A Celebration of Guillaume Côté Adieu

• Grand Mirage includes a film element by Ben Shirinian, whose many collaborations with Côté include the viral dance shorts Lost in Motion and Lost in Motion II.
   
• Côté feels content as he approaches his farewell, saying “I carry with me the most beautiful memories of people, places and moments that have shaped who I am.”
   
• Grand Mirage is also an expression of Côté’s gratitude. He says: “Not everyone can say they were able to live their dreams to their fullest, but I can. I have no words to describe my gratitude toward the National Ballet and its devoted audiences for enabling me to live out my lifelong passion.”

Guillaume Côté: Highlights From a Life in Dance
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A Conversation with Guillaume Côté
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Ben Shirinian stands out as an award-winning filmmaker, acclaimed for his visionary storytelling and impactful contributions to the cinematic arts. Celebrated for films such as Josef Et Aimee and the Lost In Motion series, he now makes his feature film debut with The Housewife. This psychological drama stars Naomi Watts, Tye Sheridan, Michael Imperioli and Norman Reedus, marking a significant leap from his acclaimed short film work. Collaborating with Robbie Brenner of Barbie and Dallas Buyers Club, Ben's transition to feature filmmaking promises a deep, compelling narrative that showcases his directorial prowess on a larger scale.

Choreography:
Guillaume Côté

Film Director:
Ben Shirinian

Music:
Hermanos Gutiérrez, El Bueno Y El Mano (2022)
Written and composed by Estevan Gutiérrez and Alejando Gutiérrez
Performed by Hermanos Gutiérrez
Published by Third Side Music Inc. (SOCAN)
Courtesy of Easy Eye Sound, LLC®, Distributed by Concord Music Group, Inc.

Antonio Sanchéz, Waiting for What
Written and Performed by Antonio Sanchéz
BMI Music Inc, Courtesy of Milan Records

Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat (1832)
Pianist: Andrei Streliaev

Combustible Edison, Cadillac
Written and Composed by Nino Rota
Courtesy of Sub Pop Records and Outside Music
By arrangement with Warner Music Group

Christian Fennesz, Fennesz – Dancer (2024)
Written and Performed by Christian Fennesz
Published by Touch Music/Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd

Frank Sinatra, Strangers in the Night (1966)
As composed by Bert Kaempfert (GEMA) / Eddie Snyder (ASCAP) / Charles Singleton (BMI)
Published by Songs Of Universal, Inc. (BMI) / Screen-Gems / EMI Music, Inc.
Courtesy of Frank Sinatra Enterprises, LLC under license from Universal Music Canada Inc.

Peter Gabriel, My Body is a Cage (2010)
Written by Jeremy Gara, Régine Chassagne, Richard Parry, Tim Kingsbury, William Butler and Win Butler
EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS) administered in Canada by Sony Music Publishing (SOCAN)
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Film Produced by:
Lookout

Set and Costume Designer:
Michael Gianfrancesco

Lighting Designer:
Christopher Dennis

Sound Designer:
John Gzowski

Produced and commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada.

World Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, May 30, 2025

Lead philanthropic support for Grand Mirage is provided by Emmanuelle Gattuso, C.M., The Hal Jackman Foundation and The Hal Jackman Foundation Fund. Additional funding provided by an anonymous Production Supporter, with special thanks to Ann McCullagh Hogarth.

• Ravel composed Bolero in 1928 for his friend, the Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein, who set the music to choreography by the famous Bronislava Nijinska.
   
• Côté introduces a new choreographic sequence with each of Ravel’s 18 variations on a theme, giving rise to an irresistible study of repetition.
   
• A water-filled pool in Nathan Phillips Square was the setting for an unforgettable outdoor performance of Bolero in 2015 for 10,000 people at the Pan American Games.

Bolero is Maurice Ravel’s most famous work. Composed in 1928, it starts quietly with a snare drum introducing the single theme of the piece until gradually every member of the large orchestra joins in turn. The momentum builds over 18 variations on the theme until finally the full orchestra lets loose in a cacophony of sound.

Choreography:
Guillaume Côté

Music:
Maurice Ravel, Bolero (1928)

Costume Design:
Yannik Larivée

Lighting Design:
Jeff Logue

World Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, June 20, 2012

• Colangelo’s relationship with the National Ballet began onstage, when he performed the lead boy role of Misha in James Kudelka’s The Nutcracker as a child.
   
• Colangelo won the Audience Choice Award and the DAF Production Award at the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition in 2021, where he also caught the attention of Artistic Director Hope Muir.
   
• Athletic twists and speed are hallmarks of Colangelo’s style and reflect his background as a competitive freestyle snowboarder.

Q&A With Ethan Colangelo
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Ethan Colangelo was born and raised in Toronto where he began his initial training at Canada’s National Ballet School and Elite Danceworx. He is an alumni of The Juilliard School where he received the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreographic Promise. As a choreographer, he has presented work at The Baryshnikov Arts Center, Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, APAP, Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Ethan was also one of nine choreographers selected internationally for the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition in 2018 and 2021. At the competition in 2021, his piece recurrence won the Audience Choice Award along with the DAF Production Prize, which led to a residency with Hessisches Staatsballett. Most recently, he has created new works for Ballet BC, BODYTRAFFIC, Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance and The National Ballet of Canada. Ethan has also taught and made new creations for educational institutions including The Juilliard School, The Ailey School, Arts Umbrella Dance Company, Springboard Danse Montréal, DAF in Rome and MOVE NYC. Ethan joined The National Ballet of Canada as Choreographic Associate in July 2023.

Choreography:
Ethan Colangelo

Original Music:
Ben Waters

Costume Designer:
Elena Velez

Lighting Designer:
Jeff Logue

World Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, May 30, 2025

• “Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” Sanford Meisner’s famous motto is the foundation for the Meisner Technique, which favours impulse over intellect.
   
• Archibald’s impressive resume includes work as a movement specialist for actors such as Audrey Tautou, star of Amélie and The Da Vinci Code.
   
• In 2023, Archibald created her acclaimed Sounds of the Sun for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, exploring the life of Jewish dancer Florence Waren during World War II.

In Conversation With Choreographer Jennifer Archibald
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Toronto-born Jennifer Archibald is the founder and Artistic Director of the Arch Dance Company and Program Director of ArchCore40 Dance Intensives. Jennifer has choreographed for the Ailey II, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet West, Grand Rapids Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Tulsa Ballet and BalletX among others. She has worked commercially for Nike, MAC Cosmetics, Tommy Hilfiger as well as chart-listed artists and returns to the Crypto Arena to choreograph the opening for KCON's annual conference.

Jennifer was appointed as the first female Resident Choreographer in Cincinnati Ballet’s 40-year history. She has been commissioned by BalletMet, Grand Rapids Ballet, BalletX, Washington Ballet, Smuin Contemporary Ballet and the Kennedy Centre’s Pathways to Performance program to deliver new works in 2025. She was the acting Movement Director for The Oresteia at Shakespeare Theatre Company and her directorial debut WeAight was named the Official Selection of the 2022 Dance on Camera Festival.

She creates a "documentary ballet" format in which she creates works rooted in history bringing communities together, theatrical engagements that evolve beyond the stage and rely on historical education. Her projects in this space include Breakin’Bricks which honors the community of Black Wall Street produced by Tulsa Ballet, Sounds of the Sun which honors the life of dancer Florence Waren, exploring her experience during the holocaust and is produced by the Pittsburgh Ballet, and Seven, a biographical work about Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee commissioned by Modern American Dance Company (MADCO).

Jennifer’s works have been performed at venues including Aaron Davis Hall, Central Park’s Summerstage Mainstage, Jacob’s Pillow Inside|Out Stage, Lincoln Center, New York’s City Center and The Kennedy Center. She was awarded a Choreographic Fellow for Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab under the direction of Robert Battle and is a Joffrey Ballet Winning Works Choreographic Competition recipient. Her commissioned work DIRT was presented at TED Talks by St. Louis-based MADCO. Arch Dance Company’s Chasing Shadows was remounted for Dallas Black Dance Theater’s 2018/19 season. Jennifer was also the 2018/19 recipient of City University of New York Dance Initiative.

She is currently an Acting Lecturer at the Yale School of Drama and was appointed as a Guest Faculty Lecturer to develop the hip hop dance curriculum at Barnard College. Jennifer is also a guest artist at several universities including Boston Conservatory, Columbia College Chicago, Fordham/Ailey, Goucher College, Miami New World School of the Arts, Purchase College, Point Park and Princeton. She is a returning guest choreographer for the School at Jacob's Pillow.

Choreography:
Jennifer Archibald

Music:
Armand Amar, L’orage et la Baleine and Les Sens from the album La Terre vue du ciel (2004)
Written and Performed by Armand Amar
By arrangement with Long Distance Production
Used by permission

Fernando Velázquez, El Invitado Invisible II from the album Contratiempo (2016)
Published by Atresmedia Música
Distributed by Altafonta
Administered in Canada by Sony Music Publishing (SOCAN)

Roger Goula, Awe and Looking Back to Self Awareness from the album Overview Effect (2016)
Record by Roger Goula
Published by Manners McDade Music Publishing
Courtesy of Manners McDade

Tokio Myers, Lotus Flower from the album Our Generation (2017) and Slow Falling (Tears) from the album Sign of the Times II (2020)
Courtesy of Simco Limited, London and SME UK Limited By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment (Canada)

Paul Leonard-Morgan, Alive from the album Last Breath (2019)
Composed by Paul Leonard-Morgan
Published by Rage Music admin Sentric Music Limited (PRS)
Courtesy of Sentric Music Limited

Costume Designer:
Emily Morgan         

Lighting Designer:
Jeff Logue

World Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, May 29, 2025

King's Fall is generously supported by Ilsa Blidner & The Blidner Family Foundation.