When the Youth America Grand Prix competition in New York City contacted me a few months ago to participate in their 10th anniversary gala, I was thrilled. I was a participant in the competition 10 years ago and the theme for their anniversary gala was past alumni. Christopher Wheeldon, Artistic Director of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company and choreographer of Polyphonia from The National Ballet of Canada’s Fall Season, was the host of the evening so it was fitting that [Principal Dancer] Zdenek Konvalina and I danced his work, Prokofiev Pas de Deux.

The morning after our arrival, we woke up early and headed south to take class with American Ballet Theatre at their studios. It was great to see old friends that I went to school with and many other dancers in the company that we both know. They were all so nice and very inviting. We had the option of two classes and decided to go with the smaller one which had more of a Vaganova technique. After class, we both felt much better and were looking forward to the rest of our day in New York City.

I had a 4:00 pm appointment at the Gaynor Minden pointe shoe boutique. I was able to meet the founders of the shoe, John and Eliza Gaynor Minden, and Jeanne Share from the company showed me around. They were all so great and I’m so happy to be wearing their wonderful pointe shoes. After a long day running around and knowing that the big show was the next day, we had a quiet night so that we would feel refreshed the next day.

The morning of the gala, we were feeling good and ready for 10:00 am class at City Center [on West 56th Street, performance venue for American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, among others]. Class was fine, we both felt our muscles were warm. The tech rehearsal at 3:00 pm went really well and Zdenek and I felt very prepared for the show that night. Because Christopher Wheeldon couldn’t make it to our stage call, he was very generous and rehearsed Zdenek and I in one of the studios from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. It was so good to see him again! He’s such a great person to work with and I think the rehearsal really helped to clarify the piece for us.

Finally it was show time! Zdenek and I were placed in the first half of the gala and that helped a lot because it was a long evening. Since the YAGP is a competition, some of the competitors were invited to dance in the gala too. The energy was high backstage since all the kids had so much talent. I was so excited to get out on stage and dance too!

Thinking about it now I can’t remember too much about actually dancing. I guess that’s a good thing though because maybe that means I really let myself go on stage. Dancing to Prokofiev’s music and Christopher Wheeldon’s choreography, it’s impossible not to enjoy everything about it.

After the show, we took a taxi to the Russian Embassy [near Central Park] for dinner and wine. It was housed in a stunning building and we had great fun catching up with old and new friends. All in all, I had a fantastic time! I’m feeling very excited to get back to work on Giselle and Carmen and can’t wait to dance Prokofiev Pas de Deux again at WHITE HOT.

[Photo credits: Bridgett Zehr and Zdenek Konvalina. Photos by Sian Richards. Bridgett Zehr in Giselle. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann. Bridgett makes her Toronto debut of Giselle this May at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.]

For most people, the idea of a long ride on VIA Rail can be daunting. Luckily for The National Ballet of Canada, this year’s train ride to and from Ottawa went about as smoothly as anyone could have hoped for – and I think the same can be said about the time we spent in the capital city last week.

The reason for the trip was our annual run of performances at the National Arts Centre and this year we took Romeo and Juliet. The audiences were very enthusiastic and gave us a standing ovation every night and I heard some great responses from younger audience members while I was signing posters in the lobby during intermission. We had just a few technical glitches during the run, like on opening night, when the machine that lowers Juliet’s body to the tomb didn’t work. The male dancers carrying her had to do some extremely quick problem solving and ended up making a whole new entrance in which they laid her on the bed themselves!

Aside from our shows, we also had to be at the theatre for class and rehearsals every day, which didn’t leave very much time for sightseeing. That said, we made the most of the time we had and the weather was definitely in our favour as it was extremely sunny for most of the week. Many dancers spent their free time in ByWard Market, which is a great little area just across the canal from the theatre. I also enjoyed the amazing architecture on and around Parliament Hill and I’d hoped to make it to the National Gallery of Canada, but it seems that will just have to go on my to do list for the next tour!

For dancers, there is a kind of bonding that happens on tour that can’t happen in any other setting. Recently, we found out that our upcoming tour of Western Canada has had to be postponed because of the economic situation. Among the many aspects of my profession as a ballet dancer, the experience of touring with my peers is one that I feel is very special. Though this was a very short trip, the dancers truly rose to the occasion and we left Ottawa with great memories – onstage, around the city, in our hotel, whatever – and we had each other to thank.

[Photos: Top, a Romeo and Juliet poster at the National Arts Centre. Centre, Dancers out for dinner in ByWard Market. Above, Dancers playing frisbee in Confederation Park. Photos by Robert Stephen].

It has been about two years now since the idea to film a documentary around my graduating class was brought to our attention. We were all skeptical at first; who needs cameras in their face when dealing with the stresses and pressures (self-induced mostly) of their final year of training? But now that I have seen the end result, I am glad we all got on board. Ballet High was, for some, a glimpse into the life of a dancer in training but for myself and my classmates, it was a chance to revisit some of the highs (and lows) of our last year at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

For me, the highlight of the film was watching my First Steps piece go from studio to stage. The process of creating a new work can be unsteady and difficult at times, at least in my experience, but the final product is so worth it. I mostly remember struggling to dictate movement and choreography that was somewhere inside of me to my dancers. Hopefully with more practice, it will become more natural and less stressful because seeing your work being performed is an experience worth having again and again. All in all, getting to watch a rehearsal for my piece and then seeing it in performance brought back many good memories of a project that had so much to offer a young choreographer.

The filming of Ballet High took place between September and June of last year. I will admit that when I first watched the film, I was surprised with what was and what was not included in the final cut. Then again, being an “insider”, I was watching the movie with a bias, undoubtedly. There must have been hours upon hours of footage for the production team to choose from and the film could have been taken in many different directions. I think however, that the end result was a great balance of dancing itself and the very hard work behind it. I had to watch it a few times before I could let go of my self-criticisms and really enjoy the film as a whole, and now I am glad that I will always have this to look back on.

[Photo: Ryan Booth at the Youth America Grand Prix competition. Photo by Gene Schiavone.]

The National Ballet of Canada is the only ballet company in the country to have its own full size professional orchestra on contract. I have been a trombone player with the orchestra since 2005 and in my short tenure, I have been continually impressed with the professionalism and versatility of my colleagues every season.

A symphony musician’s career can, luckily for us, span a much longer period than a dancer’s but it generally begins in a similar way. We learn our instruments as very young people, study, train and audition until we either read the writing on the wall and take up stenography or attain a position in an orchestra like that of The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra.

When there is an opening for an orchestral position, a committee from the orchestra, together with our Music Director & Principal Conductor, David Briskin, convenes and holds auditions to find the best candidate to join our motley crew. In January 2009, we held auditions for the lone tuba position in the orchestra. 19 tubists from across the country prepared for weeks and months then came to Toronto to audition out for the position. Throughout the day we heard each play a series of tuba parts from the ballet repertoire. If you’ve never listened to 19 tuba players play consecutively, let me tell you it’s something you won’t forget, no matter how hard you try. There were three rounds of auditions lasting about six hours, in which we heard tubists play high and low and fast and slow with David Briskin asking for more of this and less of that, putting them through their paces to see if they had the skills and talent the job demands.

Finally, there was a committee vote and Maestro Briskin made his selection. We are very pleased to have Sasha Johnson, originally from Toronto, who studied in New York, Berlin and Paris and now lives in Montreal, as the newest member of The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra. Welcome, Sasha!

[Photos: Top, Sasha Johnson with The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra in rehearsal. Above, Trombonist David Pell with Tubist Sasha Johnson.  Photos by David Pell]

The May issue of Canadian Family Magazine features a fashion spread with The National Ballet of Canada’s three pregnant ballerinas. First Soloists Rebekah Rimsay and Tanya Howard have since welcomed new babies Anya and Lia in February and Second Soloist Lisa Robinson awaits her first born at the end of April.

 Watch a behind the scenes video of the shoot with the Junior Associates of Canada’s National Ballet School.