Xiao Nan Yu (; born 1977/1978) is a principal dancer in 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 ...

."Xiao Nan Yu is heart-wrenching in National Ballet’s Onegin: review"
''Toronto Star'', November 27, 2016. Michael Crabb. she lives in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 Ca ...

Early life

Yu was born in Dalian, China. She studied at the Shenyang School of Dance (part of the

Shenyang Conservatory of Music Shenyang Conservatory of Music (Chinese: 沈阳音乐学院) is a music college in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. It is one of nine major conservatories in China. Established in 1938, the school serves approximately 8,000 students in under ...

) under Xie Huizhen, and in 1991 received a performance prize in the junior division of the national Tao Li Cup (). She went on to the

Beijing Dance Academy The Beijing Dance Academy (BDA, ) is a municipal public professional dance college at Haidian, Beijing. The academy is the highest institution for dance education and assessment in the People's Republic of China, conducting the nationwide teache ...

, and then moved to Canada in 1995 to attend the National Ballet School on a scholarship."Ballerina Xiao Nan Yu stars in Giselle and Nutcracker this month"
''Canadian Immigrant'', By Margaret Jetelina, December 3, 2012

Career

In 2000, Yu, a second soloist, performed the role of Tatiana in the ballet ''Onegin''. In 2001 she became a principal dancer, and she danced the role of Tatiana again in 2003. In 2008 Yu took part in a dance show set to the music of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

. In 2013 Yu performed as Odile in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

''. In 2015 she played the role of Pauline in an adaptation of Shakespeare's ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

''."Review: The Winter's Tale"
''Now Toronto'', by Kathleen Smith. November 18, 2015 In 2016 Yu once again danced as Tatiana at the

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West Queen Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Xiao Nan 1970s births Living people Chinese emigrants to Canada Chinese ballerinas National Ballet of Canada principal dancers People from Dalian People from Toronto