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The crème de le crème of Toronto high society gathered recently for the National Ballet of Canada’s 60^thanniversary Diamond Gala at the Four Seasons Centre, a night of dining and dancing that raised$1.25-million.

Lloyd Robertson and Principal Dancer Greta Hodgkinson

Outside the centre, mannequin style models wearing specially designed tutus posed in the blistering heat while the 1500 guests were greeted with chilled water bottles.  The red carpet was filled with the who’s who ranging from the Old Guard to some very avant garde party-goers.  Most of the women were wearing long ball gowns with some in sassy cocktail dresses.

Jorn Weisbrodt, Rufus Wainwright and Emmanuelle Gattuso

The night began with an overture from Polovtsian Dances by Alexander Borodin that was on the programme of the National Ballet’s very first performance on November 12, 1951.  This was followed by a welcome from Artistic Director Karen Kain who looked stunning in navy.  The ballet portion of the night than began with an hour-long performance of very special short works, particularly sets of pas de deux.

Bernice Royce and Victor Royce, President & CEO of Rolex Canada

First up where Xiao Nan Yu and Jiri Jelinek performing a sexy, sassy, modern pas de deux from Amarant, a ballet that had premiered in Belgium in 2011.  Husband and wife Guillaume Cote and Heather Ogden then performed a World Premiere of the very romantic Polar Night choreographed by Robert Binet for this special occasion.  This was followed by the World Premiere of Silence Screams Venom, a riveting tour de force choreographed by Principal Dancer Guillaume Cote that featured Greta Hodgkinson and four male dancers and is certain to make him an exciting, upcoming choreographer in the dance world.  It was the talk of the after party and created great twitter buzz.  Sonia Rodriguez and Aleksandar Antonijevi (who is celebrating his 20^th year with the ballet this year) partnered for a vignette from the evocative and humorous ’90s contemporary ballet Herman Scherman.  The night then returned befittingly to the more classical and aptly selection excerpt from Diamonds From Jewels by George Balanchine.  This featured the entire corps de ballet dancing to the 1967 traditional ballet.

Dance installation

Afterward, guests mingled at a cocktail reception featuring the night’s signature drink a lemon martini titled Skyy with Diamonds, and hors d’oeuvres such as mini cupcakes and smoked salmon pinwheels from North 44°.

The dinner onstage at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

Some notables spotted included Lloyd Robertson, Cleophée Eaton, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Ross Petty (husband of Karen Kain), Rex Harrington, Roz Ivey, Veronica Tennant, Victoria Jackman, Lydia Prince, Galen & Alexandra Weston, Elvio & Marlene DelZotto ,  John Macfarlane, Victoria Webster, Thor & Nicole Eaton, Lynda Prince, Jian Ghomeshi, Jorn Weisbrodt and Rufus Wainwright and Albert Schultz.

Principal Dancers Jillian Vanstone, Greta Hodgkinson, Heather Ogden & Xiao Nan Yu

Moi

About 550 of the guests were then escorted to the Four Seasons Centre stage for a special dinner prepared by celebrity chef Mark McEwan.  Table for 10 tickets for this special privilege ranged from $15,000 – $25,000.

Photos by Gary Beechey

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

Arts & Culture, Style, events, fundraisers, money and happiness, networking, philanthropy, special occasions, spending money, spending money wisely Albert Schultz, Aleksandar Antonijevi, Alexander, Amarant Guillaume Cote, ballet, Cleophee Eaton, Diamond Gala, Diamonds, Elvio & Marlene DelZotto, Four Seasons Centre, Galen & Alexandra Weston, George Balanchine, Greta Hodgkinson, GUILLAUME CÔTÉ, HEATHER OGDEN, Herman Scherman, jewels, Jian Ghomeshi, Jiří Jelinek, John Macfarlane, Jorn Weisbrodt, karen kain, Llyod Robertson, Lydia Prince, Lynda Prince, MARK MCEWAN, national ballet of canada, North 44°, pas de deux, Polar Night, Polovtsian Dances, REX HARRINGTON, Robert Binet, Ross Petty, Roz Ivey, Rufus Wainwright, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Silence Screams Venom, Skyy with Diamonds, sonia rodriguez, Thor & Nicole Eaton, toronto, Veronica Tennant, Victoria Jackman, Victoria Webster, world premiere, XIAO NAN YU

Artistic Director Karen Kain is truly taking the National Ballet of Canada to new heights.  Tonight’s triple bill of three very distinct pieces was an ingenious way to end the company’s 60th anniversary season.

Artists of the Ballet in Elite Syncopations Photograph by Cylla von Tiedemann

After the morose dancing of Hamlet, these vibrant vignettes showcased the National Ballet’s breadth, depth and exceptional talent.  It was also a history tour of the last thirty years of ballet and as Artist in Residence Rex Harrington stated at the pre-ballet talk, it shows the National Ballet’s distant past, middle past and future.

Tanya Howard and Zdenek Konvalina in Chroma Photographer Cylla von Tiedemann

The evening began with the playful ragtime Elite Syncopations, choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan and with the accompaniment of a fully costumed band of company orchestra players onstage led by retired music director Ormsby Wilkins. First performed by the National Ballet of Canada in 1978 with Karen Kain playing the lead female role, Elite Syncopations featured Xiao Nan Yu in the spotlight this time around.  However, this ballet is truly an ensemble piece with a hurricane of dance and comedy, effortlessly swinging between pas de deux and corps de ballet.

Elena Lobsanova and Jiří Jelinek in Chroma Photographer Bruce Zinger

The dancers dressed in hand-painted body tights by designer Ian Spurling charm the audience with a fast-paced romp.  There are many memorable mini dance competitions and the much loved Tall-short pairing pas de deux danced by Christopher Stalzer and Adji Cissoko.

Chroma

The second performance Song of a Wayfarer was polar opposite from the first. A very traditional, somber, technique driven piece originally choreographed by Belgian Maurice Bejart for Rudolf Nureyev and Paolo Bortoluzzi in 1971, this duet is truly timeless.  Mahler’s lyrics to the classic song Song of a Wayfarer were sung hauntingly by baritone Peter Barrett.  Emotion-filled and intense, a young man (played by Zdenek Konvalina) struggles with his double (played by Guillaume Cote).  We are unsure what this shadow is, whether his conscience or his destiny, but it is clear this demon has to be reconciled with.  The performance gathered a well-deserved standing ovation.

Zdenek Konvalina and Guillaume Côté in Song of a Wayfarer Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

The last performance of the night was the highly anticipated Wayne McGregor futuristic dazzler Chroma,originally choreographed for Britain’s Royal Ballet in 2006 and first performed by the National Ballet in 2010.  With neon lighting and androgynous costumes, this frenzied, cutting edge, highly technical ballet held the audience at the edge of its seats.  It’s white décor world is as enigmatic yet whole as the dark, black filled world of the Matrix films.  Composer Joby Talbot includes orchestrations of three songs by The White Stripes.  The jagged edge of the score is a perfect foil for the rapid fire choreography and stark white backdrop which only serves to highlight the architecture of the human body and the nature of physical movement.

Until Jun. 17, 2012; Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen Street W; 416 (toll free 1 866) 345-9595 or www.national.ballet.ca.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

Arts & Culture, money and happiness, shopping, spending money, spending money wisely CHROMA, ELITE SYNCOPATIONS, GUILLAUME CÔTÉ, karen kain, KENNEITH MACMILLAN, ladiesfund, MAURICE BEJART, NATIONAL BALLET, REX HARRINGTON, RUDOLF NUREYEV, SONG OF A WAYFARER, spending, tudawood, WAYNE MCGREGOR, WHITE STRIPES, XIAO NAN YU, ZDERIEK KONVALINA

You can’t quite go anywhere in Toronto these days without seeing posters and flyers for the National Ballet of Canada’s revamped Romeo and Juliet, performances of which just ended Sunday night. This advertising campaign even showed up in most online search pages and was a clear sign of the tour de force that is Artistic Director Karen Kain!

Guillaume Côté and Elena Lobsanova in rehearsal for Romeo and Juliet

The extensive marketing campaign for this production was truly worthy of a phenomenal fresh take on a ballet classic and just another example of a Renaissance to Art and Culture in Toronto. To celebrate the National Ballet of Canada’s 60th birthday, Kain approached acclaimed Russian-born choreographer Alexei Ratmansky to reboot the production with completely new choreography to Sergei Prokofiev’s beloved score for a World premiere in Toronto. This creative and exciting idea of Kain’s is just one more in a long line of very exciting and trailblazing moves on the part of the National Ballet of Canada.

In retrospect, it’s surprising no one had thought to revamp this classic before. The story is of course based on Shakespeare’s renowned tale of star-crossed lovers set in Renaissance Italy where they choose love above all and ultimately pay the price with their lives.

The most famous production of Romeo and Juliet was created by John Cranko for Stuttgart Ballet in 1962 and was danced by the National Ballet of Canada from 1964 to 2009. The steps, sequencing and style of Cranko’s version was much more traditional and rooted to an Old World. For purists, truly that version cannot be beat.

The National Ballet of Canada, however, is slowly but surely getting a reputation of a bold, initiative-taking corps. Prokofiev’s 1935 score was ahead of its time and works very well in this reboot where Ratmansky complements it with intricate, intense modern steps that tell the story in colloquial, inclusive way.

Elena Lobsanova and Guillaume Côté in Romeo and Juliet

Ratmansky’s take is much faster paced and perhaps some may say less passionate, or more accurately less melodramatic. It also is incredibly inclusive with lots of dancing for the entire company and opportunities for some memorable sequences from the corps de ballet and a dazzling, dramatic solo from the Romeo’s best friend Mercutio, a secondary character. The choreography at such moments has a spontaneous, free-flowing feel to it. Even Juliet’s Nurse is a delightful character part that brings humour and charm to the story and stage.

The main highlights of this recent production, as they should be, are the pas de deux between our hero and heroine. Heartfelt, emotional and above all passionate, these romantic sequences drove the ballet and underscored the intensity of young love.

Every night the principal dancers changed, as is the principle at the National Ballet of Canada. The choreography was the true tour de force here, however, ensuring that regardless of the night a guest attended, there was a feast for his or her eyes and a love story for his or her heart.

The Nutcracker

Next up for the National Ballet of Canada is The Nutcraker, which will run from December 10, 2011 to January 3, 2012.  Check out the trailer here.  The full list of The National Ballet of Canada’s 2011-2012 season.

This article was originally published in DelectablyChic!

Uncategorized Alexei Ratmansky, ballet, corps de ballet, dance, delectablychic!, John Cranko, karen kain, ladiesfund, mercutio, previewyourlife, romeo and juliet, Sergei Prokofiev, shakespeare, The National Ballet of Canada, The Nutcracker, tudawood