To the Pointe

To the Pointe ISSU

E 54

SPRI

NG 2

012

Message from the Executive Director

As I reflect on my first quarter at Canada’s

National Ballet School, I’m drawn to the

spring scenes around the School. This is

a season of renewal, a time to anticipate

the summer ahead. In particular, the

spring brings something that is dear to

me—the return of baseball! What does

baseball have to do with ballet? Good

question—more on that later.

Since joining NBS, I have found it to be

as stimulating and rewarding as I had

hoped. Coming from the museum world,

I am a strong supporter of culture and the

role that knowledge plays in advancing

our society. Building on that experience,

I am enjoying contributing to the arts and

to education. I admit to being humbled

on arrival—I had only the broadest idea

of the scope of our everyday activities.

Observing our students, our staff and our

operations has left me truly impressed

with what this organization accomplishes.

In particular, I like the buzz that envelops

NBS when our Professional Ballet

students are “in the house.”

I had the privilege of attending student

evaluations in March and the Post-

Secondary Program performance in April.

Each time, I was awestruck by the

incredible talent our students display—

the precision, the athleticism, and the

artistry in commanding their environment

and collaborating with their fellow dancers.

So too, the building is alive after hours,

through our Adult and Associates

programs. It is a source of inspiration to

see the Celia Franca Centre is alive with

dancers at night.

One item on my agenda is the completion

of a new NBS Strategic Plan. There has

been superb planning work done in

past years, including a trend analysis of

the dance industry and an articulation

of three strategic initiatives to address

these. We are facilitating a process for

soliciting and refining staff contributions,

with a goal of completing the plan in

September.

In February, through the support of the

Federal Government, we introduced a

new website—Sharing Dance—designed

as a broad public platform to share the

joy of dance using videos, photos, and

stories. We plan to attract many partner

organizations over the next five years to

dramatically increase the content and

reach of the site.

I have been fortunate to meet the

Honourable James Moore, Minister of

Canadian Heritage—a passionate

advocate of the arts who speaks highly of

his visits to NBS. We recently welcomed

Peter Caldwell, Executive Director of the

Ontario Arts Council, who saw first hand

all studios flush with dancers. We value

the support from our government

partners, and will continue to connect

them with NBS.

Two attributes characterize NBS from my

perspective—passion and excellence. I

want to acknowledge Mavis Staines for

her support during my transition, and for

modelling those attributes. I’d also like to

recognize our talented staff for the same

reasons, and to thank our committed

friends who attended the For the Love

of Ballet Gala.

And so, how do my first few months at

NBS relate to baseball? Baseball is an

elegant and unique game. It combines

speed, precision, collaboration and

instinct, played on a field of dreams and

surrounded by avid fans. If watched

closely, you’ll see that it is choreographed

to produce “poetry in motion.” True, it

is competitive but the analogy to dance

remains. I read that baseball embodies a

quintessential human dilemma of thinking

with our head versus reacting with our

heart. To me, a similar canvas exists in

dance—we develop and deliver excellence,

but it is our passion that makes it evocative.

Neither one is enough, both are essential.

As baseball legend Ernie Banks might

have said “Let’s dance two.”

Grant Troop

Executive Director & Co-CEO

2TO THE POINTE SPRING 2012 CANADA’S NATIONAL BALLET SCHOOL

3

Message from the Artistic Director

While twenty years have now passed

since world-renowned comedic actor

Peter Ustinov visited NBS, the message

he delivered on that unforgettable day in

1992 continues to resonate powerfully.

After half an hour of evoking guffaws of

laughter from an audience which ranged

in age from ten to eighty, Ustinov paused

and then, looking most pointedly at the

youngest students, said, “I believe we are

moving into an era when the role of the

artists will have greater importance than

ever before. In fact, with the advent of

technology into our daily lives, I predict

artists will carry the role equivalent to

that of high priests/priestesses in ancient

cultures. However, do not expect your

messages to be received gratefully. As

the world’s population becomes

increasingly addicted to simplicity and the

convenience of immediate “yes” or “no”

responses, their capacity to embrace

visceral emotions and/or process complex

challenges will decrease commensurately.

The world will need inspired guides.”

The prescience of Ustinov’s message

becomes increasingly evident in every

conversation I have with NBS students as

they grapple with the challenges inherent

in an art form which requires 10,000 hours

of practice to develop natural potential to

the level of skill required to enter the

profession. This long-term, focussed

process is now contrary to today’s most

popular global messages of “the faster,

the better” and “instant success”

(especially if won in a contest) considered

more impressive than years of patient,

deep practices. All of which means these

future artists need to develop the

resilience to swim “against the tide” of

societal influence. And this only references

the “learning of the language”; developing

the expertise to infuse this vocabulary

with emotional intent, to communicate

profound meaning, is even more out of

sync with today’s trends and thus requires

even greater persistence. As daunting

as this might sound, I actually view this

increased degree of challenge as a gift

to NBS students because adversity fuels

passion.

The ongoing ways in which current NBS

students and alumni are embracing pro-

cesses which require dedicated practice

is evident through their accomplishments

and passion for life. Their capacity to

perceive the rapidly changing world as an

opportunity to inspire innovation, rather

than a threat, is a tribute to both their talent

and to my colleagues’ expert guidance.

Artistic and Academic faculty have

created a culture within the School which

develops an open mindset and an

excitement and pride in problem-solving.

Not only is NBS proving Ustinov’s

prophecy but also demonstrating why the

process of becoming an artist is more

important today than ever before. With

the life skills learned, they do carry the

torch for the human race’s potential.

While this article is a tribute to all NBS

staff, students, and alumni, I would like

to particularly acknowledge those

journeying as choreographers and/or

directors. Each has selected an especially

challenging route for honouring the

original meaning of the word “theatre”,

derived from the Greek “teatron” which

means making visible the divine.

In the words of alumnus Keith Morino,

Artistic Director of the EESA/CPD de

l’Institute del Theatre in Barcelona for the

past six years: “having a creative artistic

training and upbringing will make looking

for new solutions much ‘easier’, since we

know how to tap in to our feelings and

instincts, and know how to push structural

boundaries to find new solutions to our

problems. THANKS NBS and the amazing

staff who are so much a part of what I

am today!”

Mavis Staines

Aristic Director & Co-CEO


This past February, NBS announced that the School will host a second “Assemblée Internationale” in 2013, from April 28 to May 4. Before sharing details about this upcoming week-long festival, I think it worthwhile to explain why I proposed NBS embark on this ambitious venture. The world seems to have become addicted to competitions of every sort, including ballet competitions. While these generate tremendous interest in dance, which is hugely beneficial, I believe the ever increasing number of competitions needs to be balanced by celebrating the power of artistic collaboration. The outcomes, shared by all participants, is the invaluable experience of speaking the universal language of ballet to collectively create dance of the highest standard and building life-long relationships to engender future collaborations.

Since the success of the first Assemblée Internationale, the international ballet community looks to NBS to take the lead in developing world-wide collaborations. Planning for this week-long festival, which will bring to Toronto the twelve schools who collaborated in November 2009 plus an additional six, began three years ago. Thanks to Aeroplan’s generous decision to support the AI 13, just as it was the “guardian angel” of the AI 09, the directors of the following schools will travel to Toronto with selected students:

The Australian Ballet SchoolBeijing Dance AcademyCanada’s National Ballet SchoolCodarts (Rotterdam)L’école supérieure de ballet du Québec (Montreal)EESA/CPD de l’Institut del Teatre (Barcelona)Hamburg Ballet SchuleHouston Ballet School John Cranko Schule (Stuttgart)The Juilliard School National Ballet Academy (Amsterdam)National Ballet School (Havana)New Zealand School of DancePalucca Schule (Dresden)Paris Opera Ballet SchoolRoyal Ballet School (London)Royal Danish Ballet SchoolRoyal Winnipeg Ballet SchoolSan Francisco Ballet School

Blended daily classes and rehearsals will build to four performances. Two of these will be each school presenting a piece of existing repertoire, or a “calling card” piece, representative of their artistic priorities. Along with this, each school has chosen to participate in either the Student Choreography component or the Live Streaming Project. For the Student Choreography, a student from the participating school will create a work in advance, with the roles learned in the prior seven months by a blended cast

composed of designated students from the other schools. Just as happened in the AI 09, role allocations will be made by my brilliant colleague, Shaun Amyot, based on information about each student provided by the Schools’ directors.

The Live Streaming Project, the new addition to the AI 13 program, will be created and produced by Shaun Amyot in collaboration with Michael Schumacher, an Amsterdam-based dance artist. The work they create will be performed by a blended cast of AI 13 students present in Toronto, joined virtually through live streaming by dancers in Holland.

While the primary focus of the AI 13 is to bring together ballet students to explore the universal vocabulary of ballet, and celebrate its diversity, the opportunity of bringing together the participating schools’ Artistic Directors is also eagerly embraced. Daily Artistic Director Forums give us a time to discuss the evolution of ballet education and methods of strength-ening its relevance in a changing world. The festival will conclude with a student-centred conference; the theme, selected by NBS students, will explore how to make ballet more accessible through technology by proposing innovative approaches to copyright laws. Lawyers specialising in copyright laws are contributing their time and expertise to guide the discussion which will build to an action plan for future generations.

I believe unequivocally that the benefits of the AI 13 will resonate long into the future as partnerships are the most dynamic means for sharing the power and beauty of dance.

Presenting Partner

Donate your Reward Miles at www.nbs-enb.ca/ai13Help visiting students take part in Assemblée Internationale 2013.Thank you Aeroplan!

5

A Commitment to teaching. . .and NBS“The only constant at NBS is …. Change,”

so said Lucy Potts, Principal of NBS’

Academic program to newly hired math

and geography teacher, Lynn McIntosh,

in 1975. And after thirty-six years at NBS,

change is the one constant that keeps

McIntosh loving his work at the School.

After graduating with his teaching degree,

McIntosh (Mr. Mac) spent six years teach-

ing in a rural, Ontario school, after which

he was ready for adventure and headed

off to the UK where he taught for a year.

Next stop was Moscow, teaching in the

Canadian embassy to a wide variety of

students. This was during the Soviet era

when Russia was still considered behind

the Iron Curtain. Mr. Mac found friends

amongst local Muscovites and spent

weekends exploring the countryside in

their company. The following year he

returned to Canada and was interviewed

for a teaching job at NBS with Betty

Oliphant, Lucy Potts and Donald Urquhart,

a Board member. Although successfully

offered the job, Lynn later learnt that Lucy

Potts had a serious concern about him.

Other teachers found out that Ms. Potts

feared that Lynn harboured communist

leanings and was wary of his intentions!

Nevertheless, after completing his first year

of teaching at NBS, Lynn was determined

to return to Moscow and once he’d

received permission from Betty to do so

—and a commitment to rehire him upon

his return a year later—he was on his way

again. One of the highlights of Lynn’s

Russian experience was teaching English

to Boris Pasternak’s grandchildren!

1978 saw Lynn arrive back at NBS and

he’s not left since. Given his earlier travels

and eagerness for change, you might

wonder why he’s stayed put for so long.

Mr. Mac claims that the students constantly

keep him on his toes. Lynn believes that

because the students are highly motivated

he has to constantly adjust his approach

to teaching in order to satisfy their

academic needs. When asked about

favourite memories, Lynn recalls school

trips the students used to make to Ottawa

in part, to raise the profile of the School.

Along with well-loved NBS academic

teacher, Beverley Miller, Lynn and the

history teacher took the students around

the capital to see the sights. Included on

these trips were meetings with the Prime

Minister, the American ambassador and

other esteemed personalities. Arranged

and abetted during Betty Oliphant’s era by

diligent Board members, the students and

their teachers formed strong memories

during these Ottawa vists.

Another advantage of teaching at NBS

is that when Lynn has wanted a change

from either teaching a particular subject or

grade level, he’s been able to ask for and

obtain the change to his schedule from the

School’s principal. Over the course of his

career at NBS, Lynn has taught math and

geography to students in Grades 5 to 11.

Mr. Mac acknowledges that many of his

colleagues who taught at other schools

have long since retired. He’s in no rush to

do the same as he continues to enjoy and

appreciate the students, his colleagues

and the wonderful career he’s had at NBS.


Shaun AmyotNBS Repetiteur

Aszure Barton is an internationally-in-demand choreographer. With multiple projects with different companies on the go it’s impossible for her to be at all her rehearsals. When Aszure worked with NBS students on creating her work, NBS artistic faculty member Shaun Amyot was by her side every step of the way.

“Being a repetiteur differs with each choreographer you work with. Essentially as the repetitieur you are acting as the choreographer’s eyes and ears when they aren’t there. You must know the whole ballet, run all the rehearsals and set the rehearsal schedule. A big part of rehears-ing Aszure’s work is maintaining the level of detail, everyone has to be moving in unison with matching eye lines, hands and body positions. To have a large group truly move together is very challenging and requires a lot of repetition.”

“Aszure’s process in creating Branch was really focused on the time in the studio with the dancers. She creates

spontaneously as she’s working with and watching the dancers, which makes the studio time even more exciting. The vocabulary emerges from the energy in the room. She spoke a lot about that to the dancers, how generating and main-taining a sense of community is really essential for her. I think that makes her work and process quite distinct.”

Robyn ClarkeNBS Wardrobe SupervisorCostume Designer

The costumes for Branch are individual works of art. Each has to be created from scratch, fit to the dancer wearing it, and born of months of conversation, sketching and fabric swatches. Here Robyn talks about her work on Branch.

“I start talking to the choreographer as far in advance of the premiere as possible. Working with Aszure is great because she is very specific about how the dancers should feel when they’re performing the piece—she wanted leotard dresses for the girls and wanted them to move easily.

She wanted the costumes to be thematically cohesive but wanted each dancer to feel special while wearing them.”

“Once we’d spoken I researched and started scouting fabric stores to find material. I chose silk chiffon as it feels nice against the skin and I like the way it moves. Aszure prefers to be involved in a very hands-on way, she doesn’t like to only see the finished product. She isn’t going to be back until quite close to the performance at which point large costume revisions aren’t possible, so checking with her as we go ensures she’ll be pleased with the results and we’ll be on track for the shows.”

“As soon as possible we start making mock ups of costumes and once we’ve got the go ahead on the fabric, style and colour, we start to make the costumes. We like to fit three times during the process, so that takes time as well.”

“One of the things that’s the most fun about working on a new piece at the School is the students’ reaction to the costume creation process. Their excite-ment and enthusiasm are infectious.”

Premiering Barton’sBranchCreating a ballet is a challenging task; the work begins months before the curtain goes up on opening night and includes a team of people working together to bring a ballet from idea through creation through to performance. Here we speak with three people who helped bring Aszure Barton’s Branch to the stage during its world premiere at Spring Showcase 2012.

7

Aisling SampsonLighting Designer

The lighting design of a dance show helps tell the story and ensures the dancers are visible. NBS’ Lighting Designer, Aisling Sampson, talks about how she creates the lighting for a new work:

“When Aszure and I started meeting about lighting she was already in conversation with Robyn about costumes, so I tried to absorb information from those conversa-tions as well. You want to know as much as you can about what the choreographer is thinking, both general concepts and specifics like colour palettes.”

“Once we’d established Aszure’s ideas it became one long conversation. She’s not in Toronto again until quite close to the show itself when the lighting plot won’t be able to undergo massive changes. So I’ve got to be sure that she and I are communicating and that I have a good sense of what she’s expecting. Then I’ve got to go and create it! I describe my working process as reverse painting, I’ve got the complete image in my head, the next step is to create it on stage, ensuring Aszure and I are both happy.”

Aszure BartonChoreographer

For Aszure Barton working with NBS is a special opportunity as this is where she trained as a dancer and began pursuing her choreographic interests. Barton describes working with NBS on Branch as a homecoming. “Coming back to NBS has been more beautiful than I would have ever imagined. I am in heaven. The open-ness and true collaboration, hard work, and group support is unmatchable.”

“Every experience, be it with students or professionals, is very different,” Barton says, “The work grows from my connection with the dancers and their connection with each other. It is a pleasure to work with students as they are intellectually charged in an academic environment where they are there to learn; they are able to absorb and retain an incredible amount of material. As students, they come to the

studio with open minds and an eagerness without any judgement or ego. The dancers at NBS are also incredibly quick, interested and seem very invested in the creative process and not simply the end result. They seem to understand the risk and vulnerability of creation. It is very exciting to see them believe in their own choices. It is pure loveliness working with the students at Canada’s National Ballet School.”

In terms of her approach to creation, Barton says, “The common element in all creation processes is trust and change.” Barton says she works to build, “a common language collectively with a group of artists...and real moments that affect my heart along the way during the process of creation.”

When she sets about creating a new work, Barton is thinking of both the performers and the audience. “I hope that the work is affective in some way,” she says, “However, I am continually listening very deeply to my heart’s choices, and I make sure the answers are coming from there. I don’t seem to like the work I make when they come from my mind. It’s somehow less interesting and less honest. During creation it always helps me to “remember” to listen and to honour enough stillness to do so, to hear the nuances of the moment and in music and to trust my choices. I try not to think too much and to be very open to feeling and seeing the special moments manifest along the way. I try to stay as present as possible, so that I don’t miss the magical moments which at NBS were constant.”


Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt

Graduated NBS: 1970

Danced with: The National Ballet of

Canada: 1972–77, Corps de Ballet

Today: Dr. Fisher-Stitt has served as

Chair of York’s Department of Dance,

associate dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts,

associate dean of the Faculty of Graduate

Studies, and associate vice-president,

Academic Learning Initiatives. She

currently directs the Graduate Program

in Dance (MA) and the Graduate Program

in Dance Studies (PhD).

As part of Canada’s National Ballet

School’s 50th anniversary celebrations

in 2009/2010, NBS held a weekend-long

alumni reunion. Alongside receptions, film

festivals, tours of the facilities and more,

we were incredibly pleased to launch the

first written history of NBS, “The Ballet

Class: A History of Canada’s National

Ballet School”, authored by Norma Sue

Fisher-Stitt. Following her graduation

from NBS, Fisher-Stitt performed with

the company for 6 years, before leaving

dance performance to pursue dance

academia. She achieved both her BA

and MFA at York University, followed by a

doctorate in dance education at Temple

University before joining the Dance Depart-

ment faculty at York University in 1992.

Peter Ottmann Graduated NBS: 1975


Canada: 1976–1993, Principal Dancer

from 1983

Today: Senior Ballet Master with The

National Ballet of Canada

During Peter Ottmann’s performance

career with The National Ballet of

Canada, he danced the majority of the

leading roles the company portrayed,

including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet,

Albrecht in Giselle and James and Gurn

in La Sylphide. Working with choreogra-

phers Glen Tetley, William Forsythe and

James Kudelka, he created roles in works

for each of them. Retiring from the stage,

Ottmann became the National Ballet’s

Resident Choreologist (notation of

choreology) and Ballet Master.

Apart from setting works on and teaching

class to the company, Ottmann has studied

Benesh choreographic notation. These

skills, along with his familiarity with the

choreographers and their works, have

made him a highly in-demand repetiteur for

works by Kudelka, Tetley, Kylian and others.

Emily Molnar Graduated NBS: 1990


Canada: 1990–1994, Corps de Ballet

Today: Artistic Director, Ballet British

Columbia

Emily Molnar began her performance

career with The National Ballet of Canada,

but would go on to perform with both the

Frankfurt Ballet, under William Forsythe,

Following their passion–off the stage… NBS alumni continue their dance careersWhile NBS graduates perform in ballet

companies all across the globe, many

begin their performance careers with

our sister organization, The National

Ballet of Canada. 2011/2012 is their

60th anniversary season and we wish

them heartfelt congratulations on this

momentous milestone. While it’s widely

known that many NBS graduates seek

to dance with The National Ballet of

Canada, fewer people know about the

incredible range of non-performance-

based dance careers NBS graduates

and NBoC alumni have gone on to

achieve. As a way of saying happy

anniversary to the company we will

profile six NBS graduates who spent

time dancing with the company and

are now pursuing careers in dance,

but off the stage.

David Nixon, OBE Graduated NBS: 1976


Canada: 1978–1990, Principal Dancer

from 1982

Today: Artistic Director of Northern Ballet

Theatre

David Nixon started his performance career with The National Ballet of Canada where he became a Principal Dancer, and in 1985 he joined the Deutsche Oper Ballet in Berlin. Following his retirement from the stage Nixon became Artistic Director of BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio in 1994 and in 2001 took on the role of Artistic Director of Northern Ballet Theatre in the UK.

During his days as a student at NBS Nixon became interested in choreography, helping to revive the School’s choreo-graphic workshop. After joining the National Ballet and being promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer, Nixon moved to Europe and joined the Deutsche Oper Ballet, where he won the Critics Award for Best Male Performance (1987) and continued to choreograph his own works. After a few seasons as principal guest artist with companies as far ranging as Bayerisches Staatsballett and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Nixon returned to Berlin to become the Deutsche Oper Ballet’s first ballet master in 1994.

Later that same year he was appointed Artistic Director of BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio USA. In 2001 he moved to Northern Ballet and has added an impressive array of new works into the repertoire.

His choreographic creations have won him multiple awards and nominations, and he was voted Director of the Year by readers of Dance Europe in 2003 and 2006. In 2010, Nixon was awarded an Order of the British Empire for his services to dance.

Dominique DumaisGraduated NBS: 1986Danced with: The National Ballet of Canada: 1987–1998, Second Soloist from 1993Today: Choreographer & Deputy Director of Ballet at Kevin O’Day Ballett Mannheim Nationaltheater

During Dominique Dumais’ performance career with The National Ballet of Canada, she was approached by Karen Kain in 1996 to choreograph an original work for the upcoming Gala des Etoiles. The result was Tides of Mind, created for Kain and Robert Conn. The work was well received and thus began Dumais’ focus on choreography. In 1999 she created another work for Kain, for use in a CBC television special, Karen Kain: Dancing in the Moment. In 1998 she created her first ensemble piece, The Weight of Absence. The result-ing commissions she received led her to leave the company to pursue a career as a freelance choreographer and dancer.

She has created works for Ballet British Columbia, Alberta Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Berlin Comic Opera and Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, among others. In 2002 she was appointed choreographer and deputy director of ballet in Mannheim at the Kevin O’Day Ballett Mannheim Nationaltheater, a position she continues to hold today.

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Jill JohnsonGraduated NBS: 1987


Canada: 1988–1998, Second Soloist

1996–1999, Principal Dancer and

Researcher, William Forsythe’s Frankfurt

Ballet/The Forsythe Company: 1991–1996,

2000–2005

Today: Director of Dance, Office for the

Arts Dance Program, Senior Lecturer

faculty, Department of Music at Harvard

University

A 21-year collaborator, principal dancer,

researcher, stager and protégé of American

choreographer William Forsythe, she has

staged his work for the past 13 years on

dance companies worldwide including

Paris Opera Ballet, La Scala, Norwegian

National Ballet, and many others. She

has served on the faculties of Princeton

University, Barnard College at Columbia

University, the Juilliard School and New

York University’s Tisch School of the

Arts; and held a teaching residency at

the Baryshnikov Center in New York in

2010/11. Her own choreographic work

and Ballet British Columbia, under John

Alleyne. Also talented as a choreographer,

Molnar has created works for Ballet BC,

Alberta Ballet, Ballet Mannheim, Ballet

Augsburg, Cedar Lake Dance, Pro Arte

Danza and Morphoses/The Wheeldon

Company, among others. She has

participated in The New York Choreo-

graphic Institute and has been mentored

by choreographer and performer Margie

Gillis. In 2003 she was named by

MacLean’s Magazine as one of Canada’s,

“new generation of ballet sensations”.

In 2009 she returned to Ballet BC as

Artistic Director, leading the company

in a new and exciting direction.


sharingdance.caNBS launched its latest website, sharingdance.ca at the end of December, 2011. Developed as a result of a grant from the Canada Interactive Fund (CIF), through the Department of Canadian Heritage, NBS was given a year to create the website, test and launch it.

The opportunity arrived fortuitously as a result of the community engagement activity initiated during the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2009-10. In order to involve NBS community members in a 50th event, a suggestion was made to create a flashmob and an alumnus of the School, Matjash Mrozewski was asked to choreograph a routine. He selected Feist’s, I Feel it All and after a teaching demonstration video was made with NBS Teacher Training students, rehearsals began in February 2010, with the intent of performing the routine on International Dance Day, April 29.

A venue was secured, but kept secret until a week beforehand—over 300 people performed the routine at the Toronto Eaton Centre. It was a hugely successful effort—with many participants asking NBS to do it again.

Unbeknownst to NBS, a non-dance teacher whose daughter participated in the event, used the teaching videos to teach her Grade 8 class and the class performed it at the end of their school year. Hearing of this instance back at NBS, it triggered an ephipany of sorts—while it’s ideal to offer dance training in person, in a studio—if the tyranny of distance does not permit that, then perhaps teaching via videos on a website might be a valid alternative.

Hence, an application was made to the CIF and after several months of waiting, we found ourselves successful and devel-oping the site. Since then, we’ve had the opportunity to do several more flashmobs —in fact 3 were done last year! Each time, we engage a Canadian choreographer and ask him/her to select a piece of Canadian music. Our commitment to CIF was that we would launch with 5 routines and with the Bollywood one latest performed on April 29, we’ve met our obligation, but are hoping to continue to add one or two more a year for the next five years.

Our aspiration is to partner with other organizations that will assist our efforts to establish the site as a national resource, particularly in schools and localized community groups. To that end, we’ve met with representatives of Physical Health and Education Canada who are very keen to work with us and utilize the content on the site to create programs that will support their needs in delivering content for their programs: Intramural recreation; dance education and the provincially mandated, Daily Physical Education.

While we have dance expertise, enthusiasm and the willingness to share our creative property, we don’t have the resources, contacts or channels to disseminate this material into schools.

We’re looking forward to seeing where this partnership will go and are hoping our success with accessing funds will also benefit sharingdance.

includes, among others Folding Articulation

for Princeton University, February, 2010;

Waterline for Barnard College at Columbia

University, April 2011; and Solo for Jeff

at The Juilliard School, May 2011; The

Copier commissioned by Cedar Lake

Dance Company; dance installation RE:

RE: RE: December 2011 and The Sound

of Distance in Itself, March 2012, both for

Harvard students. Her awards include the

Annual Critics Award for most outstanding

dancer by BalletTanz International in 2003;

and Communication Arts 2010 Interactive

Annual Award for Synchronous Objects,

a web-based project co-produced by The

Forsythe Company, Germany, and Ohio

State University, for which she served as

Artistic Consultant/Researcher. She is

working with Mikhail Baryshnikov and

William Forsythe on a solo for Mr.

Baryshnikov; and is a featured performer

in the large-scale video exhibition Slow

Dancing which was in Harvard Yard in

April, 2012.

Every NBS student goes on to achieve

great things and make us proud. Some

pursue careers as dancers, others as

dance teachers, others still as doctors,

lawyers, website designers and bankers.

Regardless of their choice of career,

NBS is proud of all the accomplishments

of our alumni.

Following their passioncontinued

11

sharingdance.ca

The role of partners is profoundly important in the ballet world. Whether the magical partnerships of Kain and Augustyn, choreographer and dancer, or donor and organization, partnerships are essential to success.

Scotiabank is one of NBS’ strategic funding partners. By stepping up to directly support five young dancers, Scotiabank is helping students in the Professional Ballet Program achieve their dreams and fulfill their amazing potential. With the Bank’s support, NBS will continue to provide ballet training that leads to a career as performance artists, choreographers, artistic directors and instructors.

The Scotiabank Student Partners, select-ed by Artistic Director and Co-CEO Mavis Staines, reflect the international and national make-up of the student body, and include young dancers from Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and the United States, from grade seven to twelve. Today, over 70% of our students are only able to

accept the invitation to attend NBS because of the generosity of student partners like Scotiabank. With student financial assistance needs at an all-time high, NBS relies on leading supporters like Scotiabank to ensure talent alone remains the only criterion for entry into the School’s Professional Ballet Program.

The Student Partner Program provides a unique opportunity for Scotiabank to share a journey with young dancers and a chance to witness their artistic growth as they progress through training and prepa-ration for professional careers. Scotia-bank representative Dayl Marks says that “Scotiabank is proud to be a part of the Student Partner Program, we know our support is making a difference and it is special to play a key role enabling an extraordinary, creative organization.”

On stage, in the studio, or behind the scenes, partners like Scotiabank are responsible for making magical things happen. It’s time to take a bow.

NBS prides itself on offering a complete academic education for students entering the Professional Ballet Program. Unlike any other professional ballet school in North America, NBS’ campus provides students with a nationally recognized academic program in addition to dance training and a welcoming, residential facility. Providing a solid academic program has always been a founding principle of NBS, as established by NBS’ founder, Betty Oliphant. Ms. Oliphant’s rationale was to ensure ballet dancers would have a diploma in their back pocket, to be accessible once they were ready to move beyond their professional dance career.

Due to the fact that students from European schools graduate at age 16, as opposed to their counterparts in North America, Mavis Staines recognized a need to provide senior NBS students with additional dance instruction and practice. A firm believer in Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000-hour rule” of practice in order to become truly accomplished, Ms. Staines consulted with NBS’s Academic Principal, Neil Walsh, to facilitate reworking the academic timetable to accommodate more hours of dancing for the students in Grades 11 and 12.

The task Mr. Walsh faced was to redesign the timetable to permit 5 ½ hours of dance per day for the senior students—previously the schedule allowed for 4 hours per day—permitting them to obtain the essential academics (and the Ontario Secondary School Diploma) yet still have some elective choices. In order to achieve this, some of the obligatory NBS subjects —while not mandated by the Ontario Ministry—became electives, such as music and the yearbook program.

There’s additional accommodation provided for students especially when one wants to take a class that doesn’t co-ordinate with the other students taking the same course: case in point, the ‘larger’ Grade 11 physics class has two students, while the ‘smaller’ class has one, and she’s taught by the Principal. As Neil Walsh says, “that’s how we look after our students here.”

Remaining a Leader in International Ballet Education

—A Partner to Depend On

FoundersCelia Franca, CC, LLD, DCL, DFA Betty Oliphant, CC, LLD, DLitt

Artistic Director & Co-CEO Mavis Staines, C.M., DHumL

Executive Director & Co-CEO Grant Troop

To the PointeISSUE 54 SPRING 2012

Editor

Joanna Gertler

Contributors

Shaun Amyot, Katharine Harris, Joanna Gertler

Mavis Staines, Grant Troop

Photos

Cylla von Tiedemann, Jöel Bénard,

Timothy Campbell, Richard Moran, Karri North,

Sian Richards, Michael Slobodian

Legal Deposit

Library and Archives Canada

ISSN 1715-5193

Privacy and Confidentiality

Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS) has policies in

place to protect the privacy of its donors and constituents.

NBS treats your personal information with respect. We

do not rent, sell or trade our mailing list. Any personal

information you provide is used to issue tax receipts and

to keep you informed of news, events and fundraising

opportunities in support of NBS. If you wish to be

removed from any future mailings, please contact the

Privacy Officer at 416.964.3780. To review our full policy,

please visit our website at www.nbs-enb.ca

Canada’s National Ballet School gratefully acknowledges

the contribution of the Government of Canada through the

Departments of Canadian Heritage and Human Resources

and Skills Development Canada; the Government of Ontario

through the Ontario Arts Council; the City of Toronto through

the Culture Division; and the British Columbia Arts Council.

Charitable Registration Number: 10808 9673 RR0001

400 JARVIS STREET, TORONTO ONTARIO, CANADA M4Y 2G6 TEL 416.964.3780 FAX 416.964.5145 WWW.NBS-ENB.CA

Making a legacy gift toward the endowed funds of Canada’s National Ballet School Foundation ensures a bright future for existing and future generations.

Canada’s National Ballet School Foundation (NBSF) was established to administer endowed funds which provide a sustainable source of income for the School. The Foundation currently manages $41-million in both designated and undesignated funds that are allocated for financial assistance, operating programs, and graduate awards.

Donors from all walks of life continue to leave legacies at NBS. Arthur Clarke, a beloved NBS donor who worked at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for much of his career established the Arthur Clarke Fund to support NBS’ students requiring financial assistance. Arthur’s legacy gift was matched by the Endowment Incentives component, a Department of Canadian Heritage program to encourage donors to support Canadian charities. The resulting impact increased the fund by 81%. Countless future dancers will benefit from The Arthur Clarke Fund—a lasting legacy indeed.

Many NBS supporters have left a mean-ingful gift through a bequest in their Wills. Arranging a bequest offers individuals peace of mind knowing that their philanthropic support will live on in their name, directed in a way that ensures a legacy reflective of what they care most about. The School’s “Future Steps Program” recognizes these generous donors during their lifetime and in lasting memory. Other friends of NBS choose to establish a named fund during their lifetime, then grow the fund through ongoing contributions or solicit tribute gifts in their honor through friends and family.

All gifts to the NBSF General Endowment Fund nourish the School’s core program-ming and provide support for general operations. A tribute gift to the Endowment allows donors to celebrate a birthday, mark a significant anniversary, or memorialize a loved one. Whether now, or in years to come, all gifts to NBSF ensure that our students’ dreams and the standard of training excellence at NBS lives on.

A Lasting Legacy

The NBS Development Office is dedicated to helping individuals, corporations and foundations find meaningful and mutually beneficial opportunities to become involved with NBS. Contact us to find out more:416.964.3780 [email protected] www.nbs-enb.ca

Documents

To the Pointe