Quick Facts

Born: Kanata, Ontario
Trained: Linda Jamieson School of Dance and The Royal Ballet Upper School
Joined: 2015
First Soloist since: 2019

Five Things to Know

1. 1Donald completed his ballet training in England at The Royal Ballet Upper School. He performed with The Royal Ballet as a First Artist before joining The National Ballet of Canada as a Corps de Ballet member in 2015.
    
2. 2He learned the part of The Mad Hatter in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from the dancer who created it, Steven McRae, Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet. Donald was one of the original hedges in the production while he was still a young student.
    
3. 3His repertoire with the National Ballet includes Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Nikolai in The Nutcracker, Diamond Man in The Sleeping Beauty, Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, Puck in The Dream and Business Man in Le Petit Prince.
    
4. 4With The Royal Ballet, Donald performed Lensky in Onegin, Sandman in Hansel and Gretel, pas de six in Giselle and roles in Scènes de Ballet, Rhapsody, Connectome, Mayerling, Don Quixote and The Nutcracker.
    
5. 5Donald created roles in Untouchable by Hofesh Shechter and Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor, and he performed in the world premiere of The Winter’s Tale by Christopher Wheeldon, while at The Royal Ballet.

Full Biography

Donald Thom was born in Kanata, Ontario and trained at Linda Jamieson School of Dance and The Royal Ballet Upper School. Donald danced with The Royal Ballet as a First Artist before joining The National Ballet of Canada as a member of the Corps de Ballet in 2015 and was promoted to First Soloist in 2019.

Donald’s repertoire includes Puck in The Dream, The Mad Hatter in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Uncle Nikolai in The Nutcracker, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Diamond Man in The Sleeping Beauty, Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanco in MADDADDAM, Business Man in Le Petit Prince, Elegy Man in Serenade, Lead in Etudes, pas de quatre in Giselle and pas de trois in Paquita. Donald has also danced roles in Swan Lake, Cinderella, Onegin, The Winter’s Tale, Nijinsky, Anna Karenina, The Merry Widow, Pinocchio, La Sylphide, The Concert, Rubies, The Four Seasons, The Second Detail, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Approximate Sonata 2016, Genus, Emergence, Angels’ Atlas, Petite Mort, Chaconne, After the Rain, Elite Syncopations, Being and Nothingness, Skyward, The Dreamers Ever Leave You and Night.

Donald’s repertoire with The Royal Ballet includes Lensky in Onegin, Sandman in Hansel and Gretel, pas de six in Giselle and roles in Romeo and Juliet, Raymonda, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Firebird, Aeternum, Concerto, The Concert, Gloria, La Fille mal gardée, Jewels, Don Quixote, Scènes de ballet, Rhapsody, Connectome, Mayerling, Don Quixote and The Nutcracker. He also created roles in Untouchable by Hofesh Shechter, Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor and performed in the world premiere of The Winter’s Tale by Christopher Wheeldon.