Announcing CBJ’s 30th Anniversary Season!

Canada’s Ballet Jörgen (CBJ) announces its 30th anniversary season featuring a remount of Anastasia with new choreography, and The Nutcracker, A Canadian Tradition in celebration of our nation’s 150th anniversary of confederation.

CBJ will bring these productions and other Canadian ballets on a national tour to 9 provinces, with performances in over 40 communities from September 2017 to May 2018. Building on the Company’s efforts to extend its reach to more Canadian communities, the tour will include performances in Québec and Manitoba, and extended engagements in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. The company will also bring Anastasia and The Velveteen Rabbit to the United States.

The tour will strengthen the Company’s values of accessibility and community engagement by offering our popular education programs and outreach initiatives at all tour stops. As with all CBJ major productions, both Anastasia and The Nutcracker, A Canadian Tradition will include young dancers from local communities.

Additional initiatives to celebrate the 30th anniversary season will serve to emphasize the Company’s contribution to the Canadian dance ecology through its holistic approach to three interconnected modules: Performance, Education, and Community. Projects include a video series from Canadian choreographers highlighting the Company’s dedication to Canadian original works.

Anastasia
Inspired by the life of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the production was originally created by Artistic Director and CEO Bengt Jörgen for the company’s 20th anniversary season. This season, in commemoration of 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Czar, the production will be remounted with additional choreography.

The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition
The company celebrates Canada150 with its signature holiday favourite, featuring Bengt Jörgen’s original choreography, and backdrops inspired by the Group of Seven landscape paintings in the McMichael Canadian Collection.

The Velveteen Rabbit
The season opens with the 4 time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominated production of The Velveteen Rabbit. Based on Margery Williams’ treasured story of a young boy and his stuffed rabbit that comes to life, this fairy tale ballet by choreographer Kathleen Rea features music by Ivan Barbotin.

Bouffonia – An Evening of Contemporary and Classical Works
Bouffonia marks the return of acclaimed Canadian choreographer Robert Desrosiers in 2013, bearing the unmistakable hallmark of one of the country’s most imaginative choreographers. The programme will also celebrate Canadian choreography with contemporary works by Hanna Kiel, Allen Kaeja and Derek Sangster, as well as excerpts from CBJ’s extensive original repertoire.

Check out our 2017/2018 Tour Dates here!