Canada Ballet Tours To With Giselle And Polyphonia

Artistic Director Karen Kain and Artist-in-Residence Rex Harrington host special Ballet Talks, pre-show discussions that take place in the theatre lobby prior to every performance.

The tour features an innovative outreach initiative with Movement Workshops and Master Classes taught by the National Ballet's dancers and educators and Canada's National Ballet School graduates. Movement Workshops, specially designed for children ages 8-14, are in every city on the tour. Master Classes will range from the elementary to advanced level and will feature teachers such as First Soloist Stacey Shiori Minagawa, Principal Character Artist and Ballet Master Tomas Schramek and Principal Artistic Coach Magdalena Popa.

The greatest of the Romantic Classics, Giselle has often been called "the ballerina's Hamlet." During the tour the role of Giselle will be danced by Principal Dancers Greta Hodgkinson and Chan Hon Goh. Debuts in the role include Principal Dancer Xiao Nan Yu and First Soloists Bridgett Zehr and Jillian Vanstone. Albrecht will be danced by Principal Dancers Guillaume Côté and Nehemiah Kish. Principal Dancer Zdenek Konvalina will make his company debut in the role. The role of Hilarion will be danced by First Soloist Christopher Body, Second Soloist Avinoam Silverman and making their debuts are First Soloist Piotr Stanczyk and Second Soloist Kevin D. Bowles. The Queen of the Wilis will be performed by Principal Dancers Heather Ogden and Xiao Nan Yu and First Soloist Rebekah Rimsay.

Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia entered the National Ballet's repertoire in June, 2007 and was enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike, with The Globe and Mail stating: "Polyphonia is in the repertoire of many ballet companies for good reason. Polyphonia is clever and humorous, while demanding in-your-face technical wizardry. It takes a great classical company to perform neoclassical work, and these eight dancers are picture perfect."

The National Ballet of Canada's Western Canada Tour is sponsored by TD Waterhouse. "TD Waterhouse is pleased to play a vital role in contributing to Canada's culture by supporting The National Ballet of Canada and its performances in Western Canada," said Bill Hatanaka, Group Head Wealth Management, TD Bank Financial Group. "We believe it's important to showcase the wealth of Canada's artistic talent and to encourage an appreciation of the arts among young Canadians." -- www.national.ballet.ca