Frank Joseph Augustyn, (born January 27, 1953) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer and artistic director. He was principal dancer of the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

and the Berlin Opera Ballet.

Background

Frank Augustyn was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. As a boy, Augustyn's interests were in gymnastics and acrobatics; he once appeared on the variety series '' Tiny Talent Time'' as a gymnast."Next Generation". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', October 7, 2000. During a summer course at Canada's National Ballet School (often called The National) intended to help improve movement and his control for his gymnastic acrobatic training, his abilities for ballet were recognized by

Betty Oliphant Nancy Elizabeth Oliphant (August 5, 1918 – July 12, 2004) was a co-founder of the National Ballet School of Canada. Life Oliphant was born in London in 1918. Her father was a lawyer who died within weeks of her birth in a train crash. Oli ...

, founder and director of the school. Although Augustyn's parents were reluctant to have their son pursue ballet as a career, Augustyn continued in the school until at seventeen he joined the professional company

Professional career

Augustyn joined the

in 1970. He was the National Ballet's principal dancer from 1972 to 1989. From 1980 to 1981, he was principal dancer at the Berlin Opera Ballet. From 1985 to 1986, he was the principal guest artist at the Boston Ballet. From 1989 to 1994, he was the artistic director of the Ottawa Ballet. He was a founding member of ''Ballet Revue'' (dancing his own piece, Personal Essay) and has appeared frequently on international television. Television viewers are familiar with Mr. Augustyn's series on ballet, ''Footnotes'', seen on Bravo U.S. and Bravo Canada. In this series, which he co-wrote, co-produced and hosted, Mr. Augustyn outlines the history and techniques of classical ballet. He published ''Footnotes--Dancing the World's Best Loved Ballets'', which was based on the television production, as well as his memoir, ''Dancing from the Heart.'' Augustyn often danced with

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer, and was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 - 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet training ...

. They won the award for best pas de deux at the 1973 Moscow International Ballet Competition, dancing the extremely difficult Blue Bird pas de deux from Sleeping Beauty. Director of the dance program at

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...

since 2000, Augustyn was appointed Program Chair in 2007, stepping down in 2019 appointing Orion Duckstein to chair. He is currently an assistant full time professor at Adelphi, and co-owner of Classical Ballet School of Long Island.

Awards

In 1979, Augustyn was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Augustyn, Frank 1953 births Living people Canadian male ballet dancers Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Officers of the Order of Canada People from Hamilton, Ontario National Ballet of Canada dancers