About The National Ballet of Canada
In 1951, Sydney Mulqueen, Pearl Whitehead and Aileen Woods had a vision to create Canada’s very own ballet company. Together, they galvanized a community of likeminded individuals, and raised funds to bring Celia Franca from England to Toronto. With this act, The National Ballet of Canada was founded and solidified its place in Canadian history with its inaugural performance at The Eaton Auditorium on November 12, 1951.
Today, the company is one of the top international ballet companies in the world, with 70 dancers and its own orchestra and a permanent home at The Walter Carsen Centre in Toronto. The National Ballet has a history of pre-eminent Artistic Directors and in January 2022, the company welcomed new leader Hope Muir.
Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets as well as the development of Canadian choreographers. The company’s repertoire includes works by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Aszure Barton, Marie Chouinard, John Cranko, William Forsythe, Alonzo King, James Kudelka, Wayne McGregor, Kenneth McMillan, John Neumeier, Rudolf Nureyev, Crystal Pite, Emma Portner, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, William Yong, Robert Binet and Guillaume Côté, among other creators.
In recent years, the National Ballet has become a top destination for creative partnerships and the building and staging of new work. Since 2011, the company’s highly skilled production team has worked from a state-of-the-art facility, The Gretchen Ross Production Centre, to build and store its glorious sets and costumes.
The National Ballet performs three extended engagements at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts each year, augmented by national and international tours. The company tours in Canada, the US and internationally with appearances in Paris, London, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Hamburg, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Reaching audiences beyond the traditional theatre setting is one of the National Ballet’s highest priorities, particularly for children, youth and families. The company has a wide range of age-appropriate community engagement initiatives designed to share the joy and power of dance with young people in schools, hospitals, community settings and homes in ways that are meaningful and rewarding for them. YOU dance is the largest of these programmes and offers FREE workshops and performances to students in grades four through six.
The National Ballet upholds the principles of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all aspects of its work and is taking important steps to better reflect Canada’s cultural diversity throughout the organization, its partners and audiences. Read our full commitment to EDI.
