It was a cold but sunny morning and we lazily walked the path along the Harbourfront to the home of The National Ballet of Canada. It’s open house day and I had traveled far; 19 hours on the plane and 10 hours at the airports, just to see the last performances of my daughter who is retiring after 30 years of dancing.

We slowly moved through the hallways, surreptitiously looking at signs and directions, huge photographs of ballerinas, a dance costume here and a pair of shoes hanging there. Suddenly I was struck by nostalgia. My thoughts raced to the many events back in the Philippines when Je-an was a school girl and had started her ballet lessons at age 8; as a teenager studying at the Philippine High School for the Arts; and as a young member of Ballet Philippines, the premiere ballet company in the country at that time. She had opted to study further and work here in Toronto and be with her art in a most engaging way.

Now she is retiring and this walk is my last in the National Ballet halls, my last view of seeing her dancing, rehearsing and working. Very precious years of hardships and joy are about to end. All these she went through with that passion only a true artist can give. She did it even while raising a beautiful daughter, Monica. Tears fell and I tried to conceal them, pretending to cough as I wiped my face.

Regaining my composure, I fought emotion with reason. I have seen people whose difficulties in life made them numb, morose and hateful, but this idea does not seem to apply to Je-an. Her challenges gave her victories. Her ballet discipline prepared her for such. The magical and tortuous world of ballet became her readiness and her principle for life.

Je-an Salas is a woman who spent most of her life co-creating performances at The National Ballet of Canada. As an audience, we sat still — in reverence, and rightfully so, in front of these young bodies which transform the whole place into a playground of free spirits.

[Photos: Top, Je-an Salas backstage in Napoli by Bruce Zinger. Above, Je-an Salas in one hundred words for snow by Andrew Oxenham]

No one could be more happy than I am that Alberta Ballet is here to perform as part of this summer’s mixed programme with The National Ballet of Canada. I was a dancer with Alberta Ballet before joining the National last year and was part of the original cast of The Fiddle and The Drum. Seeing this piece performed again while dancing in the other pieces on the programme has been wonderful. It was also great to see my old friends and have a few drinks and laughs about the good times we’ve had over the years.

This year-end mixed programme gives the audience such a wonderful spectrum of stylistic dancing.

The programme opens with the second detail, created for the National Ballet almost twenty years ago by guru of contemporary dance William Forsythe, and holds the same excitement as it did in 1991. Jill Johnson, former soloist from the National Ballet and star of William Forsythe’s company in Frankfurt, came and set the ballet in record time.

All of the movement in the second detail is classically-based with variation. Forsythe puts the arms in elongated positions and uses epaulement and opposition between the hips and shoulders to give the movement an exaggerated look. Jill made the process so fun and really coached each dancer to get the uniqueness of the movement and the style this piece demands.

The second ballet that I dance in is Etudes. Speaking as a dancer who feels more comfortable with contemporary dance, this ballet offers me all the structure and precision that sometimes gets forgotten. I’ve been working like crazy with everyone to fine tune the little details and certainly in a ballet such as Etudes, the little details are what matter the most.

The final ballet on the programme is The Fiddle and The Drum. Alberta Ballet has come to Toronto as part of Luminato to present this work which was a collaboration between Artiistic Director Jean Grand-Maître and Joni Mitchell. Grand-Maître’s contemporary choreography is beautifully showcased in this piece. He loves to use movement that turns, arms that express the ecstasy of emotions and partnering that is a continuous flow of lifts, turns and counter-balance.

It is such a great opportunity for us as dancers in the community to be witness to other companies and to have the chance to share the stage. It’s been so wonderful for the National Ballet and Alberta Ballet to join together in this collaborative project.

[Photos: top, Artists of The National Ballet of Canada in the second detail by Cylla von Tiedemann. Above, Artists of Alberta Ballet in The Fiddle and The Drum by Charles Hope.]

First unveiled to the world in 1991 by The National Ballet of Canada, the second detail is choreographed by one of the most sought-after contemporary ballet choreographers, William Forsythe. Forsythe’s work broke through the barriers of ballet, challenging traditions and establishing new paradigms and the second detail is no exception.

There’s no prescriptive way of watching the second detail. It has a very human quality to it - the dancers don’t have stage personas and their entrances and exits aren’t formalized; they walk simply in and out of scenes. As there is no narrative, it is important to look for the themes - the thematic choreographic passages and to notice how the choreography relates to musicality and music as well as the structure of the music.

the second detail is quintessential Forsythe and as with much of his work, it has evolved since it was first created. Jill Johnson, former Second Soloist with the National Ballet, set the current version of the second detail on the company.

Watch Jill speak about the second detail on our NEW, exclusive mobile website at nationalballet.mobi from your mobile device.

The summer mixed programme opens tonight with the second detail & Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan & Etudes & The Fiddle and The Drum and is on stage until June 22, 2008.

[Photos: top, Sarah Green, Jill Johnson (centre) and Caroline Richardson in the National Ballet premiere of the second detail, 1991 by Cylla von Tiedemann. Above, Jill Johnson in rehearsal in Frankfurt.]

I am so thrilled to finally premiere my new creation veer on June 17, 2008 for the MAD HOT II gala. From its inception, nothing with this pas de deux was ordinary or expected.

In 2006, Karen Kain asked me to participate in the 2007 Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize and create a pas de deux specifically for First Soloists Keiichi Hirano and Bridgett Zehr. Due to scheduling, we only had three weeks of studio time to create this piece. During the first week and despite her determination, it was clear that Bridgett’s previously injured foot would not allow her to compete. With less then two weeks left, the decision was made to carry on with Keiichi and a “surprised” Tina Pereira [Second Soloist, then a Corps de Ballet member].

Time was running out.

I had two weeks to create and polish a new work. In addition to having me create a highly physical contemporary piece, the dancers also had to master their classical entry for the competition. Despite adversity, the piece began to take shape. Miraculously, by dress rehearsal we knew that the dancers and the piece were ready to compete.

The competition opened with the classical entries. The audience held its breath while watching Keiichi and Tina. They were superb. Towards the end of the pas de deux, everything became surreal.

Keiichi was down.

We rushed backstage to see how he was doing. His Achilles tendon snapped. This was the type of injury that ends careers. Just as incredibly as veer came together, it incredibly disappeared.

Without any doubt, Karen knew Keiichi would be back. That night, she told me she would save veer for his return. A year and a half later, Keiichi is indeed back on his feet and dancing better than ever.

Earlier this year, the NBOC invited me to re-set veer for June’s MAD HOT II. I was already booked, but determined to make the time. I was creating new works in Europe for the Stuttgart Ballet and the Royal Swedish Ballet, in addition to setting a piece for my US debut with Boston Ballet. From January until June, I would be in Toronto for only a couple weeks.

By this time, veer was an old friend with adversity.

We used every opportunity we could to re-set this piece. For some of the studio time, I was still jet lagged. At one point, it felt like I was on a Toronto stop over between Stuttgart and Stockholm. Other rehearsals were held on Friday nights, hours before other performances. Despite everything, we are more than a week away and veer is on track and on the final stages of being ready. All of the obstacles have created a layer of depth and strength to the piece, which I hope you will enjoy.

For a preview, take a look at the dress rehearsal photographs posted on my website.

[Photos: Top, Sabrina Matthews by Clay Stang. Above, Keiichi Hirano and Tina Pereira in veer by Cylla von Tiedemann.]

Introducing The National Ballet of Canada’s newest Principal Dancer,
Piotr Stanczyk.

Polish-born Piotr Stanczyk joined The National Ballet of Canada as a member of the Corps de Ballet in 1998, was promoted to Second Soloist in 2001, to First Soloist in 2003 and to Principal Dancer in 2008. Mr. Stanczyk most recently danced in the company premieres of 24 Preludes by Chopin, Rooster, Glass Pieces and West Side Story Suite, in the role of Bernardo.

“Piotr Stanczyk as Bernardo [was] outstanding both in character and dancing.”
The Globe and Mail, 2007

He is critically acclaimed for his performances in lead roles in Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake and Etudes and has created several roles for the company, including Felix in James Kudelka’s An Italian Straw Hat and an Escort in Mr. Kudelka’s Cinderella.

“Piotr Stanczyk’s Mercutio is everything that the name implies, quick-footed and quick-witted…” The Toronto Star, 2006

“Piotr Stanczyk uses his own skills and athleticism to place his own unique imprint” Toronto Sun, 2005

“…Piotr Stanczyk was the standout of the evening. This young man danced a thrilled Don Quixote Pas de Deux that was dazzling in every way. With his airborne leaps and whiplash turns, Stanczyk was easily the qual of Nureyev and Baryshnikov.” The Hamilton Spectator, 2006

[Photos of Piotr Stanczyk, from top to bottom: Song of the Earth by Sian Richards, An Italian Straw Hat and West Side Story Suite by Cylla von Tiedemann, Romeo and Juliet by Sian Richards, The Nutcracker by Bruce Zinger and Don Quixote by Cylla von Tiedemann.]