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Theatre: A Shapeshifting Chameleon – A message from Mélanie Dumont
April 14, 2014Children sometimes mix up theatre and cinema, particularly those attending a stage play for the first time. There is a chance that their little brows will furrow in confusion when they hear this strange announcement: “No, there will be no popcorn during the performance.” But children's eyes…
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Message from Artistic Director, Brigitte Haentjens
April 14, 2014“The most essential element of theatre is transformation.” – Heiner Müller It has become difficult to publicly justify the necessity of art in our lives. Is art useful in terms of providing financial value? Can we quantify what it gives us, as we can with any consumer product? Can we…
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Behind the Scenes at Royal Wood’s “Your National Moment” campaign photo shoot
April 11, 2014Royal Wood’s fan base continues to grow at home and abroad, and his appearances as part of NAC Presents in partnership with BMO Financial Group have had a significant impact. “Playing to a full house at the National Arts Centre was so special, so energizing. It was an honour,” he said.…
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Annabel Soutar: Life on Stage
April 10, 2014NAC English Theatre presents some of the most dynamic theatre artists and companies from across Canada on the national stage. On March 27, members of the National Arts Centre Foundation Donors’ Circle were treated to a pre-show chat with playwright Annabel Soutar who discussed her…
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Thanks to our artists, our culture can travel
April 10, 2014The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards are Canada’s highest honour in the performing arts. The Awards are how we as a country say “thank you” to the artists whose work has filled our lives with meaning, beauty and joy. When the recipients for the 2014 Governor General's Performing…
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“Gigs don’t get more prestigious” – Joel Plaskett on performing with the...
April 8, 2014Sun goes down upon the bay Looking for somewhere to play I came here to bring the noise To the island girls and the harbour boys – Joel Plaskett, Harbour Boys Joel Plaskett is a clear-voiced singer-songwriter whose music pulses with tight rhythm and guitar. His songs are alternately…
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Extraordinary positivity: The Canadian Improv Games national finals
April 8, 2014The National Arts Centre has been a proud partner of the Canadian Improv Games for 26 years. Polly Leger, a Canadian Improv Games alumnus living in Halifax, contributed this story. She works in radio by day and performs improv by night. “The Canadian Improv Games can be difficult to…
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Learning from the world’s best dancers
April 4, 2014Kyla Agtarap is a local dancer who often attends NAC Dance masterclasses. From modern to classical these masterclasses give young dancers the opportunity to receive instruction from the world's best dancers. The students are challenged to push beyond their boundaries and explore new aspects…
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In children’s hands: Music Alive Program meets the music of R. Murray...
April 4, 2014Every year Calgary trumpeter Samantha Whelan Kotkas performs for about 1,100 schoolchildren who live mainly in rural Alberta. As a teaching musician for the National Arts Centre’s Music Alive Program, she’s done sessions on making music, and about classical composers like Vivaldi, Mozart…
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In conversation with Dr. Marwah
April 3, 2014Longtime National Arts Centre patron and donor Dr. Kanta Marwah talks about why she loves the NAC and her reasons for giving to the arts during a recent le café photo shoot for an article appearing in a recent edition of Prelude Magazine. The following is an excerpt of the article: Q. How…
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Mill Creek Green Pea Risotto
April 2, 2014This dish is a vegetarian adaptation of the classic Northern Italian dish risi e bisi – or rice and peas. In this version, the taste of fresh, sweet peas just pops in your mouth! Deliciously combined with creamy Arborio rice, the flavourful textures of the delicate peas and pea sprouts…
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A musical experience for autistic children
April 2, 2014The NAC Orchestra has many wonderful concerts that bring the joy of music to young people. However for kids who are on the Austistic Spectrum attending a live performance can be overwhelming. In order to reach out to this group of music lovers the NAC collaborated with Erin Parkes the…
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Montreal’s Compagnie Virginie Brunelle explores extreme male-female relationships
April 1, 2014Montreal's Virginie Brunelle says, “Constantly interrupted by regret, erections make desire swell, all wet with tears.” Compagnie Virginie Brunelle is known for an extreme and unflinching take on male-female relationships in a post-romantic world. With her latest full-length work, Complexe…
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NAC Orchestra UK Tour: Remembrance, performance and education
March 31, 2014Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, under the baton of its renowned Music Director Pinchas Zukerman, will undertake a performance and education tour of the United Kingdom in October 2014 to commemorate the First World War Centenary. The First World War is particularly significant to…
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UK Tour: Feet on the Ground, Remembering 1914
March 31, 2014In his beautiful composition A Ballad of Canada, the late Canadian composer Malcolm Forsyth remembered John McCrae and his infamous 1915 poem, In Flanders Fields. McCrae composed the poem in the field, his surgeon’s kit bloodied and his heart broken after seeing a school friend die in…
