The National Ballet Of Canada Returns To Live Performances In March

Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced that the company will return to live performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in March as planned.

The Government of Ontario recently announced that theatres can re-open on February 21 to 50% capacity and return to full capacity as of March 14. In light of this new policy, some adjustments to the Winter Season performance calendar have been made:

• A Streetcar Named Desire is onstage March 2 - 6 as originally scheduled and will perform to 50% capacity.
• The Winter Season Mixed Programme is now onstage March 9 - 13 and will perform to 50% capacity.
• The Sleeping Beauty is now onstage March 18 - 27 and will perform to full capacity.

The Winter Season opens with John Neumeier's dramatic adaption of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning play, A Streetcar Named Desire. Principal Dancer Sonia Rodriguez retires from the stage after a brilliant 32-year career and will dance the role of Blanche DuBois in her farewell performances. Ms. Rodriguez will perform on March 2, 4 and 5 at 7:30pm. Due to capacity restrictions seating is limited and March 5 is already sold out.

The Winter Mixed Programme features two world premieres, Skyward by Choreographic Associate Alysa Pires and a New Work by Principal Dancer Siphesihle November, the Canadian premiere of After the Rain by Christopher Wheeldon and Kenneth MacMillan's lively Elite Syncopations. Principal Dancer Principal Dancer Jillian Vanstone will retire after 22 years with the company and will appear in After the Rain, acquired by the company in her honour, and Elite Syncopations. Ms. Vanstone's performance dates will be announced shortly.

The Winter Season will conclude with Rudolf Nureyev's The Sleeping Beauty, which has been a jewel in the National Ballet repertoire since 1972. Full of dazzling choreography, this glorious production features opulent designs by Nicholas Georgiadis and is set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's unforgettable score.

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