As part of their 2020-2021 Virtual Season, The National Ballet of Canada Spotlight Series will feature existing works as well as new ones created just for this program.
The company is recognized for their range of repertory from classical to neoclassical to contemporary, and this curated set of programming captures the diversity perfectly.
From Artistic Director Karen Kain:
“I hope you find much to uplift and inspire you in our beautiful Spotlight Series as you connect with us from home.”
The National Ballet of Canada is offering these performances to stream free of charge for thirty days from each program’s respective release date.
We will update this page with reviews and the videos as they become available, so check back regularly for the most up-to-date information.
The National Ballet of Canada Spotlight Series
PROGRAM
MODERN MASTERPIECES
Release Date: January 7, 2021
REVIEW
I was fortunate to have seen two of the three works on this program live at The Kennedy Center just about one year ago. Although many aspects of our lives have changed, my level of enjoyment in watching The National Ballet of Canada has not.
Piano Concerto #1 is the finale of Alexei Ratmansky’s Shostakovich Trilogy, a ballet at once athletic and playful, contemporary and classical. The dual colored unitards worn by the corps – steel blue on the front and crimson red on the back – create patterns that compliment the abstract floating scenery.
Petit Mort by Jiří Kylián is highly entertaining. Mozart’s adagio score plus the black dress props and costuming of beige corsets nod the classical period of cultural history while exploring the “little death” that occurs as a result of sexual experiences.
The discordant mix of Joby Talbot’s composition with samples from The White Stripes is so fitting for Wayne McGregor’s Chroma which seems full of dichotomy. All of the dancers are wearing the same short, shaped-but-loose sheaths in grays that span the cool-to-warm color spectrum. The physicality of the choreography is somehow human and animalistic, earthly and other worldly.
WATCH HERE
POWER AND PASSION: GREAT DRAMA
Release Date: January 14, 2021
REVIEW
Based on the title, the three ballets featured on this program are not surprisingly inspired by literary classics – Onegin by Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare’s play of the same name, and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy’s novel.
Yet they are distinct in how each choreographer has decided to tell their stories.
Period costuming and expressive non-verbal conversation are key to portraying the relationship between Eugene Onegin and Tatiana in John Cranko’s Onegin. Onegin’s aristocratic dismissiveness contrasts that of Tatiana’s innocent romanticism by use of well-timed choreography and articulate body language.
For The Winter’s Tale, it is the pure joy of dance that conveys the young love between Perdita and Florizel. As the name of the location (Bohemia) of the scene suggests, Christopher Wheeldon’s choreography for the couple and their friends has a free spirited and ceremonial energy with vibrant costumes to match.
Closing is John Neumeier’s Anna Karenina adapted for the 21st century. Pedestrian mannerisms and household elements are integrated with the balletic choreography to narrate the internal conflict Anna Karenina has between the passion she feels for Count Alexei Vronsky and the love she has for her son, Seryozha.
WATCH HERE
CLASSICAL GEMS
Release Date: January 21, 2021
BALLET’S STORYTELLER: JOHN NEUMEIER
Release Date: January 28, 2021
THE DREAMERS EVER LEAVE YOU
Release Date: February 11, 2021
BALANCHINE PROGRAMME
Release Date: March 11, 2021
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY VARIATIONS
Release Date: March 25, 2021
Featured Photo for The National Ballet of Canada Spotlight Series © The National Ballet of Canada
