Rhapsody/Two Pigeons cinema dates March

Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae in Ashton's Rhapsody

If you missed the fabulous Rhapsody/Two Pigeons Royal Ballet double bill in January, and you live in Toronto, you have another opportunity to see it (or see it again, which is what I'm doing!) at the Bloor Cinema, Saturday March 19 at 1 pm.

This will also be shown in the US on the following dates:

March 14+:

 Claremont 5 in Claremont, CA

March 23:  

Symphony Space in New York City

If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

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Casting changes NBOC La Sylphide

Due to injuries to Francesco Gabriele Frola and Emma Hawes, there have been some casting changes for La Sylphide. I am excited that Dawid Trzensimiech, about whom I heard good things when he was at the Royal Ballet, will be guesting in the role of James.  For the updated cast list, please click here:

http://toursenlair.blogspot.com/2016/02/national-ballet-of-canada-la-sylphide.html

• Dawid Trzensimiech 
• Guest Artist

Biography

Polish dancer Dawid Trzensimiech studied at the National Ballet School in Bytom, Poland and The Royal Ballet School in London. Mr. Trzensimiech joined The Royal Ballet in 2008 and was promoted to Soloist in 2012. He became Principal Dancer at Bucharest National Opera House in 2014.
Mr. Trzensimiech has won numerous awards including first prize at the Gdansk National Dance Competition in 2003 and 2005 and at the International Dance Competition in Rieti, Italy. He was a finalist in the 2006 Prix de Lausanne and a medalist at the First International Ballet and Choreography Competition in Beijing in 2011.
His repertoire includes Prince in The Nutcracker, James in La Sylphide, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Florestan in The Sleeping Beauty, pas de trois in Emeralds and Rubies in Jewels, pas de six in Giselle and roles in Polyphonia, Chroma, Cinderella, Scènes de ballet, Gloria, Requiem, Voluntaries, DGV: Danse à grande vitesse and Rhapsody. He has created roles in ballets by Alastair Marriott, Wayne McGregor, Liam Scarlett, Jonathan Watkins and Christopher Wheeldon.

Romeo & Juliet casting National Ballet of Canada March 2016

All performances at the Four Seasons Centre, Toronto. Casting subject to change.

	Juliet	Romeo	Mercutio	Tybalt	Paris	Benvolio
Wednesday March 16 @ 730 pm	Elena Lobsanova	Guillaume Côté	Piotr Stanczyk	Jonathan Renna	Giorgio Galli	Robert Stephen
Thursday March 17 @ 730 pm	Heather Ogden	Harrison James	Skylar Campbell	McGee Maddox	Félix Paquet	Dylan Tedaldi
Friday March 18 @ 730 pm	Sonia Rodriguez	Naoya Ebe	Skylar Campbell	Jonathan Renna	Giorgio Galli	Robert Stephen
Saturday March 19 @ 2 pm	Chelsy Meiss	Brendan Saye	Jack Bertinshaw	Jonathan Renna	Félix Paquet	Dylan Tedaldi
Saturday March 19 @ 730 pm	Elena Lobsanova	Guillaume Côté	Piotr Stanczyk	McGee Maddox	Giorgio Galli	Robert Stephen
Sunday March 20 @ 2 pm	Svetlana Lunkina*	Evan McKie*	Jack Bertinshaw	McGee Maddox	Félix Paquet	Dylan Tedaldi

If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

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National Ballet of Canada La Sylphide Casting 2016

Sonia Rodriguez in La Sylphide. Photo by Karolina Kuras

 All performances at the Four Seasons Centre, Toronto. Casting subject to change. Updated Feb. 26, 2016

	La Sylphide	James	Madge	Effie	Gurn
Wednesday March 2 @ 730 pm	Jurgita Dronina	Harrison James	Sonia Rodriguez	Jillian Vanstone	Piotr Stanczyk
Thursday March 3 at 2:00 pm	Elena Lobsanova	Naoya Ebe	Stephanie Hutchison	Meghan Pugh	Skylar Campbell
Thursday March 3 at 7:30 pm	Sonia Rodriguez	Harrison James	Rebekah Rimsay	Jillian Vanstone	Jack Bertinshaw
Friday March 4 at 7:30 pm	Svetlana Lunkina	Dawid Trzensimiech*	Rebekah Rimsay	Jillian Vanstone	Dylan Tedaldi
Saturday March 5 at 2:00 pm	Sonia Rodriguez	Harrison James	Rebekah Rimsay	Meghan Pugh	Jack Bertinshaw
Saturday March 5 at 7:30 pm	Elena Lobsanova	Naoya Ebe	Stephanie Hutchison	Meghan Pugh	Skylar Campbell
Sunday March 6 at 2:00 pm	Svetlana Lunkina	Dawid Trzensimiech	Sonia Rodriguez	Jillian Vanstone	Piotr Stanczyk

* guesting from Bucharest National Opera Ballet, Romania
  Want to get more out of La Sylphide? There are still a few spots available for my "Tea and Tutus" talk on Thursday February 25. More info here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2016/01/tea-and-tutus.html

If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

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Alexander Ekman's Cacti

Alexander Ekman's Cacti will be performed by The National Ballet of Canada in March. To find out more, read this interview with the choreographer:

http://dancetabs.com/2016/02/interview-alexander-ekman-director-choreographer-on-cacti-and-other-things/

https://youtu.be/OE7996SFkC0

If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

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National Ballet of Canada 2016-17 season

The National Ballet of Canada’s 2016/17 Season

Touring
The Winter’s Tale
July 28 – 31, 2016, David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, New York City

The Dreamers Ever Leave You^† , AGO Lawren Harris Project
August 31 – September 10, 2016

World Ballet Day
October 4, 2016

Fall Season
Cinderella
November 12 – 20, 2016

The Twelfth International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize
November 15, 2016

Onegin
November 23 – 27, 2016

Holiday Season
The Nutcracker
December 10 – 31, 2016

Touring
Onegin
January 19 – 21, 2017, National Arts Centre, Ottawa

Winter Season
Pinocchio^†
March 11 – 24, 2017

Genus* & The Concert (Or, The Perils of Everybody)
March 29 – April 2, 2017

Summer Season
A Streetcar Named Desire*
A Ballet by John Neumeier
June 3 – 10, 2017

MAD HOT BALLET Gala
June 6, 2017

Swan Lake
June 15 – 25, 2017

^† World Premiere
* Company Premiere

  2016/17 Season

The Fall Season in Toronto will open with Cinderella, November 12 – 20, 2016. Choreographed by James Kudelka, Cinderella utilizes to the full the appeal of the fairy tale preserving its dramatic, satiric and comic elements.  Less a conventional rags to riches story, Cinderella enchants with romance, wit and humour. Prokofiev’s vibrant score, Art Deco-inspired designs by David Boechler and innovative lighting by Christopher Dennis complete this stunning production.

The Twelfth International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize returns on November 15, 2016. Legendary Danish dancer Erik Bruhn held a special relationship with the National Ballet. Revered as one of the greatest classical dancers of the 20th century, Mr. Bruhn was a gifted choreographer and Artistic Director of the National Ballet from 1983 until his untimely death in 1986. As part of his legacy, he created The Erik Bruhn Prize. First held in 1988, the competition showcases some of the finest young dancers from the top companies in the world between the ages of 18 and 23, making it an evening of rich and exciting artistry.

The Fall Season continues with one of the finest of modern full-length narrative ballets, Onegin, November 23 – 27, 2016. Based on Alexander Pushkin’s classic verse novel Eugene Onegin, Onegin is choreographed by John Cranko and set to the music of Tchaikovsky with stunning sets by Santo Loquasto and lighting by James F. Ingalls. A favourite amongst audiences and dancers alike, Onegin enthralls with its emotionally gripping story, fully realized characters and challenging choreography.

The holiday favourite, The Nutcracker, choreographed by James Kudelka with beautiful sets and costumes designed by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, is onstage December 10 – 31, 2016.

One of the most captivating and enduring of all children’s stories, Pinocchio will be adapted into a full-length ballet by British choreographer Will Tuckett, Guest Principal Character Artist with The Royal Ballet. A humourous, moving and often dark re-telling of the original tale, Pinocchio captures the adventures of the famous wooden boy with inventive choreography and unforgettable stagecraft. Set to a commissioned score by Paul Englishby with designs by Colin Richmond, libretto by Alasdair Middleton and lighting by Oliver Fenwick, Pinocchio makes its world premiere March 11 – 24, 2017.

The Winter Mixed Programme features the North American premiere of Wayne McGregor’s breathtaking Genus, inspired by Darwin’s Origin of Species and set to a score by Joby Talbot and Deru. It is presented with Jerome Robbins’ quirky parody The Concert (Or, The Perils of Everybody), March 29 – April 2, 2017.

The Summer Season features the Canadian premiere of A Streetcar Named Desire, choreographed by John Neumeier, June 3 – 10, 2017. Inspired by Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece about the demise of the old American south, Mr. Neumeier has transformed the story into a compelling dance drama shaped by the emergence of a new America, set to music by Prokofiev and Alfred Schnittke.

The 2016/17 season concludes with Swan Lake. One of the central works of the classical ballet canon, Swan Lake has enthralled audiences since it premiered in Moscow in 1877. Choreographed by James Kudelka in 1999 with Santo Loquasto’s opulent sets and costumes, Tchaikovsky’s timeless score and lighting by Robert Thomson, Swan Lake is onstage June 15 – 25, 2017.

The National Ballet tours to the Lincoln Center Festival with The Winter’s Tale by Christopher Wheeldon at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, July 28 – 31, 2016. This is the National Ballet’s first appearance at the festival and the second touring engagement to Lincoln Center under Ms. Kain’s tenure. The company last toured there in 2014 with Mr. Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The company returns to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa with Onegin January 19 – 21, 2017, where the company has toured annually since 1969.

In partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), The National Ballet of Canada will present a new commission, The Dreamers Ever Leave You, August 31 – September 10, 2016, by Choreographic Associate Robert Binet. Inspired by the art of Canadian artist Lawren Harris (the focus of the upcoming AGO exhibition, The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris), Mr. Binet will create an immersive ballet capturing the dynamic forms and emotional themes of Harris’ work, evoking isolation, transcendence and mysticism. Performed by Artists of the National Ballet inside a gallery space at the AGO, and accompanied by live music composed by Lubomyr Melnyk, the performance will give the audience freedom to move through the gallery space. Timed tickets go onsale exclusively to National Ballet subscribers and AGO members on March 22, and to the public on March 24, www.ago.net.

The National Ballet will partner once again with The Australian Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and San Francisco Ballet for World Ballet Day on October 4, 2016, providing extraordinary behind the scenes access to life at some of the world’s leading ballet companies.

If you love ballet, please check out my season of outstanding ballet trips by clicking here.

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Dutch National Ballet's new Mata Hari

Ted Brandsen, Artistic Director of Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam, has just created a new full-length story ballet based on the life of Dutch dancer and spy Mata Hari, and it looks fabulous. Here is a picture gallery and a trailer, starring Anna Tsygankova in the title role, as well as a very interesting series of "Making of..." videos:

https://youtu.be/iEtpOAVUe8I


https://youtu.be/u6pXE80GyR4


https://youtu.be/_nivkZOhuHg


https://youtu.be/xIT3iVqNuWM 


https://youtu.be/bWcS6ANP48E 



https://youtu.be/rZI0VQt64ms 


https://youtu.be/e7UdzCBjP00 


REMINDER: Signup deadline for the Tours en l'air ballet trip to New York at the end of May is THIS FRIDAY, February 12. For the brochure, please click here:
http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2016/01/new-york-ballet-trip-may-2016-booking.html