Media Release
World Ballet Day is October 29!
National Ballet Unveils New Film of David Dawson’s On The Nature of Daylight
September 29, 2026… Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced that the company will join ballet companies around the world in celebrating World Ballet Day on Thursday, October 29. This year’s theme explores storytelling, both onstage and behind the scenes, and the creative process that brings ballet to life.
To mark World Ballet Day, the National Ballet will unveil the world premiere of a new film of Resident Choreographer David Dawson’s internationally celebrated pas de deux On the Nature of Daylight. Directed by Derrick Belcham and featuring Principal Dancers Genevieve Penn Nabity and Ben Rudisin, the film’s intimate studio setting captures the work’s emotional intensity and the profound connection between two dancers.
Audiences are also invited behind the scenes of Dawson’s The Beginning of Forever, a new full-length ballet that makes its world premiere in June as part of the company’s 75th anniversary season. Exclusive rehearsal footage and interviews with Dawson, composer Peter Gregson, David Briskin, Music Director and Principal Conductor, and Muir, offer a rare window into the creative process and the collaboration involved in bringing a new ballet to the stage.
The National Ballet of Canada was a founding collaborator in the inaugural World Ballet Day in 2014 and is proud to once again take part in this global celebration, sharing the artistry, collaboration and creative process behind the work audiences experience onstage.
– 30 –
Lead philanthropic support for The Beginning of Forever is generously provided by an Anonymous Presenting Donor.
Genevieve Penn Nabity is sponsored through Dancers First by George & Kathy Dembroski.
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.
Christopher Gerty and Isabella Kinch. Photo by Karolina Kuras.
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