Biography
Born in Dalian, China, Xiao Nan Yu trained at the Shen Yang
School of Dance, the Beijing Dance Academy
in China and Canada’s National Ballet
School. She joined The
National Ballet of Canada in 1996 and has been a Principal Dancer since 2001.
Ms. Yu has danced many of the classical and contemporary
works in the company’s repertoire including Swan Lake, Giselle, Onegin, Romeo and
Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, The
Nutcracker, Cinderella, The
Merry Widow, The Firebird, Madame Butterfly, Song of the
Earth, Opus 19/The Dreamer, Etudes, and
La Bayadère. She has an extensive George Balanchine repertoire, including
Apollo, Serenade, Theme and
Variations, The Four Temperaments, Symphony in C and Diamonds and Rubies from
Jewels.
Recently, Ms. Yu made her debut in the
role of the Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by
Christopher Wheeldon.
Ms. Yu has created roles in works by James
Kudelka, Aszure Barton, Matjash Mrozewski, Jean-Pierre Perreault and Dominique
Dumais.
Ms. Yu was awarded the Gold Medal at the Tao Lee Cup Ballet
Competition in China
and the Silver Medal at the All Japan International Ballet Competition. In
2009, Ms. Yu won the Outstanding Profile – Arts, and Best of the Best Awards at
the Mandarin Profile Awards in Toronto.
In 2002, she was the winner of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto’s
21st Century Youth of the Year Award.
Quotes
Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland
"Xiao Nan Yu was deliciously devilish as the Queen of Hearts.”
National Post,
2012
Don
Quixote
"Yu's italian fouteés in particular, were spectacular."
Danceview Times, 2011
Onegin
“a perfect Tatiana…[Yu] was simply
exquisite, as both the innocent and the mature Tatiana. Her profound grief at
the end of the ballet, as she stands alone onstage, was palpable”
The Globe and Mail, 2010
Swan Lake
“Yu gave one of the best Odette/Odile performances I have ever seen. A great classicist, every move she takes is precise in placement and execution, whether for the graceful poetic Odette or the sizzling fireball Odile. In her magnificent interpretation of this notoriously difficult dual role, her different performances of Odette and Odile are outstanding.”
The Globe and Mail, 2010