Ballet News
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May 30 – June 5, 2025
Guillaume Côté bids “adieu” to The National Ballet of Canada after 26 years. To celebrate his legacy as a preeminent dancer and one of the first Choreographic Associates in the company’s history, he will create a new work, Grand Mirage, and will restage his thrilling Boléro. The programme also features world premieres from two bold and exciting Canadian choreographic talents: Ethan Colangelo and Jennifer Archibald.
In the dim glow of the stage, Principal Dancer and Choreographic Associate Guillaume Côté finds himself in a mesmerizing and sinister pas de deux with his once shadow, now a tangible dark entity. As they weave through a haunting dance, this mysterious figure slowly consumes Côté’s essence, leaving behind only the echo of a dance that once defined his existence. Witness Guillaume Côté’s extraordinary artistry with a solo he is creating specifically for his farewell – a meditation about standing on the Four Seasons Centre stage for the last time that will reflect both the exhilaration of this last moment and the sadness of saying goodbye.
A small ensemble of men and a leading woman defines Guillaume Côté’s fabulous Boléro, which he created for the National Ballet’s 60th-Anniversary Diamond Gala in 2012. The piece builds with Maurice Ravel’s famous music from an initial single theme to many elements working together in harmony. The principal woman offers a human touchpoint for this structure and moves from a state of vulnerability to intensifying strength, going from intimate solos to breathtaking multiple lifts.
The fresh contemporary language of Canada’s Ethan Colangelo debuts on the mainstage with this exciting world premiere. Colangelo is a rising star on the international dance scene and in 2023, Artistic Director Hope Muir appointed him Choreographic Associate for The National Ballet of Canada. Colangelo’s fearless aesthetic, which he builds from a classical foundation, defines his previous works for the company, as seen before and fractured, and has sealed his reputation as an emerging leader in contemporary movement.
Hip Hop meets contemporary movement and ballet in this long-awaited first partnership with Toronto-born Jennifer Archibald, whose genre-breaking style has taken her from commercial partnerships to film and top dance companies throughout the US and internationally. An expert in the Meisner Technique of acting, Archibald takes a fresh, dynamic approach to movement creation and challenges our expectations about what ballet can be. Experience the fearless language that has made Archibald a favourite on the contemporary dance scene.
Casting will be announced in our eNewsletter, Ballet News, and on social media and will be posted here approximately two weeks prior to the opening. Please note, casting is always subject to change.
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Top Photo: Guillaume Côté. Photo by Matt Barnes.