Now in its eighth season, the production glitters more than ever as audiences embark on an unforgettable journey through the land of the snow, lemonade sea and kingdom of the sugar plum fairy to join clara and her beloved nutcracker as they battle the evil mouse king and his army of mischievous mice. Ahead of guillaumes second performance this friday, we had the opportunity to ask him a few questions. Guillaume cote, comeback of a ballet superstar the star. It happened at the four seasons centre on opening night of the nutcracker on dec. Elena lobsanova as the sugar plum fairy in the nutcracker. The nutcracker simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The dance company says heather ogden and guillaume cote are expecting their. The nutcracker is the ballet worlds beloved holiday classic, but it can also be a stressful gig, especially for the dozens of kids who perform in every show. If youre off to see graeme murphys moving reimagaination of the nutcracker, nows the time to get acquainted with the story, which follows a ballerina, clara, through the glamour and romance, tragedy and travels of her life. Jun 01, 2017 a principal dancer and choreographic associate with the national ballet of canada, guillaume has no time for cultural snobbery. Tags balletballet in canadaguillaume cotethe dancer previous video. The nutcracker prince musters his toy infantry and the cavalry. Mar 05, 2015 from there, karen kain, the 63yearold artistic director of the national ballet of canada, surveys her dancers, assessing every arabesque, wincing at every shaky landing. It tells the story of a little girl who goes to the land of sweets on christmas eve.
One of the highlights of national ballet of canadas 60th anniversary season is a gorgeous new version of romeo and juliet by alexei ratmansky. So, minutes into the second act, guillaume cote, as the nutcracker, fell and limped off stage with a torn acl that will put him out for months. Going beyond traditional fare this ballet season the new. Guillaume cote exploring the world one stage at a time. Guillaume cote, dancer the national ballet of canada. Stage dance guillaume cote national ballet heather ogden. On the slushy evening of december, kain took her spot for the openingnight performance of the nutcracker. He falls in love with the sugar plum fairy heather ogden. National ballet of canada to broadcast nutcracker to movie. Hoffmann, in which young marie stahlbaums favourite christmas toy, the nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil mouse king in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls. Ballet is often seen as an elitist art form, but i think its. Her repertoire includes principal roles in swan lake, romeo and juliet, the nutcracker, and cinderella. Speaking of grand rapids ballet, what sets a company like ours apart from others with which youve worked. The event features holiday activities for the whole family throughout the four seasons centre, with characters from the nutcracker making special appearances.
Katherine barber is an ardent balletomane who has spent the last 15 years travelling to places as farflung as chile, japan, and australia to see. The phone call led to a dinner in new york where vavrek delved into the story of angels bone, which is a one act opera. Everyone else acknowledged their chemistry before they did. Once again drosselmeyer calls upon his magic and the nutcracker is transformed into a handsome boy. Johan kobborg, vadim muntagirov, guillaume cote, ilya. National ballets guillaume cote sidelined by knee injury. Miami city ballets the nutcracker is based on george balanchines the nutcracker which was first presented in february 1954, audiences were captivated by tchaikovskys score and balanchines choreography. Stahlbaums children were not allowed to set foot in the family parlor. Guillaume cote principal dancer of the national ballet. Nutcracker performance listings are provided by state and city and by the company performing the nutcracker ballet. First soloist jack bertinshaw makes his debut this season as peterthe. Kudelka added another layer to enrich the original story line, and this element certainly holds up. The national ballet of canadas the nutcracker woman.
Just as the mouse king is about to overpower the nutcracker doll, clara distracts him, allowing the nutcracker to strike the winning blow. Hoffmanns original story, the nutcracker and mouse king, maries claras, journey becomes a fevered delirium that transports her to a land where she sees sparkling christmas forests and marzipan castles, but in a world populated with dolls. A production of west side story suite has offered new challenges to some of canadas ballet dancers, forcing them to add song. This season, first soloist koto ishihara makes her debut as the sugar plum fairy. The dance company says heather ogden and guillaume cote. The national ballet of canadas guillaume cote has no time. From the beginning balanchine wanted a tree that would grow to a majestic height. Tours en lair presented by cwt victor travel offers escorted holidays for ballet lovers to europe and north america, featuring premium performance tickets and a comprehensive sightseeing program. Canada ballet dancers add west side story songs reuters.
Amongst the hottest classical choreographers in the world right now, ratmansky has been churning out one success after another. National ballet of canada announces principal casting for. Inspired by a hoffmann tale, the nutcracker ballet is the story of little claras adventures in the land of snow and other magical kingdoms on christmas night. Hoffmanns 1816 fairy tale the nutcracker and the mouse king. In which romeo and juliet actually get a happy ending. National ballet of canada star guillaume cote was felled by a knee injury during saturday evenings performance of the nutcracker at. National ballet of canadas slippery nutcracker by bachtrack for. Here is a sampling of upcoming ballet performances around the world. For guillaume cote, the road to his ballet crypto runs right. Td waterhouse is delighted to be the presenting sponsor of the nutcracker.
Its an irresistible tale of a toy soldier that turns into a prince. When he was a child in northern quebec, his artsloving schoolteacher parents decided their community lacked culture and invited a montreal teacher, france proulx, to establish a ballet school in lac stjean. Jun 1, 2015 guillaume cote was born in lacsaintjean, quebec. He studied at canadas national ballet school, joined the national ballet of canada in 1999 and has been a principal dancer since 2004. The nutcracker the dance current canadas dance magazine. Guillaume cote s first time performing in paris, the star of the national ballet of canada, one of the most talented dancers of his generation, proved in front of a packed house that he was in full possession of his artistic and athletic skills and indispensable qualities to interpret the leading role in nijinsky. Both principal dancers with the national ballet of canada, ogden and cote first met in their teens.
Sep 19, 2017 johan kobborg, vadim muntagirov, guillaume cote, ilya kuznetsov stay safe and healthy. Chan hon goh and guillaume cote in giselle by bruce zinger. For principal dancer guillaume cote in the title role, nijinsky is a triumph of dramatic intensity. Dec 20, 2012 james kudelkas nutcracker still surprises after all these years.
See more ideas about ballet school, dancer and ballet. Before we announce the winners of the 2017 myentworld critics pick awards, were proud to present our annual nominee interview series. The national ballet of canada announces the nutcracker. National ballet of canada the nutcracker ludwig van. National ballet of canada announces principal casting for the. The nutcracker on the twentyfourth of december, dr.
James kudelkas nutcracker still surprises after all these. Oct 30, 20 theres more to the autumnwinter season than ubiquitous productions of the nutcracker. Be sure to check out the nutcracker site before you decide where you will see a holiday performance of the nutcracker. The naked ambition of national ballet artistic director karen. Dec 16, 20 guillaume cote is a ballet dancer respected internationally for his outstanding musicality, technique and dramatic interpretation.
National ballet of canada dazzles audiences on firstever. Guillaume cote, principal dancer and choreographer of the national ballet of canada, one of the best of the world and one of my favorites. Yes, a midsummer nights dream tells a story, but its done so differently from the way that swan lake tells one that it seems like theres hardly a throughline from the one to the other. Nutcracker ballet nutcracker ballet performances in canada. Dec 15, 2018 miami city ballets the nutcracker is based on george balanchines the nutcracker which was first presented in february 1954, audiences were captivated by tchaikovskys score and balanchines choreography. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. The nutcracker site provides a central location for nutcracker ballet information. This season, first soloist koto ishihara makes her debut as the sugar plum. Nutcracker ballet vancouver, british columbia, canada goh ballet academy presents the nutcracker ballet nutcracker performance listings by state, city and the company performing the ballet.
The nutcrackers young stars brave the spotlight cbc news. Heather ogden and guillaume cote are two of the national ballet of canadas principal dancers and not only are they amazing at their jobs, theyre the cutest couple in the business. Created in 1995 by the national ballets former artistic director james kudelka, this stunningly designed and richly choreographed version of the perennial christmas classic is a holiday gem, traditional and touchingly affectionate, yet imbued with the vigour, wit and briskness of a contemporary sensibility. Martinss perfunctory story ballets for the one major company, new york city ballet, that doesnt really believe in them used to be unavoidable. The national ballet of canada announces the nutcracker casting. A young man loses himself in his environment so that his movements reveal the world that exists in his imagination, transcending reality through his muse of dance. He studied at canadas national ballet school, joined the national ballet of canada in 1998. Well, every company has a unique culture, of course, but what im loving here is the generosity and openness the dancers have in their work process. Dec 15, 2014 national ballet of canada star guillaume cote was felled by a knee injury during saturday evenings performance of the nutcracker at torontos four seasons centre and could be sidelined for. Guillaume cote, principal dancer at the national ballet of canada, talks to yonge street about his coveted role as ballet legend nijinsky.
Grand rapids ballet anne mueller blog grand rapids, mi. Hoffmanns tales were so bizarre, sigmund freud wrote about them in the uncanny. You might be a ballerina signs youre obsessed with ballet the nutcracker ballet. The nutcracker is perfect to attend with loved ones during the holidays. Le petit prince devoted national ballet of canada fans will not want to miss le petit prince as guillaume cote makes his choreographic debut with the ballet. Cote, the films choreographer and principal dancer with the national ballet of. James kudelkas nutcracker still surprises after all.
National ballet of canada stars heather ogden and guillaume. Td waterhouse is delighted to be the presenting sponsor of. The onandoffstage love story of canadas top ballet. The childrens companions on the trip are two other created characters, their nurse baba alejandra perezgomez and peter the stable boy guillaume cote. It is peter who is transformed into the nutcracker prince. Guillaume cote principal dancer of the national ballet of. Ballet ouests adaptation was created in 1984 by margaret mehuys. A conversation with guillaume cote landgraf on dance.
The story of the national ballets cutest ballerina couple. Oct 21, 2014 posts about guillaume cote written by jenniferpeacockpr. Mr cote is in great demand as a guest artist at major ballet companies around the world, such as teatro alla scala, english national ballet, the royal ballet, american ballet theatre, the mikhailovsky theatre, the hamburg ballet and stuttgart ballet. Guillaume cote, dancer the national ballet of canada the. Guillaume cote, principal dancer of the national ballet of canada, had just made his debut as a guest dancer with moscows bolshoi ballet the previous evening, dancing romeo in alexei ratmanskys version of romeo and juliet alongside evgenia obraztsova. The open house is free of charge to ticket buyers of the 2 pm performance. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. One of those once a year outings when you get dressed up, take the train into the city, go out for dinner, and make a day around the main event of watching the impossibly graceful dancers float across the far away stage, usually to the familiar melodies of tchaikovskys the nutcracker.
Jan 18, 2012 guillaume cote is a native of lacsaintjean, quebec. He studied at canadas national ballet school, joined the national ballet of canada in 1998 and became a principal dancer in 2004. How principal ballerina heather ogden lives her life with. Nutcracker story time will continue this year, beginning 45 minutes prior to every performance. It may be a country that gave rise to swan lake, the nutcracker and sleeping beauty, but canadas top ballet dancers wowed a moscow audience as it opened its firstever tour of russia with a. And not unlike a fairytale romance, they fell in love. The nutcracker heather ogden and guillaume cote the national ballet of canada dec 12 at 7. The couple then went on to play other classic duos in. Guillaume cote on neumeiers nijinsky the ballet bag. Apr 05, 2018 for these performances, nbc has brought some impressive casts, including, on first night, guillaume cote in the title role, heather ogden as romola nijinsky, plus evan mckie in the commanding role of impresario sergei diaghilev. Nutcracker exploring the world one stage at a time.
Nov 25, 2015 guillaume cote, comeback of a ballet superstar. Toronto stages serve up festive fare for a wide variety of tastes this holiday season. This is the love story of heather ogden and guillaume cote. Its just one more way were helping communities in canada. From there, karen kain, the 63yearold artistic director of the national ballet of canada, surveys her dancers, assessing every arabesque, wincing at every shaky landing. Guillaume cote is a ballet dancer respected internationally for his. The nutcracker heather ogden and guillaume cote nboc.
Karen kain, artistic director of the national ballet of canada, today announced the principal casting for the nutcracker. National ballet of canadas slippery nutcracker by pia savoie, 16 december 2014 while some criticize ballet for lacking innovation, bringing back time and again the same shows weve seen a hundred times over, there is one classic that will never tire. Heather ogden and guillaume cote are two of the national ballet of canadas principal dancers and not only are they amazing at their jobs. Over coffee the other day cote recalled the night when one of his stupendous leaps ended. National ballets guillaume cote sidelined by knee injury the star. Hoffmann, but most everyone is familiar with his most famous creation. Enter claras warm and welcoming home, laugh at the buffooneries of the king of sweets, and be swept away by tchaikovskys timeless score. National ballet of canada star guillaume cote was felled by a knee injury during saturday evenings performance of the nutcracker at torontos four seasons centre and could be sidelined for six months or more. Learn more about guillaume cote, principal dancer with the national ballet of canada since 2004. They were later paired to perform lead roles in the companys major ballets, including swan lake, romeo and juliet the couples personal favourite and sleeping beauty. A young man loses himself in his environment so that his movements reveal the world that exists in his imagination, transcending reality through his muse of. I was thinking about comments about national ballet of canada and australian ballet and how limited touring was for companies that are funded as national, and this article about national ballet of canadas plans to broadcast their nutcracker across canada on 22 december 07 might describe the beginning of a more equitable distribution of resources.
Or, you may know ogden from her reallife love story. At 34, guillaume cote seems young to be called the comeback kid, but thats what he will be wednesday night when he returns to the stage of the four seasons centre as romeo after a painfully long intermission. The dark, romantic roots of the nutcracker few people today remember e. The naked ambition of national ballet artistic director. Sep 19, 2014 guillaume cote, principal dancer and choreographer of the national ballet of canada, one of the best of the world and one of my favorites. The onandoffstage love story of canadas top ballet dancers. Read this christmas story and find out why it has charmed generations of people. It follows the plight of two angels discovered on earth who are forced into spiritual and sexual slavery at the hands of a financially troubled couple.