≈ 2 hours and 10 minutes · With intermission
Artists
In 1951, Sydney Mulqueen, Pearl Whitehead and Aileen Woods had a vision to create Canada’s very own ballet company. Together, they galvanized a community of likeminded individuals, and raised funds to bring Celia Franca from England to Toronto. With this act, The National Ballet of Canada was founded and solidified its place in Canadian history with its inaugural performance at The Eaton Auditorium on November 12, 1951
Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets as well as the development of Canadian choreographers.
The company’s repertoire includes works by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Aszure Barton, Marie Chouinard, John Cranko, William Forsythe, Alonzo King, James Kudelka, Wayne McGregor, Kenneth McMillan, John Neumeier, Rudolf Nureyev, Crystal Pite, Emma Portner, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, William Yong, Robert Binet and Guillaume Côté, among other creators.
In recent years, the National Ballet has become a top destination for creative partnerships and the building and staging of new work. Since 2011, the company’s highly skilled production team has worked from a state-of-the-art facility, The Gretchen Ross Production Centre, to build and store its glorious sets and costumes.
The National Ballet performs three extended engagements at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts each year, augmented by national and international tours. The company tours in Canada, the US and internationally with appearances in Paris, London, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Hamburg, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Reaching audiences beyond the traditional theatre setting is one of the National Ballet’s highest priorities, particularly for children, youth and families. The company has a wide range of age-appropriate community engagement initiatives designed to share the joy and power of dance with young people in schools, hospitals, community settings and homes in ways that are meaningful and rewarding for them. YOU dance is the largest of these programmes and offers FREE workshops and performances to students in grades four through six.
The National Ballet upholds the principles of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all aspects of its work and is taking important steps to better reflect Canada’s cultural diversity throughout the organization, its partners and audiences.
Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.
Since taking the helm in 2015, Shelley has shaped the Orchestra’s artistic vision, building on the legacy of his predecessor, Pinchas Zukerman, who led the ensemble for 16 seasons. Shelley’s influence extends beyond the NAC. He serves as Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the United Kingdom and Artistic and Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in the United States. In addition to his other conducting roles, the Pacific Symphony in Los Angeles’s Orange County announced Shelley’s appointment as its next Artistic and Music Director. The initial five-year term begins in the 2026–2027 season, with Shelley serving as Music Director-Designate from September 2025. Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds and Principal Youth Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser complement Shelley’s leadership. In 2024, the Orchestra marked a new chapter with the appointment of Henry Kennedy as its first-ever Resident Conductor.
The Orchestra has a rich history of partnerships with renowned artists such as James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Renée Fleming, Hilary Hahn, Jeremy Dutcher, Jan Lisiecki, Ray Chen, and Yeol Eum Son, underscoring its reputation as a destination for world-class talent. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.
A hallmark of the NAC Orchestra is its national and international tours. The Orchestra has performed concerts in every Canadian province and territory and earned frequent invitations to perform abroad. These tours spotlight Canadian composers and artists, bringing their voices to stages across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.
Sir Peter Wright
Sir Peter Wright CBE made his debut as a professional dancer with the Ballets Jooss during World War II and in the 1950s worked with several dance companies, including the Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet, for which he created his first ballet A Blue Rose in 1957. In 1959, he was appointed Ballet Master to the Sadler’s Wells Opera and teacher at The Royal Ballet School.
In 1961, Sir Peter went to Stuttgart as teacher and ballet master to the company being formed by John Cranko. There he choreographed several ballets, including The Mirror Walkers, Namouna, Designs for Dancers and Quintet and mounted his first production of Giselle, which he has subsequently produced for The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and many other international companies. His other interpretations of the classics include The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker and these productions now feature regularly in opera houses throughout the world. During the 1960s, he established himself as a successful director of television ballets and choreographed various West End musicals and revues.
In 1969, Sir Peter returned to The Royal Ballet as Kenneth MacMillan’s Associate Director. In 1977, he was appointed Director of Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, taking the company to Birmingham in 1990, when it became Birmingham Royal Ballet. On his retirement in 1995, he was made Director Laureate of Birmingham Royal Ballet. He received the Evening Standard Award for Ballet in 1981 and in 1985 was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). In 1990, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from London University, the University of Birmingham conferred on him the title of Special Professor of Performance Studies and he was presented with the Elizabeth II Coronation Award from the Royal Academy of Dancing. In 1991, he was made a Fellow of the Birmingham Conservatoire of Music. He also won the 1991 Digital Premier Award, which he used to commission a new ballet. He was awarded a knighthood in the 1993 Queen’s Birthday Honours list, and in 1994 an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Birmingham and the Critics’ Circle Award in 1995 for Distinguished Services to the Arts. He is President of the Benesh Institute (Dance Notation) and a Vice President of the Royal Academy of Dance. Sir Peter retired in 2003 from the Governors of The Royal Ballet School after 30 years of service. He won the de Valois Award from the British National Dance Awards for the most outstanding achievement of 2004. His book Wrights & Wrongs was published by Oberon Books in 2016.
More recent productions include Swan Lake in Buenos Aires (2013), revivals of The Nutcracker by The Australian Ballet (2014, 2019), a revival of The Sleeping Beauty, designed by Philip Prowse, for the Vienna State Ballet (2014), a new production for the Hungarian National Ballet (2016), a revival of Giselle in Munich (2016) and a new production in Sarasota (2019). His choreography is incorporated in the new production of The Nutcracker for the Birmingham Royal Ballet by David Bintley at the Royal Albert Hall in London (2017, 2018 & 2019).
Known for his versatility across a broad spectrum of genres, dynamic interpretations and meticulous technique, American-Canadian conductor Julian Pellicano joined The National Ballet of Canada as Staff Conductor in July 2024. He currently serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and will continue as Music Director. He stepped down as Associate Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 2013, in May 2024. Bringing an incisive musicality and collaborative spirit to every performance, he has built a wide-ranging international career leading the Winnipeg Free Press to proclaim that “his versatility is truly astonishing.”
He has conducted orchestras in North America and abroad including the Seattle Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orquestra de Valencia, Edmonton Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, The Florida Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, Calgary Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony and Vermont Symphony among others.
Passionate about the intersection of music and dance, Pellicano has collaborated with internationally renowned choreographers including Lila York, Septime Webre and Jorden Morris. Upcoming ballet performances include a return engagement with Orlando Ballet, a debut with Hong Kong Ballet, as well as extensive performing and touring with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Pellicano studied conducting at the Yale School of Music, Royal College of Music in Stockholm and percussion at the Peabody Conservatory, Royal College of Music in Stockholm and Yale School of Music and has performed in concert halls and festivals in North America, Europe and Asia. He also holds a degree in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University.
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International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees