22 years. Highlights include Don Quixote, Barber of Seville, Lucia di Lammermore, La Cenerentola, Otello, Marriage of Figaro, Götterdämmerung (complete Ring Cycle), Macbeth, La Bohème, Eugene Onegin, Madama Butterfly and was part of the team that took Oedipus Rex to the Edinburgh International Festival. Liliane was production stage manager for Grease and stage manager for Robin Hood and Cinderella at the Elgin Theatre, Dirty Dancing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and Hairspray at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Other credits include Tom Jones, Speed-The-Plow, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Big River, Carousel, Me and My Girl and Roar of the Greasepaint – Smell of the Crowd. Liliane has stage managed several industrial shows in Canada and the US.

Michael Lewandowski Assistant Stage Manager

Born in Włocławek, Poland, Michael Lewandowski studied technical theatre production at York University, Toronto. His work for The National Ballet of Canada includes The Nutcracker, The Winter’s Tale, New York tours of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale and the Washington tour of The Winter’s Tale Other dance credits include Fall for Dance North. Theatre work includes the world premiere and UK tour of ‘da kink in my hair (Toronto Fringe Festival & Hackney Empire), The Pillowman (Canadian Stage Theatre) and Drystreak (Grand Theatre). Select past opera credits include War & Peace, Death in Venice, Carmen, La Bohème, Elektra, Il Trovatore, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Dialogues des Carmélites, Hansel & Gretel, Cinderella, La Serva Padrona & The Nightingale and Other Short Fables (Canadian Opera Company). For television, he has been the floor director for Canadian Country Music Awards, and Indspire Awards. Select festival work includes Just for Laughs, Luminato and Westfest.

The National Ballet Orchestra

The National Ballet of Canada is privileged to have its own full Orchestra with over 60 members. The Orchestra has performed in each of the National Ballet’s seasons and is led by Music Director and Principal Conductor David Briskin. The company’s first Music Director was George Crum who, along with Founder Celia Franca, was a pioneer of the company. Crum held the position from the company’s inception in 1951 to 1984, when he was appointed Music Director Emeritus. The Orchestra was led by Ermanno Florio from 1985 to 1990. Ormsby Wilkins was Music Director and Principal Conductor from 1990 to 2006. The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra has toured extensively with the company through Canada, the US and Europe. Over the years, the Orchestra has received much acclaim from audiences and critics alike and has recorded two CDs of Michael Torke’s compositions for The Contract (The Pied Piper) and An Italian Straw Hat. The Orchestra made their concert debut at Koerner Hall on April 3, 2012, in celebration of the company’s 60th anniversary.

Guillaume Côté

Born: Lac-Saint-Jean, Québec

Trained: Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 1998

Principal Dancer since: 2004

Jurgita Dronina

Born: Saratov, Russia

Trained: National M.K Čiurlionis School of Art in Lithuania and Munich

International Ballet Academy in Germany

Royal Swedish Ballet: 2005 – 2010

Het Nationale Ballet: 2010 – 2015

Resident Principal Guest Artist with The Hong Kong Ballet: 2015 – 2017

Lead Principal Dancer with English

National Ballet: 2017 – 2020

Joined as Principal Dancer: 2015

Naoya Ebe

Born: Tokyo, Japan

Trained: Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2007

Principal Dancer since: 2015

Piotr Stanczyk

Born: Poznan, Poland

Trained: State Ballet School of Poznan and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 1998

Principal Dancer since: 2008

Sara Mearns

Principal Guest Artist†

Born: Columbia, South Carolina

Trained: Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet in South Carolina, North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities and School of American Ballet in New York

Joined New York City Ballet: 2003

Promoted to Principal: 2008

Stephanie Hutchison

Born: Kitchener, Ontario

Trained: Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 1997

Principal Character Artist since: 2015

Rebekah Rimsay

Born: Fort Collins, Colorado

Trained: Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 1990

Principal Character Artist since: 2012

Jack Bertinshaw

Born: Sydney, Australia

Trained: Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy in Australia and the Tanz Akademie Zürich in Switzerland

Joined National Ballet: 2011

First Soloist since: 2018

Sponsored by an anonymous donor

Christopher Gerty

Born: Watford, England

Trained: Newcastle Dance Academy in Australia, New Zealand School of Dance and San Francisco Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2014

First Soloist since: 2022

Sponsored by Ms. Nancy Viner & Dr. Raymond Stein

Tanya Howard

Born: Uitenhage, South Africa

Trained: The National School of Arts in South Africa and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 1998

First Soloist since: 2007

Alejandra Perez-Gomez

Born: Toronto, Ontario

Trained: L’École supérieure de danse du Québec, Princess Grace Academy and San Francisco Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 1998

Principal Character Artist since: 2013

Jordana Daumec

Born: New York City, New York

Trained: Studio Maestro in New York and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2003

First Soloist since: 2015

Jeannine Haller

Born: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Trained: Place des Arts in Coquitlam, British Columbia and Canada's National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2015

First Soloist since: 2021

Sponsored by an anonymous donor

Chelsy Meiss

Born: Melbourne, Australia

Trained: Karen Curlis School of Dance, Thelma Williams School of Dance, The Victorian College of The Arts in Australia and The Australian Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2008

First Soloist since: 2015

Sponsored by an anonymous donor

Brenna Flaherty

Born: Boston, Massachusetts

Trained: Boston Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2016 Second Soloist since: 2021

Jenna Savella

Born: Vancouver, British Columbia

Trained: DanceWest and Lavrova Classical Ballet Academy in British Columbia and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2004

First Soloist since: 2015

Selene Guerrero-Trujillo

Born: Mexico City, Mexico

Trained: The National Ballet School of Mexico and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2007

Second Soloist since: 2022

Miyoko Koyasu

Born: Chiba, Japan

Trained: Hashimoto Ballet and Shimada Ballet Institute in Japan and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2011

Second Soloist since: 2018

Noah Parets

Born: Boston, Massachusetts

Trained: Boston Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2018

Second Soloist since: 2021

Sponsored by John Covington Jr & Robert Lukey

Kathryn Hosier

Born: Champaign, Illinois

Trained: Champaign-Urbana Ballet

Academy and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2009

Second Soloist since: 2015

Sponsored by Donna Meyers & Doug Richmond

Tirion Law

Born: Hong Kong

Trained: The New Zealand School of Dance

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2018

Second Soloist since: 2022

Kota Sato

Born: Tokyo, Japan

Trained: Shimura Ballet School in Japan and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2012

Second Soloist since: 2019

Sponsored by Tony Arrell, C.M. & Anne Arrell

Ross Allen

Born: Steubenville, Ohio

Trained: Arenas Dance Company in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in Pennsylvania and the School of American Ballet in New York City, New York

Joined National Ballet: 2020 Corps de Ballet since: 2022

Trygve Cumpston

Born: Des Moines, Iowa

Trained: School of Classical Ballet and Dance in Des Moines, Iowa, Orlando Ballet School in Florida and San Francisco Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2012 Corps de Ballet since: 2013

Shaelynn Estrada

Born: Nacogdoches, Texas

Trained: Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program in New York City, New York and The Rock School for Dance Education Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2019

Nina Gentes

Born: Buffalo, New York

Trained: Classical Ballet of Western New York in Williamsville, New York and Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2019 Corps de Ballet since: 2022

Monika Haczkiewicz

Born: Las Vegas, Nevada

Trained: Nevada Ballet Theatre, Kwak Ballet Academy, Tara Foy's Elite Ballet and Nevada School of Dance in Las Vegas, Nevada and Royal Winnipeg Ballet School

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2019

Ayano Haneishi

Born: Chiba, Japan

Trained: Ecole de Ballet Pied Nus in Japan and New National Theatre

Ballet, Tokyo in Japan

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2019

Isabelle Bratt

Born: Toronto, Ontario

Trained: Canada's National Ballet School

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2022

Emerson Dayton

Born: Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

Trained: Central Pennsylvania

Youth Ballet

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2022

Jason Ferro

Born: Franklinville, New Jersey

Trained: San Francisco Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2018

Corps de Ballet since: 2020

Albjon Gjorllaku

Born: London, England

Trained: The Royal Ballet School in London

Joined National Ballet: 2019 Corps de Ballet since: 2022

Josh Hall

Born: Syracuse, New York

Trained: University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2022

Peng-Fei Jiang

Born: Anhui, China

Trained: Beijing Dance Academy and the New Zealand School of Dance

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2017

Sophie Lee

Born: Seoul, South Korea

Trained: Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and Canada's National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2019 Corps de Ballet since: 2022

Scott McKenzie

Born: Alexandria, Scotland

Trained: The Royal Ballet School in London

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2020

Keaton Leier

Born: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Trained: Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and Houston Ballet II

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2022

Larkin Miller

Born: Los Angeles, California

Trained: The School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York City, New York

Joined National Ballet: 2016 Corps de Ballet since: 2018

Arielle Miralles

Born: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Trained: Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2019 Corps de Ballet since: 2022

Emma Ouellet

Born: London, Ontario

Trained: Canada’s National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2020

Corps de Ballet since: 2022

Clare Peterson

Born: Kelowna, British Columbia

Trained: Canada's National Ballet School

Joined National Ballet: 2014

Corps de Ballet since: 2016

Sponsored by an anonymous donor

David Preciado

Born: Los Angeles, California

Trained: Los Angeles Ballet Academy, San Francisco Ballet School

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2022

McKhayla Pettingill

Born: Chandler, Arizona

Trained: Houston Ballet Academy

Joined as Corps de Ballet: 2022

Teagan Richman–Taylor

Born: Vancouver, British Columbia

Trained: Canada’s National Ballet School, Goh Ballet Academy and Arts Umbrella in Vancouver

Joined National Ballet: 2017

Corps de Ballet since: 2018

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SYNOPSIS

The National Ballet Orchestra

Piotr Stanczyk

Selene Guerrero-Trujillo

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SYNOPSIS

WELCOME TO ROMEO AND JULIET

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House Programme - Romeo and Juliet