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Ballet Stars

Xiao Nan Yu Reflects on Retiring from National Ballet of Canada After 22 Years

Xiao Nan Yu in company class. Aaron Vincent, Courtesy National Ballet of Canada.

On June 22, National Ballet of Canada principal Xiao Nan Yu will retire from the stage after 22 years with the company. Originally from Dalian, China, Yu studied at the Shen Yang School of Dance and the Beijing Dance Academy before coming to Canada's National Ballet School at age 17. She joined the National Ballet of Canada less than two years later, and was promoted to principal in 2001.

"She is a supreme dance actress with an innate ability to bring the audience into her world," says NBoC artistic director Karen Kain. "Nan has always brought such a calm confidence into the studio and has been a role model for so many dancers I will miss her generosity both inside the studio and out." We spoke with Yu as she prepared for her final week of performances. She opened up about her initial culture shock upon moving to Toronto, her thoughts on artistry and why she chose Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow as her final role.

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Ballet Stars

National Ballet of Canada Principal Heather Ogden Keeps Her Dance Bag Fully Stocked

National Ballet of Canada's Heather Ogden. Karolina Kuras.

After 20 years with the National Ballet of Canada, principal Heather Ogden has her dance bag essentials down to a science. "My bag is usually pretty heavy," she says. "I always like to be prepared." And as a mother of two, organization is key. Ogden keeps her Lululemon bag in order by storing like items in small pouches. "When you need something, you don't want to take forever," she says. "I like to be able to see everything easily."

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Ballet Stars

The Secrets to a 20-Year Career: How 3 Dancers Maintain Their Technique, Stay Inspired and More

Pacific Northwest Ballet's Seth Orza and Noelani Pantastico in Balanchine's "Stravinsky Violin Concerto." Angela Sterling, Courtesy PNB.

It's rare for a professional ballet career to extend two decades or more. But there are indeed dancers who've been gracing the studio and stage for that long—learning, adapting and growing along the way. Today, Pacific Northwest Ballet's Noelani Pantastico, National Ballet of Canada's Guillaume Côté and Ballet Memphis's Crystal Brothers reveal what physically, artistically and emotionally sustains their careers.

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Ballet Stars

Chelsy Meiss on Being the First Woman to Dance the Mad Hatter in Wheeldon's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

Chelsy Meiss in rehearsal for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Spring Morris, Courtesy National Ballet of Canada.

When Christopher Wheeldon's celebrated Alice's Adventures in Wonderland returns to National Ballet of Canada's stage this week, there will be one big change. First soloist Chelsy Meiss will dance the role of the quirky, tapping Mad Hatter, the first time ever that a female dancer has stepped into the part. "Chelsy is one the most versatile dancers in the company," says artistic director Karen Kain. "The Mad Hatter role is the perfect vehicle to showcase her acting ability, enthusiasm and tap dancing technique." For Wheeldon, this decision came at just the right time. "In the current climate, where the boundaries of gender in ballet are being explored, the option to have Chelsy as The Mad Hatter became a relevant discussion," he says.

We caught up with Meiss to hear all about what it feels like to take on this groundbreaking role.

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Site Network

These Are Our "25 to Watch" Picks for 2019

Photo credits, clockwise from bottom left: Peter Mueller, Courtesy Cincinnati Ballet; Jayme Thornton; Jochen Viehoff, Courtesy Stephanie Troyak; Karolina Kuras, Courtesy National Ballet of Canada; Natasha Razina, Courtesy State Academic Mariinsky Theatre; Kim Kenney, Courtesy Atlanta Ballet; Jim Lafferty; Arian Molina Soca, Courtesy Pennsylvania Ballet; Altin Kaftira, Courtesy Dutch National Ballet; Scott Shaw, Courtesy Shamar Wayne Watt

What's next for the dance world? Our annual list of the dancers, choreographers and companies that are on the verge of skyrocketing has a pretty excellent track record of answering that question.

Here they are: the 25 up-and-coming artists we believe represent the future of our field.

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News

John Neumeier's "Anna Karenina" Comes to Toronto

Anna Laudere of The Hamburg Ballet in Anna Karenina. Photo by Kiran West, Courtesy National Ballet of Canada.

November 10–18, the National Ballet of Canada presents the North American premiere of John Neumeier's Anna Karenina at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto. Co-produced with Hamburg Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet, NBoC is the last of the three companies to present the new two-act production.

Anna Karenina: Inside the Studio | 2018 | The National Ballet of Canada www.youtube.com

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Ballet Stars

Tour Diary: Inside the National Ballet of Canada's First Ever Tour to Russia with First Soloist Jordana Daumec

Jordana Daumec outside The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Photo by Jenna Savella. Courtesy NBoC.

Ready, set, it's time to jet!

Hi all! My name is Jordana Daumec. I'm a first soloist with The National Ballet of Canada. I'm currently taking a break from packing my bags for our tour to Moscow and St. Petersburg where we'll be performing at Diana Vishneva's Context Festival! We are bringing some amazing ballets to Russia: Being and Nothingness by NBoC choreographic associate Guillaume Côté, Paz de La Jolla by Justin Peck and Emergence by Crystal Pite. The company is super excited to perform in these two amazing cities that have such a deep history in ballet.

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News

Onstage This Week: ABT Fall Season Opens, NBoC Tours to Russia for the First Time, and Much More!

Joffrey Ballet's April Daly, Yoshihisa Arai and Amanda Assucena in Christopher Wheeldon's Swan Lake. Assucena will make her debut in the role of Odette/Odile this week. Photo by Cheryl Mann, Courtesy Joffrey.

Wonder what's going on in ballet this week? We've pulled together some highlights.

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Ballet Stars

2018 Stars of the Corps: National Ballet of Canada's Siphesihle November

NBoC's November is a natural onstage. Photo by Karolina Kuras, Courtesy NBoC.

Siphesihle November scarcely touched the ground as he launched into The Sleeping Beauty's grueling Bluebird variation last March, dancing the avian steps with meticulous clarity and keen alertness to Tchaikovsky's music. Nothing was forced or showy; it looked disarmingly natural.

National Ballet of Canada artistic director Karen Kain hired November into the corps a year ago, right after he graduated from Canada's National Ballet School. The transition—no apprentice year—was daunting. "It's all fantasy until you get there," says November. "Then it hits you. This is really it!"

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Ballet Stars

Svetlana Lunkina on Pushing Her Flexibility to the Next Level

Lunkina and Harrison James rehearsing Wayne McGregor's Genus. Photo by Karolina Kuras, Courtesy National Ballet of Canada

National Ballet of Canada principal Svetlana Lunkina shares the choreographer who pushed her to the next level and secrets of her conditioning regimen.

Wayne's world: Despite being naturally limber, when Svetlana Lunkina worked with Wayne McGregor on his incredibly elastic Chroma, the rehearsal process pushed her boundaries. "Wayne told me, 'You are so flexible, but I think you can do more,'" she says. "It was amazing to see how sometimes we think we're at our limit, but we actually could go farther." Since then, she's actively been working on her flexibility.

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News

Onstage This Week: ABT's "Whipped Cream" Returns, The Joyce Ballet Festival Continues, and More!

Barak Ballet will perform E/SPACE at Joyce Ballet Festival this weekend. Photo David Friedman, Courtesy of Joyce Theater.

Wonder what's going on in ballet this week? We've pulled together some highlights.


ABT Wraps Up Its Met Season with Whipped Cream

American Ballet Theatre's eight-week summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House, will wrap up this Saturday. From July 2-7, the company will perform Alexei Ratmansky's Whipped Cream. This candy-coated surrealist ballet features wacky, intricate sets and costumes from Mark Ryden and tells the story of a boy in a Viennese pastry shop who overindulges and falls into a state of wild intoxication that takes him on a journey reminiscent of Act II of The Nutcracker. For a behind-the-scenes look, check out these backstage photos from the 2017 premiere. During the run, Arron Scott will make his debut as The Boy, and Gabe Stone Shayer will make his New York debut in the same role. Thomas Forster and Calvin Royal III will perform as Prince Coffee for the first time in New York.


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News

These 6 Major Companies Have Promoted a Slew of Dancers

New San Francisco Ballet principal Wei Wang in Helgi Tomasson's Concerto Grosso. Photo by Erik Tomasson, Courtesy SFB.

Promotions season is well underway. Earlier this spring we covered exciting changes at Boston Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet; now we're back with news from six more companies—English National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Miami City Ballet, Ballet West and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. (Stay tuned throughout the summer as additional companies release their updated rosters.) Here's who's doing a happy dance.

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