Toronto (Canada) –The National Arts Centre (NAC) is delighted to announce that Canadian dance legend Evelyn Hart has chosen to mentor National Ballet of Canada principal dancer Heather Ogden through the 2011 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Mentorship Program.

 The Program allows past recipients of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, this country’s highest honour in the arts, to give back to the next generation of artists. Ms. Hart, an internationally renowned dancer and one of Canada's most treasured artists, received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2001.

Heather Ogden, a riveting performer and immensely talented artist, joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1998 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2005. Ms. Ogden’s repertoire includes principal roles in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Onegin, The Merry Widow, La Bayadère and Cinderella. In a review of the National Ballet’s Swan Lake in 2010, the National Post described Ms. Ogden’s performance this way: “When Heather Ogden first floats onstage as the vulnerable swan Odette, she literally takes your breath away.” In 2009, Pointe Magazine wrote: “Audiences have taken to Ogden’s unaffected charm and the sheer physical daring of her movement—she never holds back.”

Unlike the numerous mentorship programs that support emerging artists, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Mentorship Program—a partnership between the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation and the NAC—is designed to offer creative guidance to talented mid-career artists. The Mentorship Program serves as a catalyst and an investment in future Canadian artistic achievement.

Ms. Hart said: “One of my greatest mentors once said to me, ‘I cannot know what you will do, nor where you will go, but what I can do is walk beside you while you are doing it.’ Having the support of a peer who had been there before was of immeasurable assistance and greatly enriched my career. I hope that through this Mentorship Program, Heather Ogden—with all her talent and accomplishments—will dare to go where only her heart and soul can lead her. I’m delighted that Heather will enrich the lives of Canadians through her unique eyes and art.”

For her part, Heather Ogden said she was honoured to be chosen to be a part of this year’s Mentorship Program. “It is especially exciting to be paired with mentor Evelyn Hart,” she said. “Without knowing it, Evelyn has always been one of my mentors. When I was a young student she was one of the ballerinas I looked up to from afar, and now she has become a great friend. Evelyn has always been so generous with her time and talent and seems as passionate about helping people as she was about dancing. Her deep knowledge of our art form comes from incredible experience, and I look forward to working with her more closely and making new discoveries together.”

“We are proud to provide these opportunities for outstanding artists like Heather and Evelyn,” said Peter Herrndorf, President and CEO of the National Arts Centre.

The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Mentorship Program was inaugurated in 2008, when dance icon Veronica Tennant selected Crystal Pite, the dynamic young dancer whose international career has taken off in recent years. The following year, jazz legend Oliver Jones chose to mentor the talented jazz artist Dione Taylor, and in 2010, acclaimed stage and film actor Gordon Pinsent chose to mentor award-winning playwright and actor Kevin Loring. Perhaps most rewarding for these artists and their mentors is the opportunity to share, learn and grow for many years to come. In addition to receiving an honorarium and artistic mentorship, each protégé is prominently showcased during the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala weekend.

Created in 1992, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards are the most prestigious artistic honour bestowed upon Canadians in the performing arts. The Awards are a celebration of excellence that introduces Canadians to new artists, raises awareness of achievements in varied disciplines, and invites Canadians to applaud the performing artists whose passion moves, entertains and inspires us.

The recipients of this year’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards were announced today at a press conference in Toronto. For a complete list of recipients, visit ggpaa.ca.

BIOGRAPHIES

Evelyn Hart

Canadian ballerina and former Principal Dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
and recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (2001)

 Ballerina Evelyn Hart is one of Canada’s most treasured artists. In an international performing career spanning more than three decades, she has danced on the major stages of the world and worked with some of the greatest dancers and choreographers of our time. She joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1976 and toured the globe with them, while maintaining close associations as a guest ballerina with the Munich Staatsballett, the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, and The National Ballet of Canada. Acclaimed for her lyricism, expressiveness, dramatic intensity, and ability to bring her characters to life, Ms. Hart brought her signature interpretation to classical roles such as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Giselle, Cinderella, Tatiana (Onegin), and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and to contemporary works by Kylián, van Dantzig, Robbins, Balanchine, Vesak, Tudor, and Kudelka, among others. In 1980 she won the bronze medal at the World Ballet Concours in Osaka, Japan, and the gold medal and Exceptional Artistic Achievement Award at the Varna (Bulgaria) International Ballet Competition. Other awards include Companion of the Order of Canada, Order of Manitoba, Chalmers Award for excellence in the arts, two Genies, and three honorary doctorates. Since her retirement from the stage in 2005 Ms. Hart has been guest teaching in Greece, Italy and Japan, and privately coaching students in Toronto. She recently hosted the Jackson International Ballet Competition and continues to appear in various theatrical projects and short films.

Heather Ogden
Principal Dancer, The National Ballet of Canada

A native of Toronto, Heather Ogden joined The National Ballet of Canada (NBC) in 1998 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2005. Ms. Ogden’s repertoire with NBC includes principal roles in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Onegin, The Merry Widow, La Bayadère, and Cinderella. She has also danced featured roles in many contemporary works, including Kudelka’s The Four Seasons, Dumais’ one hundred words for snow, Balanchine’s Apollo, Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Theme and Variations, and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Feld’s Intermezzo, Bournonville’s La Sylphide, and Gsovsky’s Grand Pas Classique. Recent world premieres include Elo’s Pur ti Miro and Barton’s Watch her. In 2005 she travelled to Edinburgh with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet to perform the role of Dulcinea in Balanchine’s Don Quixote, and danced in the NBC premiere of the work in 2007. Ms. Ogden represented the NBC at the Sixth International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize with Guillaume Côté in 2002. Recent guest appearances include the 2007 Stars of the 21^st Century gala performance in New York City, the Banff Centre’s 60^th anniversary gala (2007), and the Ruby Gala des Étoiles in New Orleans (2010) and Montreal (2006 and 2007).

For more information, please contact:

Rosemary Thompson

Director, Communications and Public Affairs

National Arts Centre

(613) 947-7000, ext. 260

(613) 762-4118

rthompson@nac-cna.ca

 

Carl Martin

Communications Advisor

National Arts Centre

(613) 947-7000, ext. 560

(613) 291-8880

cmartin@nac-cna.ca