Media Release

Dynamic Double Bill: Crystal Pite’s Emergence and Sol León and Paul Lightfoot’s Silent Screen 

Onstage November 13 – 20

October 14, 2026… Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, shared today that Crystal Pite’s award-winning Emergence and Sol León and Paul Lightfoot’s mesmerizing Silent Screen will be presented together this fall. Celebrating the innovation and global influence of the National Ballet, the dynamic double bill is onstage for eight performances only at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts November 13 – 20. 

Created for the National Ballet in 2009, Emergence marked Crystal Pite’s first major ballet commission and the beginning of a significant creative partnership with the company. In Emergence, Pite correlates the codes of ballet with emergent behaviours in the living world, transforming the stage into an otherworldly hive of activity. Swarms of dancers move through shifting patterns to an original score by Owen Belton, with sets by Jay Gower Taylor, costumes by Linda Chow and lighting by Alan Brodie. A breakout success, Emergence swept the 2009 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, winning in all four dance categories: Outstanding Production, New Choreography, Sound Design and Performance. 

“Beautifully crafted, mysterious, impressionistic piece that captures the hidden world of insects, and can also stand as a metaphor for human existence.”
The Globe and Mail 

Pite has since become one of the world’s leading choreographers, creating more than 60 works internationally. Following Emergence, she returned to the National Ballet to create Angels’ Atlas in 2020 and to stage her award-winning Flight Pattern in 2026.  

Returning for the first time since its acclaimed company premiere in 2024, Silent Screen introduced Toronto audiences to the distinctive choreographic language of internationally renowned dancemakers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot. One of the choreographic duo’s most admired creations, Silent Screen merges dance, theatre and film in a moving meditation on the human experience. Set to the hypnotic music of Philip Glass, Silent Screen immerses the dancers in an abstract silent film projected across shifting screens that expand and contract the stage, with designs by León and Lightfoot, lighting by Tom Bevoort and film realization by Metropolis Film and Dicky Schuttel. 

“Visually complex from start to finish... a mesmerizing and intimate experience.”
Dance Debrief

Created for Nederlands Dans Theater in 2005, Silent Screen reflects León and Lightfoot’s influential creative partnership, developed over more than three decades in Europe.

Emergence / Silent Screen is onstage November 13 – 20, 2026 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available at national.ballet.ca. 

About the Programme 

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2026/27 Season Sponsor: BMO  

Lead philanthropic support for Emergence (2009) is generously provided by Gail Hutchison. Additional support is provided by The Sabourin Family Foundation (2027).   

Lead philanthropic support for Silent Screen is provided by an Anonymous Donor. Additional support is provided by The Producers' Circle.  

The Producers’ Circle (2025): John & Claudine Bailey, Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, O.Ont., Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Jerry Lozinski, O.C. & Joan Lozinski, O.C., The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado, C.M. & Jim Pitblado, C.M., The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation and Alexander Younger & Sarah Richardson.  

The National Ballet of Canada gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Ontario Arts Council; the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council; the Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada; and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming and the Ministry of Sport, Government of Ontario. 

Artists of the Ballet in Emergence. Photo by Bruce Zinger.
 

For more information and interview opportunities, please contact: 

Touchwood PR                
Andréa Grau, Founder and Owner
Chelsea Cabello, Senior Publicist
Sydney Clarke, Publicist
NBOC@touchwoodpr.com 

The National Ballet of Canada
Catherine Chang, Associate Director of Communications & Content Strategy
Sarah Johnsen, Interim Communications Manager
Media@national.ballet.ca