Quick Facts

Born: Tokyo, Japan
Trained: Canada’s National Ballet School
Joined: 2007
Principal Dancer Since: 2015

Naoya Ebe is sponsored through Dancers First by Gretchen Ross.

Five Things to Know

1. 1Naoya started in gymnastics at the age of three and added ballet lessons several years later to complement his training. Eventually, he preferred ballet and gave up gymnastics entirely.
    
2. 2Naoya learned of The National Ballet of Canada from his ballet teacher in Japan and subsequently moved to Toronto to train at Canada’s National Ballet School. Naoya’s mother was working for the Canadian embassy in Tokyo at the time.
    
3. 3In 2011, when he was still a young member of the Corps de Ballet, Naoya was selected to represent the National Ballet at The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize.
    
4. 4Naoya was a Second Soloist when he was chosen to dance the lead role of Romeo in Alexei Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet. The role opened the door for Naoya’s promotion to Principal Dancer and, today, Romeo is one of his signature roles.
    
5. 5He performs a wide range of classical and contemporary roles with the National Ballet, including Albrecht in Giselle, Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming in Cinderella, Peter/The Nutcracker in The Nutcracker and featured roles in Wayne McGregor’s Chroma and Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort, among others.

Favourite Ballets

1. 1Romeo and Juliet
    
2. 2Giselle
    
3. 3La Fille mal gardée
    
4. 4Bella Figura (Jiří Kylián)
5.  
6. 5La Sylphide

Full Biography

Naoya Ebe was born in Tokyo, Japan and trained at Canada’s National Ballet School. He joined The National Ballet of Canada in 2007 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2015. 

Most recently, Naoya performed in the Canadian premiere of David Dawson’s Anima Animus. A dynamic artist with polished technique, he excels in title roles such as Siegfried in Karen Kain’s Swan Lake, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Albrecht in Giselle, Camille de Rosillon in The Merry Widow, Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty, Knave of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Colas in La Fille mal gardée, Prince Charming in Cinderella, Peter/The Nutcracker in The Nutcracker, Lensky in Onegin, Vronsky and Stiva in Anna Karenina, the lead role in Opus 19/The Dreamer, Florizel in The Winter’s Tale, James in La Sylphide, Oberon and Puck in The Dream and Sanguinic in The Four Temperaments. Naoya’s repertoire also includes featured roles in Nijinsky, Manon, Don Quixote, The Taming of the Shrew, Theme and Variations, Glass Pieces, Watch her, Paquita, The Four Seasons, The Second Detail, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Elite Syncopations, Cacti, West Side Story Suite, Russian Seasons, Symphony #9, Genus, Emergence, After the Rain, Serenade, Symphony in C, A Streetcar Named Desire, Skyward and The Dreamers Ever Leave You. 

In 2011, Naoya represented the National Ballet in The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize.  

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