Robert Binet. Photo by Karolina Kuras.

Biography

Robert Binet was born in Toronto and is a graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School. He was appointed Choreographic Associate of The National Ballet of Canada in 2013 after serving as the first ever Choreographic Apprentice for The Royal Ballet in London, where he was mentored by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor. Robert returned to The Royal Ballet in 2016 to create Void and Fire in honour of McGregor’s 10th anniversary with the company.

Robert has created several innovative works for The National Ballet of Canada. In 2016, The Dreamers Ever Leave You, an immersive piece that debuted as part of the Lawren Harris exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, was created and has since been remounted in numerous iterations in Canada and on tour in London, England and for film. His other works include Unearth, These Worlds in Us, The Wild Space Between Two Hearts, Orpheus Alive, set to an original score by Missy Mazzoli, Self and Soul and Lake Maligne, a solo he adapted for Expansive Dances, a series of dance films created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robert’s choreography is performed by several companies around the globe. He has created original work for New York City Ballet, Dutch National Ballet’s junior company, Ballett am Rhein, Estonian National Ballet, Germany’s National Youth Ballet, The Genée International Ballet Competition and Ballet Black. He also choreographed the music videos for Owen Pallett’s Song for Five & Six and Belle and Sebastian’s The Party Line.

Since 2018, Robert has supported Canadian choreographers and independent dance artists as Creative Producer of CreativAction, a programme that shares the National Ballet’s resources with the broader dance community and develops choreographic talent. In 2021, he was appointed Curator and Producer, CreativAction and Special Initiatives in recognition of his growing contribution to this area of the company’s work. In 2022, Robert was appointed Director of Artist Development Programmes to reflect his leadership of CreativAction, Sharing the Stage, the RBC Apprentice Programme and other initiatives.

Robert was mentored by Artistic Director Emerita Karen Kain for the 2017 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award Mentorship Program.

Read a Q&A With Robert