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Barbara Irving - Follow Your Bliss
May 9, 2022Mythologist Joseph Campbell is perhaps best known for his advice to “follow your bliss”. Barb Irving has done just that by making the performing arts—one of her greatest passions—central to her life. Barb was a graphic designer with the NAC for almost three decades before her retirement…
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The NAC Orchestra: Sharing Stories
May 9, 2022When live performing arts was suspended in March 2020, the NAC Orchestra continued to seek new ways to engage with communities from across Canada, collaborate with diverse, Canadian artists, and to tell the breadth of stories of our country and our world. Thanks to your generous support,…
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Bobby Thompson winner of 2022 NAC Orchestra Bursary competition
May 5, 2022Bobby Thompson, bassoon, takes home $7,000 grand prize It was a competitive weekend for music students from around the National Capital Region who congregated at the National Arts Centre (NAC) and on the University of Ottawa campus for the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO)’s Annual…
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Autorickshaw: a musical vehicle
April 8, 2022This May, celebrate Asian Heritage Month, and bring joy to your students with a fusion of contemporary jazz, funk, folk and Indian music A virtual mini-series featuring Autorickshaw, a Canadian-based band that blends jazz, funk, folk, and Indian music to create their own signature…
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La chambre des enfants or the gap between dream and reality!
April 7, 2022Is it a forest? A troubled sea? Piles of sheets or big rocks? You can stop wondering: it’s simply La chambre des enfants, a play performed entirely by young actors ages 8 to 11. Under the direction of Anne-Marie Ouellet of L’Eau du bain theatre company, these young artists show us their…
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Reggae Roots or an Unexpected Rendez-Vous!
April 4, 2022A video-on-demand series bringing to life the sounds and stories of the musical movement that grew to influence music around the globe! In February 2022, Orchestral Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Principal Youth Conductor and Creative…
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Mani Soleymanlou’s great cycle of identity returns to the stage!
April 4, 2022The upcoming NAC French Theatre season promises to get off to a strong start. To launch his first season as Artistic Director of French Theatre, Mani Soleymanlou has surrounded himself with some 40 Francophone performers from across Canada to revisit his plays Un, Deux and Trois, which he…
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World Theatre Day: Irdens Exantus
March 25, 2022A return to playfulness as a driver of change I have no real idea what the future holds I don’t pretend to know either But I hope we’ll hold onto the playfulness we’ve managed to find in sad things I hope we’ll make it contagious To bridge the gap that separates us from the people…
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World Theatre Day: Azal Dosanjh
March 25, 2022I was eight years old when I began a seven-year-long informal training in theatre. My parents had compelled me to join a theatre camp instead of an arts and crafts camp. Perhaps they foresaw something else that I was more capable of (or maybe they just knew I was a horrific painter). Those…
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World Theatre Day: Tai Amy Grauman
March 25, 2022When I think of all the reasons I love theatre, I don’t think of the ‘show’ itself. Even though I am only 26, I can’t tell you intimate details of every single show I’ve ever done, or every artistic project I have been a part of. But, I can tell you all the people I have loved because of…
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In My Body: Dancing with time!
March 22, 2022Dancer and choreographer Crazy Smooth knows a thing or two about the demands imposed by street dance, a discipline he has been practising for over 20 years, and the numerous styles that flow from it. Spins, jumps, contortions: the physical feats are numerous and sometimes defy the laws of…
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Celebrating women in the performing arts on International Women’s Day and every...
March 8, 2022Music, dance and theatre featuring women throughout the years on NAC stages Since opening its doors over 50 years ago, the National Arts Centre has had the privilege of inviting, hosting, and investing in numerous women-centred events and projects. This International Women’s Day we look…
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2022 Annual Public Meeting
March 7, 2022During the National Arts Centre’s 2020–2021 season, which included challenging circumstances related to COVID-19, the NAC collaborated with brilliant Canadian artists and arts organizations nationwide to lead and support the recovery of the performing arts sector. A version of this video…
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From Page to Stage: Bringing a Classic Canadian Novel to the NAC
March 3, 2022Four premieres across the country for the adaptation of Ann‑Marie MacDonald’s critically-acclaimed Fall on Your Knees In 1996, Fall on Your Knees, written by the internationally acclaimed Canadian writer Ann‑Marie MacDonald, was released – a sweeping novel that chronicles three generations…
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Give while you live: Donald K. Johnson’s historic $1M gift to the GGPAA
February 24, 2022Canadian philanthropist and businessman Donald K. Johnson was born and raised in Lundar, Manitoba and currently lives in Toronto, Ontario. Known for being one of the most successful investment bankers on Bay Street, Mr. Johnson is also recognized for advocating tax changes to encourage…