Biography
Heather Ogden was born in Toronto and trained at the Richmond Academy of Dance in British Columbia before joining The National Ballet of Canada in 1998. She was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2005.
Ms.
Ogden’s repertoire with the National Ballet includes principal roles in Swan
Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping
Beauty, Onegin, The Merry Widow, La Bayadère,
Cinderella and Hamlet. Recently she danced the role of Romola in the
Canadian premiere of John Neumeier’s Nijinsky. She has an extensive
George Balanchine repertoire and has danced in many contemporary works,
including new creations by choreographers such as James Kudelka, Alexei
Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor, Crystal Pite and Jorma Elo.
Ms. Ogden represented the National Ballet at The Sixth International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize with Guillaume Côté in 2002. As a guest artist, Ms. Ogden has performed with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, The Hamburg Ballet, Munich Ballet and various galas such as the Gala des Étoiles, Stars of the 21st Century Gala, the Banff Centre’s 60th Anniversary Gala and the International Ballet Festival in Havana Cuba.
In 2011, Ms.Ogden was chosen by Evelyn Hart for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Mentorship program.
Heather Ogden is sponsored through Dancers First by Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin.
Quotes
Romeo and Juliet
"Juliet (a light, bright Heather Ogden) is all
recklessly fast footwork and wheeling jumps." The Guardian, 2013
The Sleeping Beauty
“[Ogden’s] performance was jaw-dropping. Without so much as a wobble, she seemed to hang in the air for an eternity.”
The Globe and Mail, 2012
Nijinsky
“Heather
Ogden (Côté’s spouse in real life) also delivers an arresting performance as
Romola.” National Post, 2013