About the Ballets

Crystal Pite, the choreographer of Emergence, creates a brand-new work for The National Ballet of Canada to premiere in March 2020. One of the world’s most in-demand dance artists, the British Columbia-born choreographer has astonished and enthralled audiences both at home and abroad with her nuanced, thematically provocative and often haunting work. A world premiere by this enormously gifted artist will be one of the most highly-anticipated events of the 2019/20 season.

Wayne McGregor has created some of the most intellectually challenging and visually ravishing dance works of recent decades. Chroma is a stunning example of his artistry, questioning the very nature of choreographed movement and infusing each moment with an utterly unique and surprising gestural vocabulary.

Frederick Ashton created Marguerite and Armand for Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn in 1963 as a celebration of their unique dance partnership. Set to Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor, the narrative was inspired by the famous novel La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils. In his ballet, Ashton concentrates on the tragic life of Parisian courtesan Marguerite and her ill-fated love for the young Armand. Nureyev and Fonteyn last danced the celebrated work in 1973 and it was not danced again until 2000. Rarely performed, the ballet features two of the most dramatically intense roles in the ballet canon and has been danced by some of the world’s most celebrated dancers.

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Chroma – Inside the Ballet

Reviews

New Work by Crystal Pite

“An image-maker of rare distinction.” —The Australian

“Pite structures her work with a thrilling intelligence” —The New York Times

Chroma

“Chroma is a dazzling example of cutting-edge, pushed-to-the-extreme ballet.” —The Toronto Star

“Chroma clearly ranks among the greatest classics of contemporary ballet.” —The Globe and Mail

“Muscular poetry that socks you in the gut” —The Hamilton Spectator

Marguerite and Amand

“Lush Romanticism” —The New York Times

“The final pas de deux, as Marguerite lies dying in Armand's arms, is among the most moving in Ashton’s ballets.” —What's Onstage

Credits

New Work by Crystal Pite World Premiere

Choreography:
Crystal Pite

Set Design:
Jay Gower Taylor

Costume Design:
Nancy Bryant

Lighting Design:
Tom Visser

Assistant to the Choreographer:
Spencer Dickhaus

Produced and commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada

A Co-Production of The National Ballet of Canada and Ballett Zürich

Support for the World Premiere by Crystal Pite is generously provided by Rosamond Ivey, The Producers’ Circle, The Volunteer Committee of The National Ballet of Canada and The Gail Hutchison Fund.

The Producers’ Circle: Gail & Mark Appel, John & Claudine Bailey, Inger Bartlett & Marshal Stearns, Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, The Thor E. and Nicole Eaton Family Charitable Foundation, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Kevin & Roger Garland, C.M., Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Jerry & Joan Lozinski, The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., Lynda & Jonas Prince, Susan Scace & Arthur Scace, C.M., Q.C., The Harry & Lillian Seymour Family Foundation, Gerald Sheff & Shanitha Kachan and The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation.

A New Work by Crystal Pite is produced and commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada.

Chroma

Choreography:
Wayne McGregor

Staged by:
Odette Hughes

Music:
Joby Talbot and Jack White, The White Stripes

Set Design:
John Pawson

Costume Design:
Moritz Junge

Lighting Design:
Lucy Carter

Chroma is produced in association with The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.

Marguerite and Armand Company Premiere

Choreography:
Frederick Ashton

Music:
Franz Liszt

Orchestrated by:
Dudley Simpson

Set and Costume Design:
Cecil Beaton

Original Lighting Design:
John B. Read