Principal Dancer Jillian Vanstone Ends Time at The National Ballet of Canada With AFTER THE RAIN

Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced the principal casting for the world premieres of Skyward by Alysa Pires and On Solid Ground by Siphesihle November, the Canadian premiere of After the Rain by Christopher Wheeldon and Kenneth MacMillan's Elite Syncopations. Principal Dancer Jillian Vanstone retires after 22 years with the National Ballet and will appear in After the Rain, acquired in her honour, and Elite Syncopations. The programme is onstage March 9 - March 13, 2022 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Skyward is Choreographic Associate Alysa Pires' first mainstage creation for The National Ballet of Canada. Featuring music commissioned by the award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird, it was inspired by the action of starlings in flight and incorporates the sense of hope that accompanied Ms. Pires' pregnancy, which coincided with the ballet's creation.

After the Rain is a ballet in two parts by Christopher Wheeldon, who created it for New York City Ballet in 2005. The first section features energetic choreography for three couples set to Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's Tabula Rasa. In the second section, one couple returns to perform a quiet pas de deux to Pärt's haunting Spiegel im Spiegel. Ms. Vanstone chose After the Rain to bid farewell as it was important for her to perform a work by Mr. Wheeldon and greatly admired the ballet. Ms. Vanstone will dance After the Rain on March 9 at 7:30, March 10 at 2:00 pm, March 11 at 7:30pm and March 12 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm.

Principal Dancer Siphesihle November makes his main stage choreographic debut with The National Ballet of Canada with On Solid Ground, a work for nine dancers that expresses the joy, self-awareness and self-exploration of the body in movement. The work is set to a compilation of artists that taps into Mr. November's love for music and dance.

Kenneth MacMillan's Elite Syncopations features ragtime favorites by Scott Joplin and other composers of the era, played by an onstage band. Flirtatious with an air of spontaneity, the choreography is influenced by social dances of the 1920s.

Principal Casting

Skyward
Heather Ogden and Brendan Saye or Christopher Gerty, Spencer Hack, Naoya Ebe, Hannah Galway, Tirion Law, Chelsy Meiss, Noah Parets, Kota Sato, Calley Skalnik, Donald Thom

After the Rain

Jillian Vanstone and Harrison James (March 9, 11, 12 at 7:30 pm/ March 10, 12 at 2:00 pm)
Heather Ogden and Brendan Saye (March 10 at 7:30 pm/ March 13 at 2:00 pm)

Calley Skalnik and Naoya Ebe (March 9, 11, 12 at 7:30 pm/ March 10 at 2:00 pm)
Brenna Flaherty and Kota Sato (March 10 at 7:30 pm/ March 12, 13 at 2:00 pm)

Genevieve Penn Nabity and Ben Rudisin (March 9, 11, 12 at 7:30 pm/ March 10 at 2:00 pm)
Svetlana Lunkina and Donald Thom (March 10 at 7:30 pm/ March 12, 13 at 2:00 pm)

On Solid Ground

Svetlana Lunkina and Ben Rudisin (March 9, 10, 12 at 7:30 pm)
Tanya Howard and Peng-Fei Jiang (March 10, 13 at 2:00 pm/ March 11 at 7:30 pm)
Alexander Skinner and Peng-Fei Jiang (March 12 at 2:00 pm)

Jason Ferro, Antonella Martinelli or Clare Peterson, Jeannine Haller or Tene Ward, Isaac Wright or Trygve Cumpston, Larkin Miller, Genevieve Penn Nabity or Brenna Flaherty, Alexander Skinner or Teagan Richman-Taylor

Elite Syncopations

Bethena - A Concert Waltz
Jillian Vanstone and Harrison James (March 9, 11, 12 at 7:30 pm)
Svetlana Lunkina and Brendan Saye (March 10, 12 at 2:00 pm)
Jurgita Dronina and Harrison James (March 10 at 7:30 pm/ March 13 at 2:00 pm)

The Alaskan Rag
Jaclyn Oakley and Noah Parets (March 9, 10 at 7:30 pm/ March 12 at 2:00 pm)
Kathryn Hosier and Siphesihle November (March 10, 13 at 2:00 pm/ March 11, 12 at 7:30 pm)

Friday Night Solo
Naoya Ebe (March 9, 11, 12 at 7:30 pm)
Kota Sato (March 10, 12 at 2:00 pm)
Donald Thom (March 10 at 7:30 pm/ March 13 at 2:00 pm)

Calliope Rag
Tanya Howard (March 9, 10, 11, 12 at 7:30 pm)
Chelsy Meiss (March 10, 12, 13 at 2:00 pm)

The Golden Hours
Brenna Flaherty and Isaac Wright (March 9, 10, 11, 12 at 7:30 pm)
Tirion Law and Scott McKenzie (March 10, 12, 13 at 2:00 pm)

Vaccination and Safety Policy:
In accordance with Government of Ontario policy, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts will operate at full capacity. To ensure the continued protection of our audiences, artists and staff, safety protocols including proof of vaccination and masks will remain in place for the Winter Season.

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