Incredible dancers from around the world!

by Rob Binet, Student, Canada’s National Ballet School

The excitement for the AI09 is building quickly for all of us here at NBS. We have been looking forwards to it for so long, it is strange to think that in a week all of the guests will finally be here!

I am so excited to meet my dancers and see them dance my choreography. I am very interested to see how they have learned steps and picked up the style from the video. It is going to be so much fun for us to be working all together and for me to see my piece danced by so many extremely talented dancers from our international partner schools.

In the AI09 performances of my choreography, I have four dancers from NBS who have been dancing the piece since I first choreographed it, over a year ago. They know the piece extremely well, so they will be a huge help to me in rehearsals when it comes to helping the couples from the other schools with partnering and steps. The other 5 couples in my piece are coming from The Royal Ballet School, The Paris Opera Ballet School, The John Cranko School, the School of The Hamburg Ballet and The Cuban National Ballet School. I think putting the styles of all these schools together will create an incredible energy in the rehearsals and performances.

In addition to getting the opportunity to work with all these incredible dancers, the student choreographers will also receive feedback about their work from Northern Ballet Theatre Artistic Director, and NBS Alumni, David Nixon. I am really looking forwards to hearing his opinions of my choreography.

The AI09 is sure to be a fantastic experience, and I just cannot wait for it to begin!

Demanding & exhilarating, beautiful & touching…

by Natalie Ogonek, Student, Canada’s National Ballet School

Hi! My name is Natalie Ogonek, and I am a 17-year-old student at Canada’s National Ballet School. The 50th Anniversary events have already taken the school by storm. With the Assemblée Internationale coming up in less than two weeks, rehearsals are well under way. I am in A Corps, Essence, the piece choreographed by Florent Melac from the Paris Opera Ballet School, and am also a Cygnet in NBS’ Swan Lake. The two pieces are complete opposites, but both have been demanding and exhilarating.

We performed Swan Lake for Spring Showcase last year, so we all know the choreography. In rehearsals now we are bringing the piece up to scratch and making it even more beautiful and touching than it was in May.

Learning the student choreography has been a real challenge, but an invigorating one. Trying to figure out the choreography with our backs to the video but still somehow trying to watch the video at the same time can lead to some outrageous contortions which the choreographer never intended, and whose origins I am never quite sure of. We finished learning the whole piece two weeks ago, but I think that we’ve only just started discovering the ideas and movements it contains. The movement style is very foreign to me, but the more I work on the piece the more I love it, and the more I find subtleties and nuances within the choreography. There is always the fear, though, that when the choreographer comes he’ll ask us, “Whose piece are you doing?” We can’t help but wonder if we’ve interpreted it all wrong! When the partner schools come next month, we shall see.

I’m so excited to see all the choreographies come together, and to meet all the people from our partner schools!

Excited to welcome all the international students!

by Sara Coffield, Student, Canada’s National Ballet School

The November festival is approaching quickly and everyone is beginning to feel it. Things have been very busy with rehearsals and preparations for the event.

Something I’m really looking forward to is seeing the choreographic pieces performed with international casts. I think it’s going to be really great to meet people from all over the world and have the combined ballet classes with the guest teachers.

The students at NBS are really excited to welcome all the international students visiting. Not only will NBS students welcome all the visitors to our school but also Toronto. A gentle reminder though is to bring some warm clothing, as it will be getting cold in November!