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Ballet Notes
Apollo &
Russian Seasons &
Theme and Variations
March 23 – 27, 2011
Greta Hodgkinson in Theme and Variations.
Photo by Andrew Oxenham.
Orchestra
Celia Franca, C.C., Founder
George Crum, Music Director Emeritus
Karen Kain, C.C.
Kevin Garland
Artistic Director
Executive Director
David Briskin
Rex Harrington, O.C.
Music Director and
Principal Conductor
Artist-in-Residence
Magdalena Popa
Lindsay Fischer
Principal Artistic Coach
Artistic Director,
YOU dance / Ballet Master
Peter Ottmann
Mandy-Jayne
Richardson
Senior Ballet Master
Senior Ballet Mistress
Aleksandar Antonijevic, Guillaume Côté*,
Greta Hodgkinson, Jiří Jelinek,
Zdenek Konvalina, Heather Ogden,
Sonia Rodriguez, Piotr Stanczyk, Xiao Nan Yu,
Bridgett Zehr
Kevin D. Bowles, Lorna Geddes,
Tomas Schramek, Hazaros Surmeyan
Keiichi Hirano, Tanya Howard, Stephanie Hutchison,
Etienne Lavigne, Patrick Lavoie,
Stacey Shiori Minagawa+, Tina Pereira,
Jonathan Renna, Rebekah Rimsay, Jillian Vanstone
Jordana Daumec, Elena Lobsanova, McGee Maddox,
Alejandra Perez-Gomez, Jenna Savella, Robert Stephen,
Brett van Sickle
Danyla Bezerra, Ryan Booth, Adji Cissoko, Chen Cui,
Krista Dowson, Nadine Drouin, Naoya Ebe, Giorgio Galli,
Selene Guerrero-Trujillo, Grace Hanley, Juri Hiraoka,
Kathryn Hosier, Lise-Marie Jourdain, James Leja,
Alexandra MacDonald, Elizabeth Marrable, Chelsy Meiss,
Ji Min Hong, Shino Mori, Tiffany Mosher, Andreea Olteanu,
Marissa Parzei, Brendan Saye, Christopher Stalzer,
Joseph Steinauer, Dylan Tedaldi, Nan Wang, Aarik Wells,
Sarah Elena Wolff
RBC Apprentice Programme / YOU dance: James Applewhite,
Eugenia Brezzi, Skylar Campbell, Esabelle Chen,
Shaila D'Onofrio, Jackson Dwyer, Francesco Gabriele Frola,
Alexandra Inculet, Natalie Ogonek, Asiel Rivero
Lorna Geddes
Joysanne Sidimus
Pointe Shoe Manager /
Assistant Ballet Mistress
Guest Repetiteur
Ernest Abugov
Jeff Morris
Shelby-Jai Flick
Assistant Stage Manager/
Stage Manager,
YOU dance
Stage Managers
*Guest Artist-in-Residence
+
Maternity Leave
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national.ballet.ca
Violins
• Benjamin Bowman
Concertmaster
Stephen Sitarski,
Guest Concertmaster
Lynn Kuo,
Assistant Concertmaster
Dominique Laplante,
Principal Second Violin
James Aylesworth
• Jennie Baccante
Csaba Koczó
• Sheldon Grabke
• Xiao Grabke
• Nancy Kershaw
Sonia Klimasko-Leheniuk
Yakov Lerner
Jayne Maddison
• Ron Mah
Aya Miyagawa
Wendy Rogers
Filip Tomov
Joanna Zabrowarna
Paul Zevenhuizen
Violas
Angela Rudden, Principal
Theresa Rudolph Koczó,
Assistant Principal
Valerie Kuinka
Johann Lotter
Beverley Spotton
• Larry Toman
Bassoons
Stephen Mosher, Principal
Jerry Robinson
Elizabeth Gowen,
Contra Bassoon
Horns
Gary Pattison, Principal
Vincent Barbee
Derek Conrod
• Scott Wevers
Trumpets
Richard Sandals, Principal
Mark Dharmaratnam
Rob Weymouth
Trombones
David Archer, Principal
Robert Ferguson
David Pell,
Bass Trombone
Tuba
Sasha Johnson
Harp
Lucie Parent, Principal
Timpany
Michael Perry, Principal
Percussion
Robert Comber, Principal
Kristofer Maddigan
Mark Mazur
Cellos
Maurizio Baccante,
Principal
Olga Laktionova
Andrew McIntosh
Marianne Pack
Elaine Thompson
Paul Widner
Orchestra Personnel
Manager and Music
Administrator
Jean Verch
Basses
Hans J.F. Preuss, Principal
• Paul Langley
Robert Speer
Cary Takagaki
Librarian
Lucie Parent
Flutes
Leslie J. Allt, Principal
Maria Pelletier
Shelley Brown, Piccolo
Oboes
Mark Rogers, Principal
Karen Rotenberg
Lesley Young,
English Horn
Clarinets
Max Christie, Principal
• Emily Marlow
Gary Kidd, Bass Clarinet
Assistant Orchestra
Personnel Manager
Raymond Tizzard
Extra Players
Anne Armstrong, Violin
Pamela Hinman, Violin
Mark Johnston, Violin
Renée London, Violin
Hiroko Kagawa, Violin
Phoebe Tsang, Violin
Sonia Vizante, Violin
Melissa Wilmot, Violin
Rebekah Wolkstein, Violin
Josh Greenlaw, Viola
Nicholaos Papadakis,
Viola
Orly Bitov, Cello
Jill Vitols, Cello
Tom Hazlitt, Bass
Colleen Cook, Clarinet
Christine Passmore, Horn
• On Leave of Absence
The 2010/11 season is presented by
Wednesday, March 23 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 26 at 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 27 at 2:00 pm
Friday, March 25 at 7:30 pm
Conductor: David Briskin, Music Director and Principal Conductor:
Apollo & Russian Seasons (all performances), Theme and Variations (Mar 27)
David LaMarche, Guest Conductor: Theme and Variations (Mar 23, 24, 25, 26)
Apollo
Choreography: George Balanchine*
Staged by: Ib Andersen
Music: Igor Stravinsky, Apollon Musagète
By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.
Lighting Design: Robert Thomson
Répétiteur: Rex Harrington
Premiere: Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, Paris, June 12, 1928
The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: February 18, 1999
Apollo is a gift from THE VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE, THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA
Apollo
Zdenek Konvalina (Mar 23, 26 eve)
Aleksandar Antonijevic (Mar 24, 26 mat)
Guillaume Côté (Mar 25, 27)
Terpsichore
Sonia Rodriguez (Mar 23, 26 eve)
Greta Hodgkinson (Mar 24, 26 mat)
Xiao Nan Yu (Mar 25, 27)
Polyhymnia
Elena Lobsanova (Mar 23, 26 eve)
Rebekah Rimsay (Mar 24, 26 mat)
Heather Ogden (Mar 25, 27)
Calliope
Jillian Vanstone (Mar 23, 26 eve)
Bridgett Zehr (Mar 24, 25, 26 mat, 27)
Leto, Mother of Apollo
Stephanie Hutchison
Hand Maidens
Chelsy Meiss or Kathryn Hosier
Tanya Howard or Alexandra MacDonald
Intermission
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Russian Seasons
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Staged by: Tatiana Ratmanskaya
Music: Leonid Desyatnikov, The Russian Seasons
© Compozitor Publishing House, St. Petersburg, 2006
Soprano: Susana Poretsky
Violin Soloist: Stephen Sitarski
Costume Design: Galina Solovyeva
Lighting Design: Mark Stanley
Répétiteurs: Rex Harrington and Magdalena Popa
Premiere: New York City Ballet, New York City, June 8, 2006
The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: March 23, 2011
Russian Seasons is made possible in part by a grant from the New Creations Fund of
The National Ballet of Canada, Endowment Foundation.
The appearance of Susana Poretsky is made possible by a generous donation from the Frank
Gerstein Foundation.
GRETA HODGKINSON, HEATHER OGDEN, XIAO NAN YU
ELENA LOBSANOVA, JENNA SAVELLA, JILLIAN VANSTONE
GUILLAUME CÔTÉ
ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIC, ZDENEK KONVALINA, MCGEE MADDOX,
CHRISTOPHER STALZER, ROBERT STEPHEN (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
CHELSY MEISS, SONIA RODRIGUEZ, BRIDGETT ZEHR
JORDANA DAUMEC, TANYA HOWARD, LISE-MARIE JOURDAIN
PIOTR STANCZYK
RYAN BOOTH, NAOYA EBE, JONATHAN RENNA, DYLAN TEDALDI, BRETT VAN SICKLE
(Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
I
Greta Hodgkinson, Guillaume Côté
Heather Ogden, Elena Lobsanova, Jillian Vanstone, Jenna Savella
Christopher Stalzer, Robert Stephen, McGee Maddox, Aleksandar Antonijevic,
Zdenek Konvalina (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Sonia Rodriguez, Piotr Stanczyk
Chelsy Meiss, Lise-Marie Jourdain, Tanya Howard, Jordana Daumec
Naoya Ebe, Dylan Tedaldi, Jonathan Renna, Ryan Booth, Brett van Sickle
(Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
II
Xiao Nan Yu
Heather Ogden, Elena Lobsanova, Jillian Vanstone, Jenna Savella (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Bridgett Zehr
Chelsy Meiss, Lise-Marie Jourdain, Tanya Howard, Jordana Daumec (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
III
Greta Hodgkinson, Guillaume Côté
Elena Lobsanova, Jillian Vanstone, Jenna Savella
Christopher Stalzer, Robert Stephen, Zdenek Konvalina (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Sonia Rodriguez, Piotr Stanczyk
Lise-Marie Jourdain, Tanya Howard, Jordana Daumec
Naoya Ebe, Dylan Tedaldi, Brett van Sickle (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
IV
Xiao Nan Yu, Heather Ogden
Guillaume Côté, Aleksandar Antonijevic (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Bridgett Zehr, Chelsy Meiss
Piotr Stanczyk, Ryan Booth (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
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national.ballet.ca
V
Greta Hodgkinson
Elena Lobsanova, Jillian Vanstone, Jenna Savella
Robert Stephen, Zdenek Konvalina, Christopher Stalzer (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Sonia Rodriguez
Lise-Marie Jourdain, Tanya Howard, Jordana Daumec
Dylan Tedaldi, Brett van Sickle, Naoya Ebe (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
VI
Xiao Nan Yu, Heather Ogden, Greta Hodgkinson, Guillaume Côté
Jillian Vanstone, Christopher Stalzer, Robert Stephen, McGee Maddox,
Aleksandar Antonijevic (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Bridgett Zehr, Chelsy Meiss, Sonia Rodriguez, Piotr Stanczyk
Tanya Howard, Naoya Ebe, Dylan Tedaldi, Jonathan Renna, Ryan Booth (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
VII
Heather Ogden
McGee Maddox, Aleksandar Antonijevic, Zdenek Konvalina (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Chelsy Meiss
Jonathan Renna, Ryan Booth, Brett van Sickle (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
VIII
Elena Lobsanova, Jenna Savella
Robert Stephen, Christopher Stalzer (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Lise-Marie Jourdain, Jordana Daumec
Dylan Tedaldi, Naoya Ebe (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
IX
Xiao Nan Yu, McGee Maddox
Heather Ogden (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Bridgett Zehr, Jonathan Renna
Chelsy Meiss (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
X
Guillaume Côté (Mar 23, 26 eve)
Piotr Stanczyk (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
Zdenek Konvalina (Mar 25)
XI
Xiao Nan Yu, Heather Ogden, Elena Lobsanova, Jillian Vanstone, Jenna Savella,
Christopher Stalzer, Robert Stephen, McGee Maddox, Aleksandar Antonijevic,
Zdenek Konvalina (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve)
Bridgett Zehr, Chelsy Meiss, Lise-Marie Jourdain, Tanya Howard, Jordana Daumec,
Naoya Ebe, Dylan Tedaldi, Jonathan Renna, Ryan Booth, Brett van Sickle (Mar 24, 26 mat, 27)
XII
Entire Cast
Intermission
Theme and Variations
Choreography: George Balanchine*
Staged by: Lindsay Fischer
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The final movement of Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major, Op. 55
Set and Costume Design: Santo Loquasto
Lighting Design: Robert Thomson
Répétiteur: Mandy-Jayne Richardson
Premiere: Ballet Theatre (later known as American Ballet Theatre), New York City, November 26, 1947
The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: February 18, 1998
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Theme and Variations is a gift from THE VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE, THE NATIONAL BALLET
OF CANADA.
HEATHER OGDEN and GUILLAUME CÔTÉ (Mar 23, 27)
JILLIAN VANSTONE and DYLAN TEDALDI (Mar 24, 26 mat)
ELENA LOBSANOVA and PIOTR STANCZYK (Mar 25, 26 eve)
Tina Pereira, Jordana Daumec, Jenna Savella, Tiffany Mosher, Brett van Sickle,
Keiichi Hirano, Etienne Lavigne, Patrick Lavoie (Mar 23, 25, 26 eve, 27)
Chelsy Meiss, Jordana Daumec, Jenna Savella, Tiffany Mosher, Brett van Sickle,
Jonathan Renna, Nan Wang, James Leja (Mar 24, 26 mat)
Chelsy Meiss or Ji Min Heng, Sarah Elena Wolff, Nadine Drouin, Juri Hiraoka, Lise-Marie Jourdain,
Selene Guerrero-Trujillo or Elizabeth Marrable, Alejandra Perez-Gomez or Alexandra MacDonald,
Krista Dowson, Christopher Stalzer, James Leja or Kevin D. Bowles, Ryan Booth, Nan Wang or
McGee Maddox, Giorgio Galli, Joseph Steinauer, Brendan Saye, Aarik Wells
* The performance of Apollo and Theme and Variations, Balanchine® Ballets, are presented
by arrangement with The George Balanchine Trust and have been produced by arrangement
with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique® Service standards established and
provided by the Trust.
Approximate timing
Apollo – 30 minutes
Intermission – 20 minutes
Theme and Variations – 21 minutes
Intermission – 20 minutes
Russian Seasons – 39 minutes
The performance will run approximately 2 hours 10 minutes.
Notes on the Ballets
Apollo
George Balanchine regarded Apollo as his
artistic coming of age. He wrote, “In its discipline
and restraint, in its sustained oneness of tone
and feeling, the score was a revelation. It
seemed to tell me that I could dare not use
everything that I, too, could eliminate.”
The ballet depicts Apollo, the young god of
music, who is visited and instructed by three
Muses, who were also children of Zeus and
therefore his half-sisters: Calliope, Muse of
poetry, whose symbol is a tablet; Polyhymnia,
Muse of mime, whose symbol is a mask that
represents the power of gesture; and
Terpsichore, Muse of dance and song, whose
symbol is a lyre.
Igor Stravinsky, who possessed a strong
interest in Greek mythology, conceived of and
composed the score as a ballet. It was with
this work, his second ballet set to the music
of Stravinsky, that Balanchine, at age 24,
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achieved international recognition and began
his lifelong partnership with the composer.
Apollo had its premiere on June 12, 1928
by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes at the Théâtre
Sarah Bernhardt in Paris. It was premiered by
Balanchine’s own company, New York City
Ballet on November 15, 1951 at City Center of
Music and Drama in New York. The National
Ballet of Canada first performed Apollo as part
of an “All Stravinsky” programme on February
18, 1999.
Russian Seasons
In a remarkably brief time, the gifted Russian
choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has risen
to the top ranks of international dancemakers.
Formerly the Artistic Director of the Bolshoi
Ballet and now Artist-in-Residence with
American Ballet Theatre, Mr. Ratmansky
combines the solid classical technique of his
Russian training with a modern palette to
reinvigorate both traditions.
Artistic Director Karen Kain has
commissioned Mr. Ratmansky to create a new
Romeo and Juliet that will open the National
Ballet’s 60th Anniversary Season on November
16th, 2011. “Alexei Ratmansky is a brilliant
choreographer and I think it is important
Toronto audiences get to know him. Working
on Russian Seasons gave him a wonderful
opportunity to get to know our dancers as
he prepares to cast Romeo and Juliet, and
I am thrilled to add this exquisite piece to our
repertoire.” said Ms. Kain.
Created for New York City Ballet in 2006,
Russian Seasons is an inventive and exciting
combination of dance and musical flavours.
The ballet uses classical steps with elements
of folk and jazz mixed in. The New York Times
described it as “such a marvel of dance that
when the curtain fell, it was like awakening
from a vivid dream.” Set to a score of four
concertos for strings and solo soprano by
Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov, the
ballet features six couples in a series of thematic
vignettes loosely centered around the Russian
Orthodox liturgical calendar.
Theme and Variations
George Balanchine wrote that Theme and
Variations, one of the choreographer’s bestknown works, was intended, “to evoke that
great period in classical dancing when Russian
ballet flourished with the aid of Tchaikovsky’s
music.” And while the work is a beautiful and
exuberant tribute to the Petipa legacy, it is also
pure Balanchine.
Set to the final movement of Pyotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in
G major, the ballet consists of a set of 12
variations, through which the vocabulary of
classical dance is explored and celebrated.
A corps of 12 women forms the basis of the
ballet’s choreographic excursions, and their
dances are interwoven with the solo
performances of a principal couple. A grand
polonaise builds to the climactic finale for the
entire cast of 26 dancers. Theme and Variations
is one of the most technically demanding in the
Balanchine canon, especially for the male
dancers, whose variations are not only of an
astonishing intricacy, but are intended to be
danced at great speed.
Theme and Variations had its premiere
on November 26, 1947 by Ballet Theatre (later
known as American Ballet Theatre). The first
performance starred Alicia Alonso and Igor
Youkesvitch and was hailed an immediate
success by critics and audiences alike. It was
not until February 5, 1960 that Balanchine’s
own company, New York City Ballet, premiered
this work. The National Ballet of Canada first
performed Theme and Variations on February
18, 1998 at the Hummingbird Centre.
Selected Biographies
Karen Kain,
C.C., LL.D., D. Litt., O.Ont.
Artistic Director
Acknowledged as one of the
leading classical ballerinas of
her time, Karen Kain is also
one of Canada’s foremost arts
advocates, bringing the same
passion and dedication she
exemplified as a dancer to her
roles as a spokesperson for
Canadian culture and as the
Artistic Director of The National
Ballet of Canada. A native of
Hamilton, Ontario, Ms. Kain
studied at Canada’s National
Ballet School, graduating in
1969 when she joined The
National Ballet of Canada. After
quickly rising to the rank of
Principal Dancer, she came
to the attention of international
audiences when she won the
Silver Medal at the Moscow
International Ballet Competition
in 1973. This led to a highly
successful career on stages
throughout the world, dancing
a wide range of classical
and modern roles with such
companies as Roland Petit’s
Ballet de Marseilles, The Bolshoi
Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, London
Festival Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet
and the Eliot Feld Company. Ms.
Kain retired from dance in 1997
after a nationwide farewell tour
and, shortly afterwards, assumed
the position of Artist-in-Residence
with the National Ballet. In 1999,
her role was expanded to that
of Artistic Associate and in June
of 2005, she was appointed
Artistic Director of the company.
Ms. Kain has received numerous
accolades and awards
throughout her career. She is
a Companion of the Order of
Canada, the first Canadian
recipient of the Cartier Lifetime
Achievement Award and was
named an Officer of the Order
of Arts and Letters by the
government of France. In 1997,
she was honoured with a
Governor General’s National Arts
Centre Award and received
a Governor General’s Award
for Lifetime Artistic Achievement
in 2002. From 2004 to 2008,
Ms. Kain was Chair of the
Canada Council for the Arts. In
2007, she received the Barbara
Hamilton Memorial Award for
demonstrating excellence
and professionalism in the
performing arts. In 2008, the
Karen Kain School of the Arts
officially opened. The school
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was named after Ms. Kain for
her significant contributions
to the arts over her career.
George Balanchine
Choreographer, Apollo,
Theme and Variations
George Balanchine was born in
St. Petersburg, Russia in 1904.
He joined the Mariinsky Ballet
as a member of the corps de
ballet at the age of 17. In 1924,
Mr. Balanchine was invited
by Serge Diaghilev to join his
Ballets Russes. Mr. Balanchine
was subsequently hired as
Ballet Master in 1925, a position
he held until the company was
dissolved in 1929. In 1933,
Mr. Balanchine formed his own
company Les Ballets and shortly
thereafter met the American
dance connoisseur Lincoln
Kirstein, which led him to
move to the United States. In
collaboration with Mr. Kirstein,
Mr. Balanchine formed School
of American Ballet and American
Ballet, which was the resident
ballet company at the Metropolitan
Opera. Mr. Balanchine worked
with the revitalized Ballet Russe
de Monte Carlo in the 1940s
and finally served as Artistic
Director of New York City Ballet,
now housed in the Lincoln
Centre in New York City. Mr.
Balanchine held this position
until his death in 1983.
Ib Andersen
Staging, Apollo
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark,
Ib Andersen was accepted into
the School of the Royal Danish
Ballet at age seven. He joined
the Royal Danish Ballet at age
16 and became a Principal
Dancer at 20 – the youngest
principal in that company’s
history. In 1980 at George
Balanchine’s invitation he
joined New York City Ballet,
which led to a successful
partnership wherein Balanchine
created roles for him in
Ballade, Mozartiana and
Davidsbündlertänze. In 1987,
Mr. Andersen choreographed
his first work, and in 1990 he
retired from NYCB and began
to stage Balanchine ballets
around the world. In 2000, Mr.
Andersen was named Artisic
Director of Ballet Arizona. Mr.
Andersen has choreographed
over a dozen original ballets
and reinterpreted the classic
works for Ballet Arizona. Mr.
Andersen’s skills as a stager of
Balanchine works were recently
praised by The New York Times
and his most recent ballet
Diversions was presented at the
prestigious Ballet Across America
Festival at the Kennedy Center.
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As a member of The George
Balanchine Trust, Mr. Andersen
is part of a select group of
individuals permitted to stage
ballets by the great master.
The Trust is an independent
organization formed to oversee
the licensing and production
of Balanchine works.
Robert Thomson
Lighting Designer, Apollo,
Theme and Varations
Robert Thomson is one of
Canada’s most versatile and
active lighting designers. He has
received numerous awards over
his 30-year career including a
Sterling Award and four Dora
Mavor Moore Awards. For The
National Ballet of Canada, Mr.
Thomson served as Resident
Lighting Designer for 12 seasons.
His lighting designs include
Don Quixote, Blue Snake, The
Taming of the Shrew, Romeo
and Juliet, Manon, La Sylphide
and Paquita. He also designed
James Kudelka’s world
premieres of Swan Lake, The
Miraculous Mandarin and Spring
Awakening plus the revivals
of Washington Square and
Désir. His many designs for the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival
include The Homecoming,
Dangerous Liaisons, Zastrozzi,
Romeo and Juliet, Caesar and
Cleopatra, Into the Woods
and King Lear. For the Shaw
Festival, he served as Head of
Lighting Design and designed
for 24 seasons with credits
including Cavalcade, St. Joan
and Cyrano de Bergerac.
Mr. Thomson designed the
Canadian Opera Company’s
globally acclaimed production
of Bluebeard’s Castle and
Erwartung directed by Robert
Lepage, with recent mountings
for Seattle Opera and Opéra
de Québec. His more recent
projects include Fernando
Krapp Wrote Me This Letter
and The Cosmonaut’s Last
Message… for Canadian Stage;
Krapp’s Last Tape/Hughie for
Chicago’s Goodman Theatre;
Comedy of Errors and Buried
Child for the National Arts
Centre; August: Osage County
for Citadel Theatre; King Lear
starring Christopher Plummer
for Lincoln Center Theater; Désir
and The Taming of the Shrew
for American Ballet Theatre at
the Metropolitan Opera House.
Santo Loquasto
Set and Costume
Designer, Theme and
Variations
Santo Loquasto began designing
costumes for legendary New
York theatre producer Joseph
Papp in the early 1970s. He has
collaborated with choreographer
James Kudelka on various
works including Alliances for
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
de Montréal, The Heart of the
Matter for Joffrey Ballet and The
Comfort Zone and The End for
San Francisco Ballet. For The
National Ballet of Canada, they
created Pastorale, The Actress,
Spring Awakening, The
Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The
Firebird and An Italian Straw
Hat. Mr. Loquasto also
designed A Touch of the Poet,
Three Days of Rain, Shining City
and Twyla Tharp’s The Times
They Are A-Changin’, all of
which appeared on Broadway.
In 2005, he was voted into the
Theater Hall of Fame. Mr.
Loquasto has won numerous
awards for his designs including
Tony Awards in 1977, 1989 and
1990 and the Drama Desk
Award in 1989 and 1990.
Among his extensive list of
nominations are Academy
Award nominations for designs
in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over
Broadway, Radio Days and
Zelig.
Alexei Ratmansky
Choreographer,
Russian Seasons
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia,
Alexei Ratmansky is a
choreographer and former
ballet dancer. He is Artist-inResidence and the Artistic
Advisor at American Ballet
Theatre and the former Artistic
Director of the Bolshoi Ballet.
Mr. Ratmansky was a Principal
Dancer with the Kiev Ballet,
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
and Royal Danish Ballet. Mr.
Ratmansky has created ballets
for the Dutch National Ballet,
Kirov Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet,
Royal Swedish Ballet, New York
City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet
and the State Ballet of Georgia,
where his Dreams of Japan,
choreographed for American
Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer
Nina Ananiashvili, earned the
Golden Mask Award from the
Theatre Union of Russia in
1998. His 2003 work, The
Bright Stream, created for the
Bolshoi Ballet, led to his
appointment as Artistic Director
of the company the following
year. In 2005, he choreographed
a full-length production of The
Bolt and re-staged Le Corsaire
(2007) and Flames of Paris
(2008). In 2010, he created
an acclaimed new Nutcracker
for American Ballet Theatre.
The Critics’ Circle in London
named the Bolshoi Ballet “Best
Foreign Company” under Mr.
Ratmansky’s direction in 2005
and 2007 and he received their
National Dance Award for The
Bright Stream. He received the
2005 Prix Benois de la Danse
for his choreography of Anna
Karenina for the Royal Danish
Ballet and the 2007 Golden
Mask Award for Best
Choreographer for Jeu de
Cartes, created for the Bolshoi.
His ballets for New York City
Ballet include Russian Seasons
and Concerto DSCH and On
the Dnieper, and Seven Sonatas
for American Ballet Theatre.
Tatiana Ratmanskaya
Staging, Russian Seasons
Tatiana Ratmanskaya was born
in the Ukraine and trained at
the Kiev Ballet School. As a
dancer she performed with the
Ukranian National Ballet,
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
and Royal Danish Ballet. She
was a guest artist with the
Imperial Russian Ballet and
Copenhagen International Ballet
Festival and performed in galas
in Moscow, St. Petersburg,
Tokyo, Berlin, Bratislava, Prague
and Vilnius. Ms. Ratmanskaya
created many roles in works
by her husband, the celebrated
choreographer Alexei Ratmansky,
including Whipped Cream,
98 Steps, Jurliberlu, Sarabande,
Water, Turandot’s Dream,
Bolero, Anna Karenina and Old
Woman Falling Out. She has
staged Mr. Ratmansky’s works
for companies around the world
including Bright Stream for
the Latvian National Opera
and American Ballet Theatre,
Bolero for the Bolshoi Theatre
Choreographic Workshop, Anna
Karenina for Lithuanian National
Opera, Finnish National Ballet
and Mariinsky Ballet and
Russian Seasons for Het
Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam
and The National Ballet of
Canada.
Leonid Desyatnikov
Composer, Russian
Seasons
Leonid Desyatnikov was born
in 1955 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He
is a graduate of the Leningrad
Conservatory and a member
of the Composers Union. He
has been a freelance composer
since 1984. Mr. Desyatnikov
has penned four operas, several
cantatas and numerous vocal
and instrumental compositions.
The composer defines his
style as “the emancipation of
consonance, the transformation
of the banal, minimalism with
a human face”; his favourite
genre is the “tragically naughty
bagatelle.” His principal
compositions include
Rosenthal’s Children (an opera
in two acts; Vladimir Sorokin,
libretto), Poor Liza (a chamber
opera in one act; Leonid
Desyatnikov, libretto, after the
novella by Nikolai Karamzin);
Gift (a cantata based on the
verses of Gavrila Derzhavin),
A Leaden Echo (a piece for
voice and instruments based
on the verses of Gerard Manley
Hopkins) and The Rite of Winter
1949 (a symphony for choir,
soloists and orchestra). Since
1996 Mr. Desyatnikov has worked
closely with Gidon Kremer,
both as a composer (Wie der
Alte Leiermann, the chamber
orchestra version of Sketches
for Sunset, Russian Seasons and
as an arranger of compositions
by Astor Piazzolla. He has also
composed the music for such
films as Sunset, Lost in Siberia,
Moscow Nights, Hammer and
Sickle, Giselle’s Mania, His
Wife’s Diary, The Prisoner of the
Mountains and Moscow (Grand
Prize, 4th Biennial Film Music
Festival, Bonn, 2002).
Susana Poretsky
Soprano, Russian Seasons
Susana Poretksy joins The
National Ballet of Canada for
Leonid Desyatnikov’s Russian
Seasons after she premiered
the piece with the New York
City Ballet and sang subsequent
performances with Het Nationale
Ballet in Amsterdam and
San Francisco Ballet. Previous
performances include Suzuki
in Madama Butterfly (Los
Angeles Opera); Margret
in Wozzeck, Anna in Maria
Stuarda, Fenena in Nabucco
(San Diego Opera); Pauline
in Pique Dame (Los Angeles
Opera, Washington National
Opera); Adalgisa in Norma,
Charlotte in Werther (Royal
Swedish Opera); the title role
of Carmen (La Monnaie, Fort
Worth Opera); Marina Mnishek
in Boris Godunov (Nationaltheater
Mannheim); Fenena in Nabucco
(Arena di Verona); Adalgisa in
Norma (New Israeli Opera); and
Maddalena in Rigoletto, Dryade
in Ariadne auf Naxos (Metropolitan
Opera). Ms. Poretksy has sung
Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony
with the Israeli Philharmonic
Orchestra and also with the
New York Philharmonic debut
under the baton of Kurt Masur
as well as L’Orchestre de Paris.
Other performances include
Mozart’s Requiem at the
Teatro San Carlo in Napoli,
Mozart’s Mass in C minor and
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
at the Teatro Carlo Felice in
Genova, Verdi’s Requiem with
the Washington Chorus and
at the Liguria Festival, and
Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis
at the Golda Meir Performing
Center in Tel Aviv.
Galina Solovyeva
Costume Designer, Russian
Seasons
Galina Solovyeva was born in
St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1975
she graduated as a costume
and set designer from the
Leningrad State Institute of
Theatre, Music and Cinema.
From 1975 to 1992, she was
resident costume designer at
the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly
Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre),
St. Petersburg and in 1992
immigrated to the US. Working
with the Mariinsky, Bolshoi and
Mihailovsky Theaters in Russia,
Ballet Internationale (Indianapolis),
New York City Ballet, Het
National Ballet (Amsterdam)
and many other international
companies, she has designed
costumes for more than 100
ballets, operas and theatrical
productions. Some of the
productions include Othello,
Eugene Onegin, Swan Lake,
The Sleeping Beauty, Le
Corsaire, The Bolt, The
Nutcracker, Firebird. The
productions of Romeo and
Juliet, Semyon Kotko and Swan
Lake have toured to the US.
In addition to ballet and opera,
she worked with the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival from 1996
to 2001 designing costumes for
Uncle Vanya, Force of Nature,
Rosmersholm and Enter the
Guardsman. Mrs. Solovyeva
was honoured with a Barrymore
Award nomination in 2000,
received the Nika Award in
2001 and The Golden Soffit
(St. Petersburg) Award in 2001
and 2008.
Mark Stanley
Lighting Designer, Russian
Seasons
Mark Stanley is currently the
Resident Lighting Designer for
the New York City Ballet where
since 1986, he has designed
over 180 premieres for their
repertory including works for
Peter Martins, Christopher
Wheeldon, Susan Stroman,
Kevin O’Day, Christopher
D’Amboise, Alexei Ratmansky,
William Forsythe, Ulysses Dove,
and others. In addition, he has
designed for Susan Marshall,
David Gordon, Doug Varone,
Tim Rushton, Nicolo Fonte,
Lynn Taylor Corbett, and
numerous ballet companies
across Europe and the US.
Mr. Stanley previously served
as Resident Designer for the
Page 9
New York City Opera, lighting
over 20 new productions for
the resident and touring
companies. He has designed
plays for The Kennedy Center,
Huntington Theatre Company,
Long Wharf, Ordway,
Goodspeed, The Night Kitchen
Theater and on PBS for Live
from Lincoln Center and Great
Performances. Mr. Stanley heads
the lighting design programme
at Boston University, is on the
board of The Gilbert Hemlsey
Lighting Programs, and is the
author of The Color of Light
Workbook.
David Briskin
Music Director and
Principal Conductor
One of the most highly respected
and versatile conductors at work
today, an insightful interpreter
of works from not just the ballet
repertoire but the operatic,
symphonic and choral traditions
as well, David Briskin enters his
fifth season as Music Director
and Principal Conductor with
The National Ballet of Canada.
He brings a rich and varied
musical experience to his
position with the National Ballet,
having served as Conductor
with American Ballet Theatre for
seven years, leading performances
at the Metropolitan Opera House,
New York’s City Center and
in major opera houses around
the world. As a guest conductor,
Mr. Briskin appears regularly
with New York City Ballet
and San Francisco Ballet and
has also conducted for such
companies as Houston Ballet,
The Joffrey Ballet and Les Grands
Ballets Canadiens de Montréal.
He also served as conductor
for The Juilliard School’s Dance
Division for 12 years. In addition,
he has conducted symphony
orchestras and opera productions
throughout North America,
Europe and Asia, appearing
with, among others, the
Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore,
Indianapolis and Shanghai
symphony orchestras and such
opera companies as Calgary,
Manitoba, Opera Carolina and
Lake George. He also served
for six years as the Music Director
of the Masterwork Chorus and
Orchestra, conducting annual
performances of Handel’s Messiah
at Carnegie Hall. In 2008, Mr.
Briskin was appointed Director
of Orchestral Studies at the
University of Toronto Faculty
of Music and Conductor of the
University of Toronto Symphony
Orchestra. Mr. Briskin attended
the Indiana University School of
Music and received a Bachelor
of Music Degree in orchestral
Page 10
conducting from the University
of Cincinnati College-Conservatory
of Music and a Master’s Degree
from Queens College, City
University of New York.
David LaMarche
Guest Conductor
David LaMarche has been
working as a conductor in the
dance world for more than
25 years. He served as Music
Director for the Dance Theatre
of Harlem from 1993 to
1998 and conducted many
of the company’s premiere
performances, both in the US
and on tour in Europe, Africa
and South America. In addition
to conducting, he composed
and arranged several scores for
the company’s repertoire. As a
guest, he has conducted for The
Joffrey Ballet, Dutch National
Ballet, Ballet British Columbia,
San Francisco Ballet, New York
City Ballet, Houston Ballet,
the Rome Opera Ballet and
the Paul Taylor Company. The
orchestras he has directed
include the Houston Symphony,
Lyric Opera Orchestra of
Chicago, Pacific Symphony,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
of Canada, Tokyo Philharmonic,
Hong Kong Philharmonic,
Moscow Radio Orchestra, Tivoli
Festival Orchestra and the
Orchestre Lamoreux of Paris.
In April of 2007, he was a guest
on the faculty of Princeton
University, as Music Director for
performances with the Princeton
Atelier programme. He is
currently in his 11th year on the
conducting staff of American
Ballet Theatre and is Music
Director of the Limón Dance
Company. Mr. LaMarche is a
graduate of Boston University
and resides in New York City.
Ernest Abugov
Stage Manager
Ernest (Ernie) Abugov has served
as Stage Manager of The
National Ballet of Canada since
1973, working with every Artistic
Director in the company’s
history from Celia Franca to
Karen Kain. He has travelled
with the company all over the
world, touring to Israel, Asia,
Europe, Mexico and throughout
North America. Mr. Abugov has
worked with many of the world’s
most renowned choreographers
who have created original works
for the National Ballet including
John Neumeier, William Forsythe
and Glen Tetley. Mr. Abugov
was born in Montréal, Québec.
Before beginning his long
association with the National
Ballet, he worked with Les Feux
Follets, The Charlottetown
national.ballet.ca
Festival, La Poudriere Theatre
and The Studio Lab Theatre. He
worked at Expo ’67 in Montréal,
stage managing over 4,000
puppet shows. Mr. Abugov also
toured with Harry Belafonte.
In what little spare time that he
has, Mr. Abugov guest-lectures
to theatre students.
Jeff Morris
Stage Manager
Jeff Morris studied technical
theatre production and
administration at Ryerson Theatre
School. He has worked as
Production Stage Manager
for Toronto Dance Theatre
and with the Fringe Festival
of Independent Dance Artists,
in addition to a broad range of
Toronto’s independent dance
artists. In 1995, Mr. Morris
joined The National Ballet
of Canada and has since
stage-managed a wide range
of the company’s classical
and contemporary repertoire,
including world premieres of
James Kudelka’s The Four
Seasons, Cinderella and An
Italian Straw Hat. He is also
an adjunct faculty member at
the School of Toronto Dance
Theatre, where he teaches
Production Elements for
Dancers.
The National Ballet of
Canada Orchestra
The National Ballet of Canada
is privileged to have its own full
orchestra with over 60 members.
The orchestra has performed
in each of the National Ballet’s
seasons and is led by Music
Director and Principal Conductor
David Briskin. The company’s
first Music Director was George
Crum who, along with Founder
Celia Franca, was a pioneer of
the company. Mr. Crum held
the position from the company’s
inception in 1951 to 1984,
when he was appointed Music
Director Emeritus. The orchestra
was led by Ermanno Florio
from 1985 to 1990. Ormsby
Wilkins was Music Director and
Principal Conductor from 1990
to 2006. The National Ballet
Orchestra has toured extensively
with the company through
Canada, the US and Europe.
Over the years, the orchestra
has received much acclaim
from audiences and critics alike
and has recorded two CDs of
Michael Torke’s compositions
for The Contract (The Pied
Piper) and An Italian Straw Hat.
For more information, visit
national.ballet.ca