Biography
James Leja was born in Montréal, Québec
and trained at the Quinte
Ballet School.
He joined The National Ballet of Canada’s Corps de Ballet in 2003.
Mr. Leja danced in The Sleeping Beauty, Swan
Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Cinderella,
Onegin, The Taming of the Shrew,
The Merry Widow, The Firebird, An
Italian Straw Hat, The Seagull,Carmen, The Four Seasons, Opus
19/The Dreamer, West Side Story Suite
and Emergence.
Recently, Mr. Leja debuted in the role of the Duchess in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Christopher Wheeldon. He also danced the role of Lord Montague in the world premiere of Romeo and Juliet by Alexei Ratmansky and in the North American premiere Hamlet by Kevin O’Day.
In 2010, Mr. Leja danced with the company in
Marie Chouinard’s 24 Preludes by Chopin
at the Cultural Olympiad at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Mr. Leja was awarded the Patron Award of
Merit
by the Patron’s Council Committee of The National Ballet of Canada in 2006.
Quotes
The
Sleeping Beauty
“the Pussycats are caricatures mauling each
other far more zealously than usual. Tiffany Mosher and James Leja were very
funny and had the audiences laughing”
Dance Europe, 2010
The Nutcracker
“in
the ones to watch department, James Leja as the Fox showed a jumper and
technician of great promise.”
The
Globe and Mail, 2005