Sharing the Stage Gifts to the Together for Ballet campaign are helping The National Ballet of Canada support artists and connect with audiences through virtual programing like Sharing the Stage. Launched with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, Sharing the Stage invites members of Toronto’s vibrant dance community to livestream or record dance classes on the company’s digital platforms. Each class begins with a short discussion between the visiting artist and a dancer from the National Ballet, who then joins the class. Dance, in this context, becomes
common terrain, a shared mode of expression that feels particularly necessary right now. Sharing the Stage was created to give artists participating in the National Ballet’s engagement programmes, CreativAction and InStudio a platform for connecting with the company’s dancers and audiences. In this, Sharing the Stage supports and extends the National Ballet’s efforts to foster Canadian dance talent, reach diverse communities and highlight a full range of movement vocabularies. The popularity of Sharing the
Stage suggests National Ballet audiences are open to learning about different forms of dance and excited by what they see. Classes are attracting high numbers of participants and drawing new followers to the company’s social media channels, where information about visiting artists is shared. The initiative raises the profile of the National Ballet’s engagement strategies, strengthens relations within Toronto’s dance community and gives opportunity to artists.
Participating Artists to Date: »
Kevin A. Ormsby of Kashe Dance teaching Intro to Afro-Contemporary
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Unmesh Salunkhe of Shiamak Toronto teaching Beginner Bollywood
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Alyssa Martin of Rock Bottom Movement teaching Mood-Boosting Dance
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Jezreel Vazquez of Ballet Folklórico Puro México teaching ‘Jarabe Tapatio’ or the Mexican Hat Dance
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Emily Cheung of Little Pear Garden Dance Company teaching Chinese Folk Dance
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Shavar Blackwood teaching Beginner Hip-Hop
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Jane-Alison McKinney and Emma Kerson teaching Fear-Free Improvisation
Sharing the Stage is an initiative within Staging Change, a multi-year granting program offered in collaboration with EmcArts and The Metcalf Foundation focused on adaptive learning in arts and culture. From left to right: Alyssa Martin. Unmesh Salunkhe. Emilia Avila and Jezreel Vazquez. Shavar Blackwood. Emily Cheung. Kevin A. Ormsby.
Past classes are available to view at national.ballet.ca/sharing-the-stage 11
