Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

school located in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it is a provider of professional ballet training in Canada. Margaret Tracey was appointed Artistic Director of the school in 2024, succeeding Mavis Staines who had previously served as Artistic Director since 1989.

History

Formation

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, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

was formed in 1951 by the English ballet dancer

Celia Franca Celia Franca (25 June 1921 – 19 February 2007) was a co-founder of The National Ballet of Canada (1951) and its artistic director for 24 years. Early life Franca was born Celia Franks in London, England, the daughter of an East End ta ...

, who had previously been a dancer with ballet companies in the United Kingdom. Franca immigrated to Canada in 1951 and founded the National Ballet of Canada that same year, also hiring the English ballet teacher Betty Oliphant to work with the company. As the National Ballet became established, Franca and Oliphant decided to create a ballet academy to train dancers for the company. The school, modeled after Britain's

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

, opened in 1959 in a former

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

meeting house at 111 Maitland Street in Toronto, a building purchased for the school by the National Ballet Guild at a cost of $80,000. Oliphant became the school's first Artistic Director. In 1983, students at the school were featured in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

dance film '' Flamenco at 5:15''.

Expansion

In 2000, 400

Jarvis Street Jarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Queens Quay East in the south to Bloor Street in the north. The segment ...

, in the Wellesley-Church district, was acquired from the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

for one dollar. The existing buildings on the site were restored and redesigned by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects (GBCA). Three new buildings, dubbed ''Project Grand Jete'', were planned and built by GBCA, along with Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB). Construction began in 2003, and in 2005, the school relocated there. The major expansion to the school was completed in 2007 at a cost of $100 million. 111 Maitland, now known as Currie Hall, became the school's dining hall.

Notable alumni

* John Alleyne *

Frank Augustyn Frank Joseph Augustyn, (born January 27, 1953) is a Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and the Berlin Opera Ballet. Background Frank Augustyn was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As ...

Neve Campbell Neve Adrianne Campbell (; born October 3, 1973) is a Canadian actress. After working in Canadian and American television, Campbell emerged as a scream queen for her starring roles in horror and thriller films. She has also appeared in blockbu ...

Brennan Clost Brennan Clost (born October 20, 1994) is a Canadian actor and dancer, known for starring in the Family series '' The Next Step'', and the Netflix dance drama series ''Tiny Pretty Things''. Early and personal life Clost was born on October 20, 1 ...

Guillaume Côté Guillaume Côté (born September 17, 1981) is a Canadian ballet dancer, choreographer, composer and artistic director. He is a principal dancer and a Choreographic Associate at the National Ballet of Canada. In February 2024, he announced that t ...

Anne Ditchburn Anne Ditchburn (born October 4, 1949) is a Canadian ballet dancer, choreographer, and film actress headlining films like 1979's '' Slow Dancing in the Big City'' as a dancer with a crippling disease, a film directed by ''Rocky'' director John G. ...

Kimberly Glasco Kimberly Glasco (born November 27, 1960, in Eugene, Oregon) is a Canadian ballerina. She danced with the National Ballet of Canada until she was dismissed by artistic director James Kudelka. She filed a wrongful dismissal suit against the company w ...

Martine van Hamel Martine van Hamel (born 16 November 1945) is a Dutch choreographer, director, teacher, retired ballerina and former Principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada and American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She was a gold medalist at the biennial Var ...

Rex Harrington Rex Howard Harrington, (born October 30, 1962, in Peterborough, Ontario) is a Canadian ballet dancer.Jocelyn Hudon Jocelyn Hudon (born November 18, 1994) is a Canadian actress. Hudon trained at the National Ballet School of Canada.Brooke Lynn Hytes Brooke Lynn Hytes is the stage name of Brock Edward Hayhoe (born March 10, 1986), a Canadian-American drag queen, ballet dancer, and television personality. After working as a dancer with Cape Town City Ballet and Les Ballets Trockadero de Mont ...

* Karen Kain *

James Kudelka James Kudelka, Order of Canada, OC (born September 10, 1955 at Newmarket, Ontario), is a Canadian choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ball ...

* Martine Lamy * Evan McKie * Kevin Pugh * Mavis Staines * Veronica Tennant

Buildings

The Margaret McCain Academic Building was built for and originally housed Havergal Ladies' College from 1898 until 1932, and then housed the

's main radio studios in Toronto from 1945 until 1996. Included as part of the school is a heritage building – the 1856 home of Sir

Oliver Mowat Sir Oliver Mowat (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1903) was a Canadians, Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario ...

, the longest-serving

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario () is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typically sits as a member of Provincia ...

, a

Father of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

, and later Ontario's Lieutenant-Governor. The mansion, originally named Norfield House (used by Havergal College from 1913 to 1932, and then by the CBC), was renamed Lozinski House and now houses the school's artistic and administrative offices. The architectural firms of Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects (GBCA) and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) integrated the original buildings with three new buildings, using contemporary construction composed of glass, steel, metal panels, and concrete blocks, which appears transparent from the street façade. The three new buildings were completed in 2007: the Celia Franca Centre, a "Bar" building, and a six-storey "North Tower" building, which consists of three large studio spaces, each stacked on top of the other. The Celia Franca Centre is used for multiple purposes. Twelve dance studios of various sizes, some of which are facing Jarvis Street, are visible to passersby. The Celia Franca Centre also includes a coffee shop, library/ resource centre, study areas, and seating zones. The Betty Oliphant Theatre has change rooms, dressing rooms, and wardrobe all encompassed within the Celia Franca Centre. The façade of the Celia Franca Centre consists of glazed curtain walls combined with cultured stone tiles tied by steel grate panel sub-structures. The choreography of the opening scene of The Nutcracker is visible in the suspended frit glass of the south pavilion facade in Benesh notation.

References

External links

Official website

The National Ballet of Canada

Prix de Lausanne

The Canadian Encyclopedia: The School

The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Ballet School of Canada Performing arts in Toronto Ballet schools in Canada Private schools in Toronto 1959 establishments in Ontario KPMB Architects buildings