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Alberta Ballet Company

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Alberta Ballet
General information
NameAlberta Ballet
Year founded1966
FoundersRuth Carse and Muriel Taylor
LocationCalgary
Websitealbertaballet.com
Senior staff
DirectorFrancesco Ventriglia
Artistic staff
Music DirectorPeter Dala
Other
Official schoolAlberta Ballet School

Alberta Ballet (also known as the Alberta Ballet Company) was founded by Muriel Taylor and Dr. Ruth Carse in 1958 and became a professional company in 1966.[1][2] The company is a resident company of both the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta and the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary, Alberta and performs its full season in both venues.

Development

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Carse directed the company until 1975.[3] She was followed by Jeremy Leslie-Spinks (1975-1976), Brydon Paige (1976–1988), and Ali Pourfarrokh (1988–1998). During Pourfarrokh's tenure, in 1990, the company merged with the Calgary City Ballet and moved into the Nat Christie Centre in Calgary. Since then, it has performed in both Edmonton and Calgary.

Former San Francisco Ballet dancer Mikko Nissinen then directed the company until 2002. Nissinen introduced Balanchine works, while continuing to commission new works from Canadian and international choreographers. He toured the company to China, Finland, and Egypt.[3]

Jean Grand-Maître was then appointed as artistic director. In 2019 Christopher Anderson was appointed co-artistic director of the company alongside Grand-Maître. This was planned as part of a three year transition process leading to Anderson becoming full artistic director of the company for the 2022/2023 season.

In June 2023 it was announced that Christopher Anderson and Alberta Ballet had "decided to part ways”.[4] Anderson left the company in December of 2023.

Francesco Ventriglia has been director of the company since January 2024.

Choreography

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Artistic director Jean Grand-Maître has choreographed Carmen, which toured China, and Fiddle and the Drum, a collaboration with Joni Mitchell while at the Alberta Ballet. In the spring of 2010 the company built on its ballet and pop collaboration by staging an Elton John production named Elton:[5] Love Lies Bleeding.[6] Elton John reportedly was so moved by Fiddle and the Drum that he asked Alberta Ballet to produce a ballet for him.

Alberta Ballet was the first Canadian company to stage a ballet by Christopher Wheeldon of the New York City Ballet. Wheeldon choreographed A Midsummer Night's Dream with the company. It also commissioned two pieces from Jorma Elo, of the Boston Ballet.

Canadian choreographer Sabrina Matthews has created pieces the company as well.

2015-2016 season

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The season included performances of the glam-rock ballet Love Lies Bleeding, featuring principal dancer Yukichi Hattori in the role of Elton John.[7]

2016-2017 season

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The 2016–2017 season featuring Alberta Ballet company dancers included Dracula, The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, and the World Premiere of Our Canada, a new creation in collaboration with Gordon Lightfoot. Dracula was on-loan from Texas Ballet Theater and choreographed by their artistic director, Ben Stevenson (dancer).

Guest company performances included Shadowland (performed by Pilobolus), a mixed bill from dance company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and Life (performed by BalletBoyz). [8]

Dancers

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Dancers of Alberta Ballet (2024/25):[9]

Name Nationality Ranking
Alan Ma China Principal Dancer
Luna Sasaki Japan Principal Dancer
Mariko Kondo Japan Principal Dancer
Aaron Anker United States Principal Dancer
Alexandra Hughes United States Principal Dancer
Caleb Durbin Australia Soloist Dancer
Jolie Rose Lombardo United States Corps de Ballet Dancer
Zachary Boresow United States Corps de Ballet Dancer
Scotto Hamed-Ramos United States Soloist Dancer
Alyssa Churchill Canada Corps de Ballet Dancer
Zara Bailey Australia Corps de Ballet Dancer
Tess Browning Canada Corps de Ballet Dancer
Scotto Hamed-Ramos United States Corps de Ballet Dancer
Matthew Maxwell Australia Corps de Ballet Dancer
Seira Iwamoto Japan Senior Corps de Ballet Dancer
Macyn Malana Vogt United States Corps de Ballet Dancer
Yaroslav Khudych Ukraine Corps de Ballet Dancer
Allison Perhach United States Soloist Dancer
Michael Scott-Kahans Australia Corps de Ballet Dancer
Rhys Hudson United States Corps de Ballet Dancer
Emmanuel López Martinez Mexico Corps de Ballet Dancer
Leona Takada Japan Corps de Ballet Dancer
Mirko Melandri Italy Corps de Ballet Dancer
Federico Vitali Italy Corps de Ballet Dancer
Alfonso Maria Guerriero Italy Corps de Ballet Dancer
Victoria Bourassa Canada Apprentice Dancer
Rikuto Kubota Japan Apprentice Dancer
Chizuru Kikuchi Japan Apprentice Dancer
Teodora Dvoretski Canada Apprentice Dancer
Hotaru Maruyama Japan Apprentice Dancer
Hinata Takahara Japan Apprentice Dancer
Isabel Tornqvist Canada Apprentice Dancer
Dylan West United States Apprentice Dancer

Alberta Ballet School

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The Professional Division at Alberta Ballet School is a full-time dance and academic training program for students in grades 7 through 12, with a part-time, dance-only option for those in grades 5 and 6. The School's Dedicated Contemporary Dance Stream is available to students in grades 10, 11 and 12 who wish to focus on contemporary dance.[10]

The School is led by Artistic Principal Ashley McNeil and, in 2018, was recognized by Canadian Heritage for its national impact in training artists for professional artistic careers, at the highest levels.[11]

Other Notable Artistic Staff

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  • David Adams
  • Jeremy Leslie-Spinks
  • Cherice Barton
  • Lambros Lambrou
  • Marianne Beausejour
  • Scott Harris
  • Brian Bender
  • Jay Brooker
  • Claude Caron
  • Nicole Caron [12]
  • David Chipman Seibert
  • Svea Eklof
  • Marc LeClerc
  • Mark Mahler
  • Daniel McLaren
  • Barbara Moore
  • Kevin Peterman
  • Michel Rahn
  • Martin Vallée
  • Yumiko Takeshima
  • Greg Zane
  • Jung Min Hong
  • Howard Epstein
  • Clark Blakley
  • Wayne Mcknight
  • Anita Bostok
  • Youri Alechine
  • Stephanie Achuff

References

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  1. ^ Anderson, Jack (17 October 1997). "From Alberta, a Troupe Both Lyrical and Dramatic". New York Times. New York City, United States. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  2. ^ Sanderson, Kay (1999). 200 Remarkable Alberta Women. Calgary: Famous Five Foundation. p. 91. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013.
  3. ^ a b Crabb, Michael (August 2005). "Alberta Ballet's Dramatic Moves". Dance Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  4. ^ Jarvie, Michele (7 July 2023). "'Alberta Ballet to lose artistic director after one full season at the helm'". Calgary Herald.
  5. ^ "AMA Home Page - AMA". AMA. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Alberta Ballet Performances - ELTON". Archived from the original on 10 January 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Dancer Yukichi Hattori stepping away from stage after Love Lies Bleeding". Calgary Herald, Salena Kitteringham, May 2, 2016
  8. ^ Bonfield, Stephan. "Gordon Lightfoot, Dracula a part of Alberta Ballet's 2016-2017 Season". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Dancers 2021". Alberta Ballet. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ^ "About the School of Alberta Ballet". Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Investing in Arts Training Programs in Alberta". Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  12. ^ Levesque, Roger (24 October 2017). "Alberta Ballet's Sensual Venture into a Dangerous Seduction". Postmedia. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
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