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The dancers' story the National Ballet of Canada

Title: The dancers' story [videorecording] : the National Ballet of Canada / produced by Sound Venture Productions and Veronica Tennant Productions ; directed by Mark Adams and Veronica Tennant ; produced by Veronica Tennant and Neil Bregman.
Publication: Ottawa, Canada : Sound Venture Productions, c2002.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request Appointment Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Performing Arts Research Collections to submit a request in person.	Moving image	Use in library	*MGZIDVD 5-163	Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance

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Description

1 videodisc (PAL) (57 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

Documentary on the history of the National Ballet of Canada, as seen through the dancers' eyes. The program opens with reminiscences by Celia Franca, the company's founder and first artistic director, filmed in St. Lawrence Hall in Toronto, the company's original home. Each decade of the company's history, from the 1950s to the 1990s, is represented by a group of dancers who joined during that time. They are depicted in the present day, practicing at the barre in St. Lawrence Hall, while archival footage and still photographs portray them in past performances, rehearsals, and classes. They discuss their experiences in the company: their artistic aspirations; their favorite ballets and roles; their working relationships with other dancers, choreographers, and company directors. Interspersed among these segments are excerpts of ballets performed by present-day company members. At the close of the program, artistic director James Kudelka is seen in the studio, working on the choreography for his ballet The contract with dancer Martine Lamy.

Donor/Sponsor

Gift of the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation.

Uniform Title

Sylphides (Choreographic work : Fokin)
Romeo and Juliet (Choreographic work : Cranko)
Sleeping beauty (Choreographic work : Nureyev after Petipa, M)
Merry widow (Choreographic work : Hynd)
Nutcracker (Choreographic work : Kudelka)
Contract (Choreographic work : Kudelka)

Subjects

Genre/Form

Dance.
Documentaries and factual films and programs.
Video.

Credits (note)

Written by Veronica Tennant ; executive producer, Neil Bregman ; director of photography, John Askwith ; director of photography for St. Lawrence Hall sequences, Robert Macdonald. Produced in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and with ARTV, Bravo!, Knowledge Network, Saskatchewan Communications Network.

System Details (note)

DVD.

Contents

The fifties / interviewees, Brian Macdonald, Grant Strate, Yves Cousineau, Angela Leigh, Lois Smith, Lawrence Adams, Lilian Jarvis, Robert Ito. Topics include the founding of the company in Toronto; its early seasons and tours; the partnership of Lois Smith and David Adams (brother of Lawrence Adams).
[Dance excerpt:] Les sylphides: nocturne / recorded on location at the National Ballet School Theatre; staged by Magdalena Popa after Michel Fokine; music, Frédéric Chopin; danced by Chan Hon Goh, Sonia Rodriguez, and Aleksandar Antonijevic; piano, Ormsby Wilkins.
The sixties / interviewees, Veronica Tennant, Nadia Potts, Victoria Bertram, Lorna Geddes, Vanessa Harwood, Joysanne Sidimus, Timothy Spain. Topics include the founding of the National Ballet School by Celia Franca and Betty Oliphant; the company's production of John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet; Erik Bruhn's engagement as guest artist.
[Dance excerpts:] Romeo and Juliet: first, second, and third madrigals / recorded on location at the National Ballet School Studio; choreography, John Cranko, staged by Reid Anderson; music, Sergei Prokofiev; danced by Heather Ogden and Guillaume Côté.
The seventies / interviewees, James Kudelka, Karen Kain, Frank Augustyn, Tomas Schramek, Mavis Staines, Peter Ottmann. Topics include Rudolf Nureyev's engagement as guest artist, and his partnership with Karen Kain; tours of Europe and the U.S., including seasons at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City; the partnership of Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn, and the recognition they gained for Canadian dancers upon winning the International Ballet Competition in Moscow.
[Dance excerpt:] The sleeping beauty: grand pas de deux [adagio] / recorded on location at the National Ballet School Theatre; choreography, Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa; music, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky; danced by Greta Hodgkinson and Aleksandar Antonijevic.
The eighties / interviewees, Kevin Pugh, Rex Harrington, Jeremy Ransom, Gizella Witkowsky, Sabina Allemann. Topics include Erik Bruhn's term as artistic director, and the strong contingent of male dancers he fostered; the achievements of Glen Tetley as artistic associate.
[Dance excerpt:] The merry widow: waltz, Act III / recorded on location at All Saints Anglican Church, Ottawa; choreography, Ronald Hynd; music, Franz Lehár; musical adaptation, John Lanchbery; danced by Xiao Nan Yu and Rex Harrington; piano, Ormsby Wilkins; violin, Fujiko Imajishi.
The nineties / interviewees, Dominique Dumais, Aleksandar Antonijevic, Chan Hon Goh, Sonia Rodriguez, Xiao Nan Yu, Guillaume Côté. Topics include Reid Anderson's artistic directorship; the present-day state of the company.
[Dance excerpt:] The nutcracker: snow trio / recorded on location at the National Ballet School Theatre; choreography and libretto, James Kudelka; music, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky; danced by Heather Ogden, Guillaume Côté, Etienne Lavigne.
[Dance excerpt:] Romeo and Juliet: Romeo's solo / recorded on location at the National Ballet School Studio; choreography, John Cranko, staged by Reid Anderson; music, Sergei Prokofiev; danced by Guillaume Côté.
[Dance excerpt:] The contract (in creation) / recorded on location at the Walter Carsen Centre; choreography, James Kudelka; libretto, Robert Sirman; music, Michael Torke; danced by Martine Lamy.

Call Number

*MGZIDVD 5-163

OCLC

NYPY05-F10180

Title

The dancers' story [videorecording] : the National Ballet of Canada / produced by Sound Venture Productions and Veronica Tennant Productions ; directed by Mark Adams and Veronica Tennant ; produced by Veronica Tennant and Neil Bregman.

Imprint

Ottawa, Canada : Sound Venture Productions, c2002.

System Details

DVD.

Credits

Written by Veronica Tennant ; executive producer, Neil Bregman ; director of photography, John Askwith ; director of photography for St. Lawrence Hall sequences, Robert Macdonald. Produced in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and with ARTV, Bravo!, Knowledge Network, Saskatchewan Communications Network.

Performer

Interviewees/dancers: members of the National Ballet of Canada.

Added Author

Adam, Mark. Director

Tennant, Veronica. Director. Producer. Author. Interviewee

Bregman, Neil. Producer

Franca, Celia, 1921-2007, interviewee.

MacDonald, Brian. Interviewee

Strate, Grant, 1927- Interviewee

Cousineau, Yves. Interviewee

Leigh, Angela. Interviewee

Smith, Lois. Interviewee

Adams, Lawrence, -2003. Interviewee

Jarvis, Lilian. Interviewee

Ito, Robert. Interviewee

Potts, Nadia. Interviewee

Bertram, Victoria. Interviewee

Geddes, Lorna. Interviewee

Harwood, Vanessa. Interviewee

Sidimus, Joysanne. Interviewee

Spain, Timothy. Interviewee

Kudelka, James. ive, choreographer.

Kain, Karen. Interviewee

Augustyn, Frank. Interviewee

Schramek, Tomas. Interviewee

Staines, Mavis. Interviewee

Ottmann, Peter. Interviewee

Pugh, Kevin. Interviewee

Harrington, Rex. ive, dancer.

Ransom, Jeremy. Interviewee

Witkowsky, Gizella. Interviewee

Allemann, Sabina. Interviewee

Dumais, Dominique. Interviewee

Antonijevic, Aleksandar. ive, dancer.

Goh, Chan Hon. ive, dancer.

Rodriguez, Sonia. ive, dancer.

Yu, Xiao Nan. ive, dancer.

Côté, Guillaume. ive, dancer.

Ogden, Heather, dancer.

Hodgkinson, Greta, dancer.

Lavigne, Etienne, dancer.

Lamy, Martine, dancer.

National Ballet of Canada.

Sound Venture Productions (Firm)

Veronica Tennant Productions.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Added Title

Sylphides (Choreographic work : Fokin)

Romeo and Juliet (Choreographic work : Cranko)

Sleeping beauty (Choreographic work : Nureyev after Petipa, M)

Merry widow (Choreographic work : Hynd)

Nutcracker (Choreographic work : Kudelka)

Contract (Choreographic work : Kudelka)

Research Call Number

*MGZIDVD 5-163

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