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N A T I O N A L B A L L E T O F C A N A D A
Swan Lake One of the central
works of the classical ballet canon, and one of the most enduringly resonant and deeply affecting of all works of theatrical art, Swan Lake has enthralled audiences since its premiere in Moscow in 1877.
Set
to a timeless and famously evocative score by Tchaikovsky, the ballet is marked by a thematic and stylistic dynamism that embraces the fantastic and mythic while remaining rooted in the most universal of human emotions.
Swan Lake retains the captivating, 19th-century fairy-tale quality of the ballet while grounding the narrative in a richly suggestive earthiness that accentuates the tension between the sensual and the
ethereal, the natural and the supernatural. The emotional and thematic complexities that are revealed in choreographer James Kudelka's re-telling of the story are heightened and complemented by Santo Loquasto's
exquisite and vibrant sets and costumes, both conveying the ballet's tragic beauty and powerful effect with consummate artistry.
Nov. 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. | Tickets: $25 - $184 Phone: 416 345 9595 To order online please click here
Innovation The National Ballet of Canada's Innovation series presents three cutting edge world premieres by
exceptional Canadian choreographers in one dazzlingly eclectic programme of dance. This season the series features the outstanding and singular talents of Robert Binet, José Navas and James Kudelka.
Toronto
native and Canada's National Ballet School graduate Robert Binet is just embarking on his career as a choreographer, but already the former Choreographic Apprentice with The Royal Ballet has created works for Wayne
McGregor/Random Dance, the National Ballet's YOU Dance programme, the second company of The Hamburg Ballet, Estonian Ballet and New York City Ballet's Choreographic Institute.
Venezuelan-born and
Montréal-based José Navas studied in Caracas and at the Merce Cunningham Studio in New York City, before moving to Canada in 1991. He founded Compagnie Flak in 1995 and has since choreographed over 30 pieces for both
stage and film, touring his works extensively.
James Kudelka is one of Canada's best-known and most highly-regarded choreographers, whose ballets range from new versions of the classical repertoire, such as
Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Cinderella to highly innovative shorter works. His ballets have been staged the world over.
Nov. 22, 23, 24, 27, 28
Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. | Tickets: $25 - $184 Phone: 416 345 9595 To order online please click here
The Nutcracker The National Ballet's sumptuous, comical, touching and spellbinding version of E.T.A. Hoffmann's
Christmas tale was created in 1995 and has been enthralling audiences – especially children – ever since.
It is a refreshingly traditional version of the story, replete with the details of childhood dreams and
the appeal of fantasy, a ballet gloriously designed and costumed and brimming with affection for and insight into the passage from childhood to maturity that all children make.
Re-setting the story to Imperial
Russia, with its simple folk customs and its overwhelming opulence, choreographer James Kudelka allows full rein to both his instincts for everyday beauty and dazzling spectacle, for natural wonder and dreamlike
astonishment, all conveyed in an array of breathtaking choreography.
The entire production is a glittering, enchanting gem of a ballet, a work that is at once deeply familiar and forever new.
Dec. 14 - Jan. 4
Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. | Tickets: $25 - $184 Phone: 416 345 9595 To order online please click here
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H A R B O U R F R O N T D A N C E S E R I E S
with a trace
Toronto's longest-running contemporary dance series now in its 37th season, launches its 2013-14 Mainstage Series with an evening of dance from firstthingsfirst productions: with a trace
, which also launches Harbourfront Centre's 2013-14 NextSteps season.
Three works by three outstanding Canadian contemporary choreographers ¬- Peggy Baker, Valerie Calam and Mélanie Demers - performed by
firstthingsfirst Co-Artistic Directors Kate Holden and Kate Franklin, along with guest artist, Montreal's Marc Boivin.
A mixed program with two solos and a duet, with a trace
explores the nature of personal history and relationships, and how our experiences and interactions influence how we continue to define ourselves.
The works range from the world premiere of WOULD
by Montreal's provocative Demers, to Brahms Waltzes created by Baker 1992 / Holden 2013, and Calam's fierce and dichotomous Gotta Go Church.
Sept. 19 - Sept. 21
Harbourfront Centre's Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W. | Tickets: $19 - $38 Phone: 416-973-4000 or order online by clicking here ProArteDanza: Season 2013
The award winning ProArteDanza returns to Fleck Dance Theatre with its Season 2013, featuring the world premiere of Beethoven's 9th - 3rd Movement, choreographed by ProArteDanza Artistic
Director Roberto Campanella and Artistic Associate Robert Glumbek; the critically acclaimed Fractals: a pattern of chaos, choreographed by National Ballet of Canada principal dancer Guillaume Côté; and the North
American premiere of Shifting Silence, choreographed by Robert Glumbek. This outstanding evening of dance runs four nights only.
Oct. 2 - Oct. 5 Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W.
(Queens Quay Terminal, third floor at the South end of the building) | Tickets: $20 - $39 Phone: 416-973-4000 or order online by clicking here
Toronto Dance Theatre: Eleven Accords To open his 20th anniversary season, Christopher House will present
Eleven Accords, a new full length work at Harbourfront Centre, Fleck Dance Theatre Nov 6 – 9, 2013. Riding a new wave of kinetic curiosity, in partnership with ten extraordinary dancers, House creates a choreographic
counterpoint to Music for 18 Musicians*, the joyful, driving masterpiece of American minimalist composer Steve Reich.
First performed at New York's Town Hall in 1976, Music for 18 Musicians was quickly
recognized as one of Reich's finest works– starting with a steady pulse, it evolves into a labyrinthine journey of rhythm, timbre and harmony, a musical kaleidoscope imbued by African drumming, American jazz and the
Balinese gamelan.
Christopher House has worked with minimalist music many times in the past, most notably in compositions by Philip Glass, Ann Southam and Steve Reich, and is excited to be choreographing to
Music for 18 Musicians with its exhilarating musical complexity and life-affirming spirit.
Nov. 6 - Nov. 9 Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W. (Queens Quay Terminal, third floor at
the South end of the building) | Tickets: $25 - $40 Phone: 416-973-4000 or order online by clicking here _____________________________________________
D A N C E M A K E R S C E N T R E F O R C R E A T I O N
MOonhORse Dance Theatre: Escape Artist MOonhORsE Dance Theatre proudly presents the world premiere of Escape Artist, an exquisite evening of solos performed by Artistic Director Claudia Moore that
she commissioned from acclaimed choreographers Paul-André Fortier, Susanna Hood, Christopher House and GADFLY (Apolonia Velasquez and Ofilio Portillo) in celebration of her 60th birthday.
"The title,
Escape Artist," says Moore, "refers to my delight at 'escaping' into the worlds of the dances I perform. My father called me 'fantasy girl' as a child and my vivid imagination continues to be a great ally
to me as an interpreter. Each of these new solos by my astonishing creators takes me on a wild ride. I aim to expose the treasures I find in each moment of the dance and dare to share these moments with the
audience."
The artists Moore selected to work with are truly outstanding in every sense.
Montreal's Paul-André Fortier
has been appointed to the Order of Canada, named Chevalier in France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and been awarded the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Toronto/Montreal-based Susanna Hood
has received the K.M. Hunter Emerging Artist Award in Dance, a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in Dance and the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.
Christopher House
has been Artistic Director of Toronto Dance Theatre for nearly two decades, and has received the Muriel Sherrin Award for International Achievement in Dance and the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts' Silver Ticket Award for Lifetime Achievement.
GADFLY has taken the Ontario arts community by storm. Their recent production of Klorofyl
was awarded a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance and has toured across Ontario. Their unique ability to fuse modern sensibilities with urban dance forms led to their being named
Breakout Performance of 2011 (for Klorofyl) by Paula Citron in the Globe and Mail.
Claudia Moore herself was nominated this year for a
Dora Award for 'Outstanding Performance - Ensemble' as part of Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie's From the House of Mirth.
Sparked by the connection between Moore and each of her esteemed choreographers
in the studio, the solos have no pre-determined theme or restrictions, but are a result of the distinctive relationships she has with each of these celebrated artists.
Oct. 25 - Nov. 2
Dancemekers Centre For Creation, 9 Trinity St. | Tickets: $25 Phone: 416 504 6429 x66 or order online by clicking here
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