New Work by Jera Wolfe / Emma Bovary

• Artistic Director Hope Muir says, “I’m eager to support Jera Wolfe as he gains recognition and give our dancers another original experience to add to their diverse careers at the National Ballet.”
  
  
• Speaking about his approach to dance, Wolfe has said: “The Métis people were from two worlds and they connected and created a community, one culture. There’s something really beautiful about that idea and I try to bring it into my life and my choreography.”
  
  
• In 2020, Wolfe created his first work for the National Ballet, Soul, which was captured on film as part of the company's first digital season.
  
  
• His captivating choreography has awarded him the 2019 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Original Choreography for Trace (Red Sky Performance).

Toronto’s Jera Wolfe, a celebrated artist of Métis heritage, creates original work both independently and as Associate Artist with Red Sky Performance. His collaborations with notable dance companies and festivals include Fall for Dance North, Festival des arts de Saint-Sauveur, Danse Danse, Jacob’s Pillow and Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Choreography: 
Jera Wolfe

World Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto,  May 29, 2026

Produced and commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada.

This new work by Jera Wolfe is generously supported by The Walter Carsen New Creations Fund.

• Helen Pickett often looks to literature for inspiration, as with her award-winning production of The Crucible for Scottish Ballet, based on Arthur Miller’s play.
  
  
• Pickett worked with director James Bonas on a treatment for Emma Bovary, a storytelling approach specific to film and theatre.
  
  
• Renaming Madame Bovary as Emma Bovary emphasizes Emma’s individuality and aligns with Pickett’s goal to tell the story from her perspective.
  
  
• Canada’s Michael Gianfrancesco designed the sets and costumes, using sombre colours to represent Emma’s domestic life and bursts of colour when her imagination ignites.
  
  
• Composer Peter Salem wrote the award-winning music for the popular television series Call the Midwife and previously worked with Pickett on The Crucible and Camino Real.

Helen Pickett spent over a decade at Frankfurt Ballet under the direction of William Forsythe and is trained in method acting, somatic techniques and film. She is the former Resident Choreographer of Atlanta Ballet and has created over 60 works internationally, including The Crucible, Camino Real and The Exiled.

James Bonas is an acclaimed director of international theatre, opera and dance combining traditional and contemporary elements, such as video design and animation. His recent work includes The Snow Queen for Opéra national du Rhin, Flight for Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and his award-winning production of The Crucible with choreographer Helen Pickett.

Award-winning English composer Peter Salem draws from his diverse background in ballet, film, television and theatre in his score for Emma Bovary. The cinematic music mirrors the arc of Emma’s experience, embodying the clock-ticking monotony of her marriage and the soaring heights of her imagination, passionate affairs and compulsive overspending.

Choreography: 
Helen Pickett

Directors: 
James Bonas and Helen Pickett

Treatment by: 
Helen Pickett and James Bonas

Music and Sound: 
Peter Salem

Set and Costume Design: 
Michael Gianfrancesco

Lighting Design: 
Bonnie Beecher

Animations: 
Grégoire Pont

Projection Design: 
Anouar Brissel

World Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, November 10, 2023

Produced and commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada.

Lead philanthropic support for Emma Bovary is provided by The Sabourin Family Foundation, with additional support from The Anna McCowan-Johnson New Creations Fund and The Producers' Circle.

The Producers’ Circle (2024): Gail & Mark Appel, John & Claudine Bailey, Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, 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 Harry & Lillian Seymour Family Foundation, The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation and Alexander Younger & Sarah Richardson.