Last night, First Soloist Stephanie Hutchison and I had the pleasure of attending the 30th Dora Mavor Moore Awards. The Ensemble of Crystal Pite’s piece Emergence was nominated for Outstanding Performance in the dance category and we were asked to accept for the cast, should we win.

And win we did!  As they announced the piece, Stephanie and I made our way to the stage and delivered our thank you speech. It turned out to be the first of four awards we would win for Emergence over the course of the three hour ceremony and was truly a clean sweep for The National Ballet of Canada! 

What deserving wins for a wonderful work, a great cast and such a brilliant and talented choreographer. As it is with all awards shows, the night was long but thankfully Jian Ghomeshi kept us laughing and entertained as an excellent host for the evening.  

[Photos: Top and above, Artists of the Ballet in Emergence. Centre, Stephanie Hutchison, Zdenek Konvalina and Etienne Lavigne in Emergence. Photos by Cylla von Tiedemann.]

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According to the Globe and Mail, The Happening at WHITE HOT last Thursday night “had to be the best kept secret in the city.” What was The Happening you may ask? Take a look at the video above.

Over 200 participants burst into spontaneous dance, previously learned from Choreographer Melissa Williams of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, during the reception at WHITE HOT. Participants included DanceBreak members and their guests, as well as National Ballet dancers, staff and Board members.

Here’s what some participants said about their National Ballet debuts:

“We danced on Ring 3! It was an amazing night :)” – Alicia Mcauley

“chatted with Karen Kain tonight at the White Hot Gala… a lovely party.” – Deena Marien

“The national ballet of canada company is amaaaaazing. I just met karen kain I liveeeeeee” – Blake McGrath

“Just got home from whitehot and it was amazing. I did the dance on Ring #4, and hope that someone enjoyed my perf.” – Jenn Schac

[Photos: The tables onstage at WHITE HOT. Photo by Gary Beechey.]

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The National Ballet of Canada is gearing up for tomorrow night’s explosive WHITE HOT at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The evening begins with a one-hour performance of short works selected by Artistic Director Karen Kain, followed by a special post-performance celebration featuring cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Gala guests then take to the stage for a gourmet dinner by celebrity chef Mark McEwan followed by an evening of dancing with the National Ballet dancers. This year’s event is expected to raise over $1 million in one evening.

Dancers and guests alike will don their best gala wear. Principal Dancer Heather Ogden, who has chosen her gown from Toronto boutique 290 Ion, says “I like shopping. I go for girlie and pretty, but I like to mix it up: It’s nice to wear something sexy. I love to shop for dresses. I have a closet full of summer dresses.”

Corps de Ballet member Christopher Stalzer, exploring the possibilities of men’s formal wear says “I don’t know how the other guys are planning their outfits, but I am looking for a three piece suit. I am not sure if I will be able to find one I like in time so I might have to settle with a new shirt and tie to go with my black suit. We’ll see.”

*Check back next week when a WHITE HOT surprise from the evening is revealed!

[Photo credits: Centre, Heather Ogden at 290 Ion, from the June 13 Toronto Star. Photo by Andrew Wallace. Above, Guests at the 2008 MAD HOT II gala. Photo by Gary Beechey.]

This weekend we opened our Summer mixed programme with the North American premieres of Davide Bombana’s Carmen and Dominique Dumais’ Skin Divers. I’m happy to say I’m performing in both ballets and I think it is an exciting programme. While this is the first time any of us have worked with Davide Bombana, whose energy and enthusiasm permeate his sensual Carmen, many of us have worked with Dominique Dumais over the years. This is the third piece of hers that I have rehearsed and performed.

The benefit of working with a choreographer several times is that you learn their “language”, so I feel like I had a head start on Skin Divers. In Skin Divers, the movement is literally born from the book of poetry by Anne Michaels of the same title [McClelland & Stewart Ltd.]. The ballet is new to The National Ballet of Canada, but not created on us. The dancers that it was originally created on would have had a very intimate connection between the movements and the words, phrases and ideas behind them. I’ve learned the choreography while reading the poetry at the same time. In my case, the poetry informed and inspired the dance as Dominique rehearsed and clarified the movements, intention behind them, sequences and concepts that she really wanted to see developed.

One of the themes that stands out and inspires me is that the body has its own memory. What happens in the past surely impacts the present and takes us into the future. Our internal journey holds our history as we reach into our future.

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[Photos: Top, Artists of the Ballet in Skin Divers. Photo by Sian Richards. Above, Stephanie Hutchison. Photo by Sian Richards.]

There have been many ballet versions of the story of Carmen, but never has there been one like this groundbreaking re-conceptualization by Italian choreographer Davide Bombana. Based on the Bizet opera, Bombana’s ballet version of the tale goes straight for the primal passions at the heart of the story with a choreographic vigour and energy rarely seen on the stage.

“I find Carmen’s plot fascinating; everything is there: a sense of fate, violence that dominates human relationships, love which devours and destroys everything and human isolation,” says Mr. Bombana.

Carmen makes its North American premiere this Saturday and international dance media have already been raving about this provocative re-imagining:

“Carmen is a remarkable moment of dance…” Danse, 2006

“A seductive Carmen in true Bombana style.” Danza e Danza, 2006

“The dramatic structure of this piece is ingenious… the choreography proves successful in its progression and dramatic impact…” Le Quotidien de Medecin, 2006

[Photo credits: Top, Heather Ogden and Noah Long in rehearsal for Carmen. Centre, Charlie Seminario and Aarik Wells preparing the makeup for Escamillo.]