House Programme - The International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize

THE ERIK BRUHN PRIZE

One of the most acclaimed and revered male dancers of the 20th century, Erik Bruhn personified the danseur noble tradition in all its classical, regal glory. His affiliation with The National Ballet of Canada was a lengthy and fruitful one, culminating in his artistic directorship of the company from 1983 until his untimely death in 1986. Bruhn was always keenly interested in the development of younger dancers and, as part of his legacy, he established The Erik Bruhn Prize, which was to be awarded to one male and one female dancer who “reflect such technical ability, artistic achievement and dedication as I endeavoured to bring to dance.”

Since it began in 1988, the competition has showcased the talents of many of the finest young dancers from such companies as The Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, The Hamburg Ballet, Boston Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada. Competitors for the prize must be between 18 and 23 years old, and are selected by the Artistic Directors of their respective companies. Each pair performs a classical pas de deux and variation and a contemporary pas de deux or solo work.

In 2009, a Choreographic Prize was added to the competition. The contemporary performances by each pair feature a specially commissioned piece by a choreographer affiliated with their company.

OUR GRATITUDE TO JOHN AND CLAUDINE BAILEY

Dedicated ballet lovers John and Claudine Bailey have sponsored The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize since 2006. This is the seventh time they have partnered with the National Ballet to make the competition possible, exemplifying their commitment to showcase emerging talent.

“Without exception, the young dancers and choreographers competing for the prize go on to wonderful careers, so it’s quite remarkable to see them at a crucial stage in their professional development. Overall, the competition is a marvelous showcase for artists with enormous potential and we’re proud to be part of it.”

– John and Claudine Bailey

Top: Erik Bruhn with Artists of the Ballet. Photo by Henry Grossman for People Magazine. Bottom: Mikhail Baryshnikov and Erik Bruhn rehearsing La Sylphide (1964). Photo by Lex Panhuyzen.

THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA

Hope Muir

Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director

David Briskin

Music Director and Principal Conductor

Rex Harrington, O.C., D.Litt Rehearsal Director, Principal Coach

Stephanie Hutchison Assistant Rehearsal Director

Greta Hodgkinson, O.Ont. Artist-in-Residence

Celia Franca, C.C., Founder

Karen Kain, C.C., Artistic Director Emerita

Barry Hughson Executive Director

Peter Ottmann Senior Répétiteur

Xiao Nan Yu Rehearsal Director, Principal Coach

Robert Binet Curator and Producer, CreativAction and Special Initiatives

George Crum, Founding Music Director

Guillaume Côté, Jurgita Dronina, Naoya Ebe, Spencer Hack, Koto Ishihara, Harrison James, Svetlana Lunkina, Siphesihle November, Heather Ogden, Genevieve Penn Nabity, Tina Pereira, Ben Rudisin, Piotr Stanczyk

Stephanie Hutchison, Alejandra Perez-Gomez, Rebekah Rimsay

Jack Bertinshaw, Jordana Daumec, Christopher Gerty, Jeannine Haller, Tanya Howard, Alexandra MacDonald, Chelsy Meiss, Jenna Savella, Calley Skalnik, Donald Thom

Brenna Flaherty, Hannah Galway, Selene Guerrero-Trujillo, Kathryn Hosier, Miyoko Koyasu, Tirion Law, Noah Parets, Kota Sato

Ross Allen, Isabelle Bratt, Trygve Cumpston, Emerson Dayton, Shaelynn Estrada, Jason Ferro, Nina Gentes, Albjon Gjorllaku, Monika Haczkiewicz, Josh Hall, Ayano Haneishi, Peng-Fei Jiang, Sophie Lee, Keaton Leier, Scott McKenzie, Larkin Miller, Arielle Miralles, Emma Ouellet, Clare Peterson, McKhayla Pettingill, David Preciado, Teagan Richman-Taylor, Alexander Skinner, Arianna Soleti, Konstantin Tkachuk, Tene Ward, Chrisopher Waters, Isaac Wright

RBC Apprentice Programme: Gabriel Buell, Ethan Clarisey, Connor Hamilton, Isabella Kinch, Hamish Lowe, Lindy Mesmer, Jordan Micallef, Keira Sanford, Pravda Tranfield, Yi-Min Tsung, Taïs Vinolo, Oliver Yonick

Magdalena Popa

Artistic Advisor

Robert Binet

Guillaume Côté Choreographic Associates

Jeff Morris

Liliane Stilwell Stage Managers

Edward Connell

Andrei Streliaev

Zsanna Vaszilenko

Zhenya Vitort Pianists

ORCHESTRA

David Briskin, Music Director and Principal Conductor

Violin 1

Aaron Schwebel*, Concertmaster

Lynn Kuo, Acting Concertmaster

Aya Miyagawa, Acting Assistant Concertmaster

Bethany Bergman+

Xiao Grabke

Nancy Kershaw

Sonia Klimasko-Leheniuk

Dominique Laplante

Yakov Lerner

Rebekah Wolkstein+

Paul Zevenhuizen

Violin 2

Jamie Kruspe, Acting Principal 2nd Violin

Csaba Koczó, Acting Assistant Principal 2nd Violin

James Aylesworth

Jennie Baccante

Terri Croft +

Sheldon Grabke

Jayne Maddison

Wendy Rogers

Joanna Zabrowarna

Violas

Shelia Jaffe, Principal

Josh Greenlaw, Assistant Principal

Woosol Cho+

Valerie Kuinka*

Johann Lotter*

Rory McLeod+

Nicholaos Papadakis+

Angela Rudden

Cellos

Maurizio Baccante, Principal

Marianne Pack, Assistant Principal

Bryan Holt+

Olga Laktionova

Elaine Thompson*

Shira Mani+

Andrew McIntosh*

Jill Vitols+

Paul Widner

Basses

Robert Speer, Acting Principal

Jonathan Yeoh*, Assistant Principal

Robert Wolanski, Acting Assistant Principal

Brian Baty+

Flutes

Leslie J. Allt † *, Principal

Maria Pelletier, Acting Principal

Shelley Brown*, Piccolo

Kaili Maimets+

Kevin O’Donnell+, Piccolo

Oboes

Mark Rogers, Principal

Karen Rotenberg

Lesley Young, English Horn

Clarinets

Max Christie, Principal

Colleen Cook+

Gary Kidd, Bass Clarinet

Emily Marlow*

Bassoons

Chia-Yu Hsu ∆ , Principal

Kevin Harris+

Elizabeth Gowen*, Contra Bassoon

Horns

Jessie Brooks, Principal

Christine Passmore+

Gary Pattison

Scott Wevers

Trumpets

Richard Sandals, Principal

Anita McAlister+

Philip Seguin+

Mark Dharmaratnam*

Robert Weymouth*

Trombones

David Pell, Acting Principal

David Archer

Cathy Stone+, Bass Trombone

Tuba

Sasha Johnson, Principal

Harp

Lucie Parent*, Principal

Lori Gemmell+, Acting Principal

Tympani

Andrew Rasmus, Acting Principal

Percussion

Kristofer Maddigan, Principal

Nicholas Matthiesen

Mark Mazur

Music Librarian

Jacques Forest

Orchestra Personnel Manager and Music Administrator

Raymond Tizzard

PAST WINNERS

Catherine Hurlin, American Ballet Theatre

Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre since 2022.

Siphesihle November, The National Ballet of Canada

Principal Dancer with The National Ballet of Canada since 2021.

Siphesihle November is sponsored through Dancers First by Jerry Lozinski, O.C. & Joan Lozinski, O.C.

Winner of the Choreographic Prize

Kristian Lever, The Hamburg Ballet

Natasha Sheehan, San Francisco Ballet

Corps de Ballet Member with San Francisco Ballet since 2016.

Angelo Greco, San Francisco Ballet

Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet since 2017.

Winner of the Choreographic Prize

Marc Jubete, The Hamburg Ballet Soloist with The Hamburg Ballet since 2016.

Hannah Fischer, The National Ballet of Canada

First Soloist with The National Ballet of Canada from 2017 to 2020. Principal Soloist with Miami City Ballet since 2020.

Carlo Di Lanno, San Francisco Ballet

Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet since 2016.

Winner of the Choreographic Prize

Yury Yanowsky, Boston Ballet

Retired as Principal Guest Artist with Boston Ballet in 2015. Currently a member of the teaching staff at Harvard University and Centro Coreografico, Las Palmas Spain, Summer Program.

Yuri Yanowsky, Hannah Fischer and Carlo Di Lanno, 2015.

Natasha Sheehan and Angelo Greco, 2016.

Catherine Hurlin, Siphesihle November and Kristian Lever, 2019.

PAST WINNERS

Ida Praetorius, The Royal Danish Ballet

Principal Dancer with The Royal Danish Ballet since 2016.

Andreas Kaas, The Royal Danish Ballet

Principal Dancer with The Royal Danish Ballet since 2018.

Winner of the Choreographic Prize

Alessandro Sousa Pereira, The Royal Danish Ballet Dancer with Danish Dance Theatre since 2007.

Maria Baranova, The Hamburg Ballet

Soloist with Boston Ballet from 2015 to 2019.

Principal Dancer with Bayerisches Staatsballett since 2019.

Joseph Gorak, American Ballet Theatre

Soloist with American Ballet Theatre since 2014.

Winner of the Choreographic Prize

Demis Volpi, Stuttgart Ballet

Former Corps de Ballet and Resident Choreographer with Stuttgart Ballet. Ballet Director and Principal Choreographer with Ballett am Rhein since 2020.

Elena Lobsanova, The National Ballet of Canada

Principal Dancer with The National Ballet of Canada from 2005 to 2020. Principal with Miami City Ballet from 2020 to 2021.

Cory Stearns, American Ballet Theatre

Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 2011.

Winner of the inaugural Choreographic Prize

Matjash Mrozewski, The National Ballet of Canada

Continues to work as a choreographer internationally creating works for numerous companies. Currently teaches at the National Theatre School.

Alessandro Sousa Pereira, Ida Praetorius and Andreas Kaas, 2012.

Joseph Gorak and Maria Baranova, 2011.

Cory Stearns and Elena Lobsanova, 2009.

PAST WINNERS

Tina Pereira, The National Ballet of Canada

Principal Dancer since 2021.

Tina Pereira is sponsored through Dancers First by The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C.

Ulrik Birkkjær, The Royal Danish Ballet

Principal Dancer with The Royal Danish Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet. Joined San Francisco Ballet as Principal Dancer in 2017.

Michele Wiles, American Ballet Theatre

Retired as Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre in 2011 and is currently Co-Founder, Artistic Director and Principal Dancer with Ballet Next in New York City.

Friedemann Vogel, Stuttgart Ballet

Principal Dancer with Stuttgart Ballet since 2002.

Vanessa Zahorian, San Francisco Ballet

Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet since 2014.

Gennadi Nedvigin, San Francisco Ballet

Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet since 2000. Retired in 2016 and became Atlanta Ballet’s Artistic Director.

Jhe Russell, The National Ballet of Canada

Retired as a dancer with Béjart Ballet Lausanne and is currently a teacher and choreographer.

Vanessa Zahorian, Gennadi Nedvigin and Jhe Russell, 1999.

Friedemann Vogel, 2002.

Ulrik Birkkjær and Tina Pereira, 2007.

PAST WINNERS

Jaimie Tapper, The National Ballet of Canada

Retired as Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet in 2006, achieved her Honours Graduate degree in Psychology and currently works in the field of maternal health.

Johan Persson, The National Ballet of Canada

Retired as Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet in 2002 and is currently an accomplished photographer specializing in portraiture and photography for live dance and theatre.

Julie Kent, American Ballet Theatre

Retired as Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre in 2015 and is currently the Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet and will become Co-Artistic Director of Houston Ballet in 2023.

Johan Kobborg, The Royal Danish Ballet

Retired as Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet in 2013 and continues to perform as a guest artist with companies worldwide. Also an established choreographer, his works have been performed by The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada.

Silja Wendrup-Schandorff, The Royal Danish Ballet

Retired as Principal Dancer with The Royal Danish Ballet in 2009.

Stephen Legate, The National Ballet of Canada

Retired as Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet in 2006 and is currently a Doctor of Chiropractic specializing in the treatment of professional dancers.

Rose Gad Poulsen, The Royal Danish Ballet

Retired as Principal Dancer with The Royal Danish Ballet in 2008 and is currently a teacher at The Royal Danish Ballet School.

Errol Pickford, The Royal Ballet

Retired as Principal Dancer with West Australian Ballet in 2003. He passed away in June of 2018 at the age of 51

Celia Franca awarding Stephen Legate, 1989.

Karen Kain and Glen Tetley (right) award the first Erik Bruhn Prize to Errol Pickford, 1988.

Veronica Tennant awarding Julie Kent, 1993.

Johan Persson and Jaimie Tapper, 1995.

Erik Bruhn in Don Quixote

THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR THE ERIK BRUHN PRIZE

Host

Rex Harrington, O.C., D.Litt Former Principal Dancer, Rehearsal Director, Principal Coach

The National Ballet of Canada

Judges

Hope Muir

Joan

and Jerry Lozinski

Artistic Director

The

National Ballet of Canada

Kevin O'Hare Director The Royal Ballet

About the Judging

Susan Jaffe Artistic Director American Ballet Theatre

Tamas Detrich Artistic Director Stuttgart Ballet

Judges score the classical and contemporary performances following each segment. Each judge assigns a score of one through three for each competitor, with number one signifying first place or the best score. The score represents the judge’s opinion of each competitor’s technique, musicality and artistry. The judges cannot vote for the dancers representing their own companies. Score sheets are collected by the tabulator who then adds the classical and contemporary scores together. The winning male and female competitior will have the best total score. In the event of equal totals, the winning competitor is determined by the highest number of ‘ones’ on his or her score sheets. Ties are accepted if the scores remain equal following this tabulation.

Orchestra

The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, conducted by David Briskin, Music

Director

and Principal Conductor

Presented by John and Claudine Bailey

I OPENING REMARKS

II CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE

Rex Harrington Note: The programme order will be projected on the surtitles above the stage.

American Ballet Theatre

Grand Pas Classique

Dancers: Tristan Brosnan and Chloe Misseldine

Choreographer: Victor Gsovsky

Music: Daniel-Francois Auber

Répétiteurs/Coaches: Susan Jaffe, Clinton Luckett

The National Ballet of Canada

Act III Pas de Deux from The Sleeping Beauty

Dancers: Emerson Dayton and Noah Parets

Choreographer: Rudolf Nureyev, after Marius Petipa

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Costume Design: Nicholas Georgiadis

Lighting Design: Jeff Logue after David Hersey

Rehearsal Director, Principal Coach: Rex Harrington

Guest Coaches: Karen Kain and Sofiane Sylve

The Royal Ballet

Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux

Dancers: Daichi Ikarashi and Viola Pantuso

Choreographer: After Agrippina Vaganova

Music: Césare Pugni arranged by Riccardo Drigo, orchestrated by Joseph Horovitz

Répétiteur: Zenaida Yanowsky

Stuttgart Ballet

Grand Pas Classique

Dancers: Mackenzie Brown and Gabriel Figueredo

Choreographer: Victor Gsovsky

Music: Daniel-Francois E. Auber

Costume Design: Stuttgart Ballet

Répétiteur: Friedemann Vogel

Intermission

III REMARKS

All lighting for the competition designed and supervised by Jeff Logue.

IV CONTEMPORARY REPERTOIRE

Note: The programme order will be projected on the surtitles above the stage.

American Ballet Theatre Game On

Dancers: Tristan Brosnan and Chloe Misseldine

Choreographer: Lauren Lovette

Music: Trio per Uno 1 Nebojša Jovan Živkovic´ from the album The Castle of the Mad King (2015) © By Special permission of BIS Records, AB.

The National Ballet of Canada fractured

Dancers: Emerson Dayton and Noah Parets

Choreographer: Ethan Colangelo

Music: Survival by Nicolas Jaar from the album Pomegranates (2015) ©

East Coast Publishing | Beggars Music, all rights reserved.

Additional Music Composition: Ben Waters

Rehearsal Director, Principal Coach: Rex Harrington

The Royal Ballet Things left unsaid

Dancers: Daichi Ikarashi and Viola Pantuso

Choreographer: Joshua Junker

Music: Er is nog zoveel niet gezegd by Paul van Vliet (1991) © Courtesy of Phillips Records, under license from Universal Music Canada Inc.

Stuttgart Ballet A Dialog

Dancers: Mackenzie Brown and Gabriel Figueredo

Choreographer: Roman Novitzky

Music: Sinnerman by Nina Simone from the album Feeling Good (1994) © Courtesy of The Verve Music Group, under license from Universal Music Canada Inc. ghts reserved

Costume Design: Roman Novitzky

V VIDEO PRESENTATION

Excerpts from Lennart Pasborg’s documentary about Erik Bruhn, I’m the Same, Only More With special thanks to Lennart Pasborg and the Danish Film Institute.

VI AWARDS CEREMONY

DANCERS

Raised in Pacifica, California, Tristan Brosnan began his dance training at age five at Westlake School for the Performing Arts. Tristan went on to compete in the Youth America Grand Prix, where, at age 12, he was invited to join the Professional Ballet Program at Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS). At NBS, Tristan trained under Mavis Staines, Alexander Gorbatsevich, Vera Timashova, Sergiu Stefanschi, Martine Lamy and Raymond Smith, among others, and performed choreography by James Kudelka and Matjash Mrozewski. He earned several awards as an Ontario Scholar, graduating in 2019. Tristan joined American Ballet Theatre Studio Company in September 2019, became an Apprentice with the main company in May 2022 and joined the Corps de Ballet in September 2022.

Chloe Misseldine began her classical training at Orlando Ballet School. She attended ABT Summer Intensives in Orange County, California and New York City as a National Training Scholar from 2016 to 2018. In 2016, she performed a traditional Chinese fan dance called Mo Li Hua in the CCTV New Year’s Gala known as the Beijing Spring Festival Gala (Chunwan), broadcast to over 700 million viewers. At age 15, Chloe earned second place in the 2017 Youth America Grand Prix New York City Finals and performed at the Youth America Grand Prix Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala. In 2018, she was named a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne and joined American Ballet Theatre Studio Company. Chloe became an Apprentice with American Ballet Theatre in December 2019, joined the Corps de Ballet in 2021 and was promoted to Soloist in 2022.

Emerson Dayton was born in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and trained for ten years at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary, starting at age 6. She spent one year with San Francisco Ballet School on a full scholarship and two years with the Pre-Professional Division at Charlotte Ballet, becoming a member of their Corps de Ballet in 2020. Emerson joined the National Ballet as a Corps de Ballet Member in 2022. Emerson’s repertoire with Charlotte Ballet includes Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and Nora Helmer in Val Caniparoli’s Ibsen’s House. Since joining the National Ballet, she has appeared in The Nutcracker, MADDADDAM, Concerto, The Collective Agreement, Anima Animus, Symphony in C and as Blossom in Cinderella

Noah Parets was born in Boston, Massachusetts and began dancing at the age of 7. He trained at Boston Ballet School, joined The National Ballet of Canada as a RBC Apprentice in 2018 and won the RBC Emerging Artist Award in 2019. Noah was still an Apprentice when choreographer Wayne McGregor chose him to perform in Chroma in 2020, prompting an invitation to join the full company. Noah was promoted to Second Soloist in 2021. As a child, Noah performed the lead role of Billy Elliot in the North American tour of Billy Elliot the Musical. His repertoire with the National Ballet includes Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Giselle, Anna Karenina, A Streetcar Named Desire, Etudes, MADDADDAM, Chroma, Angels’ Atlas, Crepuscular, The Collective Agreement, Elite Syncopations, Skyward, Orpheus Alive, Anima Animus, Symphony in C and Alleged Dances

Noah Parets is sponsored through Dancers First by John Covington Jr and Robert Lukey.

Emerson Dayton, 22

Chloe Misseldine, 21

Tristan Brosnan, 21

Noah Parets, 23

THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA

Daichi Ikarashi joined The Royal Ballet as an Aud Jebsen Young Dancer during the start of the 2020/21 Season. He was promoted to Artist at the start of the 2022/23 Season. Daichi began his training at the Niigita Ballet School before attending and graduating from The Royal Ballet School. He won the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Hope Award in 2013, April Olrich Award for Dynamic Performance in 2016, Gailene Stock Award in 2019 and in 2020 was awarded the London Ballet Circle Dame Ninette Award. Daichi also had the opportunity to perform the role of the Frog in Liam Scarlett’s The Cunning Little Vixen at the Royal Opera House. With the Company, his roles include Mandolin Dancer in Romeo and Juliet. He also appeared in Valentino Zucchetti's Anemoi and created a role in Kyle Abraham's The Weathering

Viola Pantuso joined The Royal Ballet’s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme in the 2021/2022 Season. She was promoted to Artist at the start of the 2022/23 Season. Born in Chicago, she began her ballet studies at the age of three. Her early training took place at the Joffrey Academy of Dance and at The Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program in New York City. During her time in New York, she attended the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and was awarded the silver prize in the New York City Finals. In 2017, she joined The Royal Ballet School at White Lodge. At the Upper School, she was awarded First Prize in the Lynn Seymour Competition for Expressive Dance and in 2021 graduated from The Royal Ballet School.

Mackenzie Brown grew up in Stafford, Virginia. She studied at the Barton and Williams School of Classical Dance, Classical Ballet of Fredericksburg and Académie Princesse Grace. In 2019, she won gold for the Contemporary Dance Prize and the Audience Favorite Prize at the Prix de Lausanne. In 2020, Mackenzie joined Stuttgart Ballet and in 2022, she was promoted to Soloist. Her repertoire includes roles such as the Grand Pas de Deux in Marcia Haydée’s The Sleeping Beauty, Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew and Olga in Onegin (both John Cranko), Aurora in Aurora’s Nap (Johan Inger) and Princess Louise in Mayerling (Kenneth MacMillan), as well as roles in ballets by William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Jir í Kylián, Hans van Manen and Christian Spuck. Choreographers Mauro Bigonzetti, Alessandro Giaquinto, Marco Goecke and Roman Novitzky have created roles for her.

Gabriel Figueredo was born in Brazil. He trained in his home country and at the John Cranko Schule from 2014 to 2019. He has won numerous prizes including as the best male dancer at the Prix de Lausanne, Youth Grand Grand Prix and the Dance Europe Magazine Award at the Youth America Grand Prix, both in 2019. Gabriel joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 2019 and two years later he was promoted to Demi-Soloist. His repertoire includes solo roles such as Lensky in Onegin, the Grand Pas de Deux in The Sleeping Beauty (Marcia Haydée after Petipa) as well as roles in ballets by Edward Clug, William Forsythe and Uwe Scholz. In addition, he has danced in works by Maurice Béjart, John Inger, Itzik Galili, Christian Spuck and Kenneth MacMillan. In 2017, Demis Volpi created the role of Tadzio in the opera-ballet-coproduction Death in Venice for him.

Viola Pantuso, 20

Daichi Ikarashi, 21

Gabriel Figueredo, 22

Mackenzie Brown, 20

CHOREOGRAPHERS

Lauren Lovette personifies the intertwining of dance and choreography. Her work has been commissioned and performed by leading dance companies and festivals, including the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Vail Dance Festival, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Nevada Ballet Theatre, as well as a self-produced evening entirely of her own work in which she also danced, Why It Matters. Born in Thousand Oaks, California, Lauren began studying ballet at the age of 11 at the Cary Ballet Conservatory in Cary, North Carolina. She enrolled at School of American Ballet as a full-time student in 2006. Lauren became an Apprentice with New York City Ballet in October 2009 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in June 2015. She stepped down from her position at the company in 2021and is now the Choreographer in Residence at Paul Taylor Dance Company and performs as a guest Principal Dancer around the world. Lauren received the Clive Barnes Award for dance in 2012 and was the 2012/13 recipient of the Janice Levin Award.

Ethan Colangelo was born and raised in Toronto where he began his initial training at Canada’s National Ballet School and Elite Danceworx. He is now an alumni of The Juilliard School where he received the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreographic Promise. As a choreographer, he has presented work at The Baryshnikov Arts Center, Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, APAP, Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Ethan was also one of nine choreographers selected internationally for the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition in 2018 and 2021. At the competition in 2021, his piece recurrence won the Audience Choice Award along with the DAF Production Prize, which led to a residency with Hessisches Staatsballett. Most recently, he has created new works for Ballet BC, BODYTRAFFIC, Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance and The National Ballet of Canada. Ethan has also taught and made new creations for educational institutions including The Juilliard School, The Ailey School, Arts Umbrella Dance Company, Springboard Danse Montréal, DAF in Rome and MOVE NYC. Ethan joins The National Ballet of Canada as Choreographic Associate in July 2023.

Joshua Junker joined The Royal Ballet’s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme at the start of the 2017/18 Season and was promoted to Artist in 2018, and to First Artist in 2022. Joshua was born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He studied contemporary dance and breakdance from the age of eight at Boys Action. He turned to ballet aged 14 and trained at The Royal Conservatoire The Hague and The Royal Ballet Upper School. Roles while at the School included in Les Patineurs, Candere, Concerto, See Blue Through and Solo. His repertoire with the Company includes Neapolitan dance in Swan Lake, Mandolin Dancer in Romeo and Juliet, Russian Dance in The Nutcracker and roles in Like Water for Chocolate, Flight Pattern, Medusa and Infra. He created a role in Kyle Abraham's The Weathering

Lauren Lovette

Ethan Colangelo

Joshua Junker

Roman Novitzky was born in Bratislava, Slovakia, and received his dance training at the Eva Jaczova Ballet Conservatory, Bratislava from which he graduated in 2003. For six years he danced with the Slovak National Theatre before joining Stuttgart Ballet in 2009. In 2011/12, he was promoted to Demi-Soloist, in 2013/14 to Soloist and in 2015 to Principal Dancer. His repertory as a dancer included leading roles such as Onegin and Gremin in Onegin, Tybalt and Paris in Romeo and Juliet, Lucentio and Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew and the Officer in The Lady and the Fool by John Cranko as well as Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty by Marcia Haydée after Petipa. In 2012 Roman choreographed his first ballet for Noverre: Young Choreographers evening. His second work for the Noverre in 2013, Are you as big as me?, was added into Stuttgart Ballet repertoire where it has become a hit. In 2014 and 2016, Roman created two more works for the Noverre of which Cello contra bass was also added into the repertoire of Stuttgart Ballet. In 2018, he created his first piece for Stuttgart Ballet: Under the Surface, followed by Impuls (2019), Everybody Needs Some/Body (2020) and Reflection/s in 2022. He was appointed Artist in Residence in 2022.

The creative home of The National Ballet of Canada is on the sacred and traditional territories of the Anishinabek, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat. We acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands. We support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the right of Indigenous Peoples.

The National Ballet of Canada gratefully acknowledges the support of the following:

with the support of the City of Toronto through Toronto Arts Council

Roman Novitzky

The Volunteer Committee, The National Ballet of Canada

The National Ballet of Canada operates under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. The National Ballet of Canada is a member of the Canadian Dance Assembly and Dance/USA.

Produced

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Nous remaercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage via the Endowment Incentives component of the Canada Cultural Investment Fund.

The Government of Ontario through the Honourable Neil Lumsden, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries.

STAFF

Board of Directors

As of October 19, 2022

Chair

Cornell Wright

Les Allt, ex officio

Nichole Anderson

Bergeron

Gail Appel

John Bailey

Jack Bertinshaw, ex officio

Raghunath Davloor

Laura Dinner

Flora Do

Cheryl Ferguson

Nancy Holland

Barry Hughson, ex officio

Krista Kerr

Jen Lee Koss

Philip Lieberman

David Macdonald

Hope Muir, ex officio

LJ Nagel, ex officio

Sandra Odendahl

Ed Ogonek, ex officio

Lisa Pearson

Gretchen Ross

Jenna Savella, ex officio

David Seville

John B. Simcoe

Michelle Sinclair

Mavis Staines, C.M.,  ex officio

Michele Symons

Noreen Taylor, C.M.

Karen Wierucki, ex officio

Alexander Younger

Honourary Board

As of October 19, 2022

David Banks

David Binet

Judith Cohen

Judi Conacher

Missy Crosbie

Jeanie Davis

Sherry Taylor Drew

James Fleck, O.C.

William Harris

William Herridge, Q.C.

Donald K. Johnson, O.C.

Lucille Joseph

Jerry Lozinski

Sue Matthews

Paul O’Donoghue

Rose Patten, O.C.

Aaron Regent

Robin Robinson

Susan Scace

Noreen Taylor, C.M.

The National Ballet of Canada Board /Honourary Board Liaison

The National Ballet of Canada, Endowment Foundation Board of Directors

As of October 19, 2022

Chair

David Macdonald

President

Barry Hughson

Vice-President

Hope Muir

Treasurer

Amanda Ram

Director of Development

Diana Reitberger, CFRE

Secretary

Alexis Patch

David Banks

John Braive

Ed Esposto

Cheryl Ferguson

Karen Kain, C.C., LL.D., D.Litt., O.Ont., Director Emerita

Krista Kerr

Sue Matthews

James Pitblado, C.M.

Cornell Wright

Leadership

Joan & Jerry Lozinski

Artistic Director

Hope Muir

Executive Director

Barry Hughson

Music Director and Principal Conductor

David Briskin

Artistic Director Emerita

Karen Kain, C.C., LL.D., D.Litt., O.Ont.

Artistic

Senior Répétiteur

Peter Ottmann

Rehearsal Director, Principal Coach

Rex Harrington, O.C., D.Litt

Xiao Nan Yu

Assistant Rehearsal Director

Stephanie Hutchison

Artist-in-Residence

Greta Hodgkinson, O.Ont.

Artistic Advisor

Magdalena Popa

Choreographic Associates

Robert Binet

Guillaume Côté

Artistic Administrator

Gerard Roxburgh

Senior Manager, Artistic Operations

Jennifer Bennett Darbyshire

Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director and Administrative

Associate

Andreea Olteanu

Curator and Producer, CreativAction and Special Initiatives

Robert Binet

Manager, Artistic Scheduling

Sophie Letendre

Associate, Artistic Administration

Sarita Dotan

EDI Partners

Phil Chan

Final Bow for Yellowface

Theresa Ruth Howard

MoBBallet

charles c. smith

Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario

Guest Répétiteurs

The Collective Agreement

Meredith Webster

Concerto

Julie Lincoln

Symphony in C

Colleen Neary

Joysanne Sidimus, M.S.M.

Sofiane Sylve

MADDADDAM

Jenny Tattersall

Anima Animus

Rebecca Gladstone

Christiane Marchant

Romeo and Juliet

Aleksandar Antonijevic

Guest Teachers

Felipe Diaz

Jurgita Dronina

Michael Faigaux

Greta Hodgkinson

Kevin Pugh

Piotr Stanczyk

Sofiane Sylve

Tatiana Tchernova

Administration

Executive Assistant to the Executive Director and Board Liaison

Alexis Patch

Audience and Donor Services

Associate Director, Audience and Donor Services

Veronica McLellan

Manager, Ticket Operations

Katy James Manager, Patron Services

Anne Meighan

Assistant Patron Services Manager

Heather Thompson

Audience and Donor Services Operations Supervisor

Susie Eissler

Senior Representatives, Audience and Donor Services

Patty Pedersen

Receptionists

Rochelle Gomes

McKenzie Grey

Alannagh Maciw

Ashley Raghubir

Audience and Donor Services Representatives

Communications Director of Marketing and Communications

Belinda Bale

Associate Director, Communications and Content Strategy

Catherine Chang

Senior Manager, Sales and Marketing

Victoria Munton-Davies

Communications Manager

Kate Dresser

Archivist and Digital Asset Manager

Katie Wilson

Video Editor, Web and Digital Media Manager

Sean Leonard

Public Relations Specialist

Anastasia Kolotova

Graphic Designer

Klara Vanzella Yang

Graphic Design Consultant

Carmen Wagner

Web and  E-Communications Coordinator

Jade Araya

Marketing Coordinator

Nadiya Reid

Social Media and Communications Coordinator

Brittany Pleshcan

Dancer Wellness Programme

Director of Dancer Wellness

Marla Pichler

Company Sports Medicine Physicians

Dr. Michael Clarfield

Dr. Ryan Eardley

Company Orthopaedic Surgeons

Dr. Norah Matthies

Dr. Darrell Ogilvie-Harris

Company Athletic Therapists

Paul Papoutsakis

Barb Paraskevakos

Gian-Luca Perfetti

Company

Physiotherapists

Ginette Hamel

Patrick Lavoie

Company Massage Therapists

Cesar Cruz

Ron Mulesa

Danielle Tobias

Company Psychiatrists

Dr. Pat Colton

Dr. Carla Edwards

Clinical Social Workers/ Psychotherapists

Tammy Baruch

Lesley Lustig

Company Foot

Specialist/Chiropodist

Dr. Nicholas Durand, D.Pod.M.

Urgent Care and Medcan Liaison

Dr. Janice Weiss

Resident Movement and Pilates Specialist

Je-an Salas

Naturopathic Doctor

Dr. Melissa Piercell

The National Ballet of Canada is grateful to the Midtown Sports Medicine Clinic (150 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto); the University Health Network, Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine; and the Medcan Clinic (150 York Street, Toronto) for their continued support of the Dancer Health and Wellness Programme; and to those physicians who have generously donated their time to The National Ballet of Canada.

Development

Director of Development

Diana Reitberger, CFRE

Assistant to the Director of Development

Liza Beharry

Associate Director, Major Gifts

Joanna Ivey

Associate Director, Individual and Legacy Giving

Richard Lefebvre, CFRE

Senior Manager, Development Operations

Leah Heidenheim

Senior Manager, Development Communications

John Hart

Senior Writer

Caroline Dickie

Officer, Development Communications

Rhea Daniels

Manager, Special Events and Corporate Partnerships

Rebecca Hodge

Coordinator, Special Events and Corporate Partnerships

Zoe Favrin

Officer, Special Events

Jessica Worosz

Manager, Patrons’ Council

Nicholas Melymuk

Officer, Major Gifts

Kelsey Muldoon

Officer, Turnout & Patrons’ Council

Marisa Kelly

Officer, Friends’ Corps & Ballet365

Joanne Kwok

Officer, Legacy Giving & Endowment Foundation

Amy McMullen*

Specialist, Donor Engagement

Sandra Dow

Officer, Prospect Research

Nipun Kudalkar

Data Analyst

Sara Motalebi

Gift Management Coordinator

Lucy White

Intern, Development Communications

Lidia Haderaj

Education and Community Engagement

Senior Manager, Education and Community Engagement

Lisa Robinson

Director, In Studio

Kate Kernaghan

Associate, Education and Community Engagement

Sakhshi Khanduja

Senior Teaching Artist

Annemarie Cabri

Dance Educator/ Teaching Artist

Manpreet Singh Virdi

Finance

Chief Financial Officer

Amanda Ram

Payroll and Benefits Manager

Jenny Mah

General Accountants

Winnie Li

Demitrios Prevenas

Markus Thiart

Human Resources

Director, Human Resources

Kathleen Matatya

Senior Officer, Human Resources

Julian Whitaker

Human Resources Coordinator

Erika Pugsley

Information Technology

Director of Technology

Christopher Sonnemann

Associate Director, Software and Applications

Mohiuddin Faruqe

Senior Manager, Web Technology Services

Steve Cunningham

Senior Manager of Technology

Andrew Anderson

Solutions Developer

Kruti Shah*

Business Analyst

Bethany Bleile

Systems Coordinator Maninder Singh Sekhon

Maintenance

Facilities Manager

Emil Mishriky

Building Maintenance Supervisor

Henry Martins

Cleaners

Violeta Parreno

Lawrence Puig

Willie Santiago

Music

Pianists

Edward Connell

Andrei Streliaev

Zsanna Vaszilenko

Zhenya Vitort

Orchestra Personnel Manager and Music Administrator

Raymond Tizzard

Music Librarian

Jacques Forest

Noreen Taylor, C.M. & David Staines, C.M., O.Ont Conductor-in-Residence

Maria Seletskaja

Production Director of Production

Barney Bayliss

Associate Director of Production

Yvette Drumgold

Technical Director

Peter Eaton

Stage Managers

Jeff Morris

Liliane Stilwell

Lighting Coordinator

Jeff Logue

Sound Coordinator

Robert DiVito

Production Workshop

Head Carpenter

Sandy Middleton

Assistant Head Carpenter

James Fulton

Shop Technician

Chuck Theil

Scenery constructed at the Gretchen Ross Production Workshop by members of I.A.T.S.E. Local 58.

Property Supervisor

John Miracle

Assistant Property Supervisor

Christina Hantos

Head Scenic Artist

Kelly Palmer

Assistant Head

Scenic Artist

Will Leskevich

Properties constructed at the Gretchen Ross Production Workshop by members of I.A.T.S.E. Local 828.

Wardrobe

Wardrobe Supervisor

Stacy Dimitropoulos

Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor

Allie Marshall

Resident Cutters

Christine Audet

Marlee Bygate

Christopher Read

Assistant to Cutters

Susan Howse

Resident Stitcher

Lisa Novielli

Stitchers

Victoria Arnold

Deanna Brown

Samara McAdam

Cindy Rusak

Paul Schofield

Costume Rental Coordinator

Bianca Laudadio

Footwear Coordinator

Lacey Hammond

Harrington

Footwear Inventory Coordinator

Hollis Wilson

Wardrobe Coordinator

Robyn Clarke

Assistant Wardrobe Coordinators

Lauren Pietrowski

Emily Rogers

Hair and Make-up Coordinator

Jacqueline Robertson Cull

Assistant Milliner/ Wardrobe Assistant

Kira Duff

Production

Travelling Crew

Head Carpenter

Jim Nutt

Head Electrician

Ashley Rose

Property Master

Michael Ellenton

Assistant Carpenter/ Flyman

Scott Clarke

Assistant Carpenter

Cory Hudson

Assistant Electricians

William Fallon

Cecilia Waszczuk

Wardrobe Head

Grant Heaps

Assistant Wardrobe Head

Carrie Cooley Barbour

Hair and Make-up Head

Jillian Walker

Footwear Assistant

Leslie Brown

* On Leave