Joysanne Sidimus. Photo by Aleksandar Antonijevic.

Biography

Internationally acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent authorities on the ballets of George Balanchine, Joysanne Sidimus has staged the great choreographer’s works for dance companies the world over, including the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Stuttgart Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Oklahoma Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Ballet Arizona, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Beijiing Dance Academy and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet.

Born in New York City, Joysanne studied under Mr. Balanchine at the School of American Ballet and then joined his New York City Ballet. She later performed as a soloist with London Festival Ballet and as a Principal Dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada.

As well as being a Balanchine répétiteur for both The National Ballet of Canada and The George Balanchine Trust, Joysanne is the founder of the Dancer Transition Resource Centre and the co-author, with Carol Anderson, of Reflections in a Dancing Eye: The Role and Value of the Artist in Contemporary Canadian Society.

She was also the founding Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Artists’ Health Centre Foundation, which established the Artists’ Health Centre, a comprehensive health care facility for artists at Toronto Western Hospital and was one of the co-founders of the Canadian Senior Artists Resource Network. In 2003, she was awarded the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal and in 2006, she received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.