Our Company
“With Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as core values, I am committed to nurturing a culture of acceptance and positivity for our artists and to building a repertoire that prioritizes diversity and brings in new choreographic voices, reflecting the amazing range of communities we serve.”
– Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director
Our Dancers
In recent years, the National Ballet has been making concerted efforts to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of our dancer roster, with a goal that our dancers better reflect the population of Canada. In addition to hiring multicultural dancers, we must also ensure that all dancers feel safe, supported and valued while they are part of our ballet family.
Board Diversity
The National Ballet is grateful to the volunteers who serve on our Board of Directors and provide leadership and support to the company. With the assistance of the Governance and Nominations Committees, we are actively recruiting new volunteers who will reflect the diversity of our wider community. Having a multitude of voices and perspectives around the table benefits the company and helps us work toward our EDI goals.
Dancewear for Every Skin Tone
The National Ballet is committed to providing dancewear and shoes for all skin tones. Long overdue, more companies are now producing pointe shoes, ribbon, elastic and tights in various skin tones. Our Footwear team works with our dancers to source shoes from the increasing number of brands that are producing more options.
For the National Ballet's new production of Swan Lake in 2022, Producer and Director Karen Kain decided that the Corps de Ballet would forgo tights, the first classical ballet in the repertoire to feature natural skin tones. In 2023, the National Ballet became the first company in the world to perform George Balanchine’s Symphony in C in flesh-coloured shoes and tights with permission from the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet.
New Choreographic Voices
New work is the lifeblood of any arts organization and Artistic Director Hope Muir has initiated relationships with several renowned dancemakers to introduce new ballets to the company as well as to create new work on our dancers: Alonzo King, Vanesa G. R. Montoya, Rena Butler, David Dawson, Helen Pickett, Emma Portner and William Yong. Yong's Utopiverse is the first mainstage production by a choreographer of Asian heritage in the National Ballet's history.
Examining Our Repertoire
Members of the National Ballet review existing works in our repertoire through a contemporary and critical lens to examine if any areas. While we believe the stories we share, especially those made in another time, were created with good intention, our society has evolved and the impact on others may not be aligned with the original intent. If insensitivities or issues are identified, we work with our consultants, choreographers and Artistic Staff to find solutions that honour a production’s original intent and align with our values of equity and inclusivity.
A Safe Rehearsal Space
Artistic Director Hope Muir has engaged Intimacy Consultant Anisa Tejpar to help the dancers feel safe and supported as they rehearse and perform challenging work like John Neumeier's A Streetcar Named Desire and Alexei Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet. The role champions the well-being of the artists who take part or engage in depicting intimate, emotionally charged or violent scenes onstage.
Top Photo: Artists of the Ballet in Class on Stage. Photo by Karolina Kuras.