Principal Casting Announced for The National Ballet of Canada's ETUDES, PIANO CONCERTO #1 and PETITE MORT

Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced the principal casting for Etudes by Danish choreographer Harald Lander, Alexei Ratmansky's Piano Concerto #1 and the company premiere of Jiří Kylián's Petite Mort. The mixed programme is onstage November 27 - December 1, 2019 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. #EtudesNBC #PianoConcerto1NBC #PetiteMortNBC

Created in 1948 for The Royal Danish Ballet, Etudes is Harald Lander's most popular work, a celebration of ballet technique, set to piano exercises by Carl Czerny. The opening night cast on November 27 features Principal Dancers Heather Ogden, Harrison James and Naoya Ebe in the lead roles.

Alexei Ratmansky's Piano Concerto #1 is the third part of his Shostakovich Trilogy, which pays tribute to Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. A work of great beauty and power, Piano Concerto #1 contains some of the most compelling choreography in the trilogy. The opening night cast features Principal Dancers Svetlana Lunkina, Harrison James, Naoya Ebe and First Soloist Jenna Savella in principal roles.

Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián originally created Petite Mort for the 1991 Salzburg Festival to mark the second centenary of the death of Mozart. Set to movements from two of Mozart's most famous piano concertos, Petite Mort is a dynamic short ballet that evokes the intense yearning and latent eroticism of the music. Playing on sexual innuendo in the phrase "petite mort" or "little death", a cast of six male and six female dancers move and spar with one another in beautiful and unexpected ways.

Etudes

Heather Ogden (November 27, 30 at 7:30 pm)
Jillian Vanstone* (November 28 at 7:30 pm/November 30 at 2:00 pm)
Svetlana Lunkina* (November 29 at 7:30 pm/December 1 at 2:00 pm)

Harrison James*, Naoya Ebe* (November 27, 30 at 7:30 pm)
Donald Thom*, Siphesihle November* (November 28 at 7:30 pm/November 30 at 2:00 pm)
Harrison James, Skylar Campbell* (November 29 at 7:30 pm/December 1 at 2:00 pm)

Piano Concerto #1

Svetlana Lunkina and Harrison James (November 27, 29, 30 at 7:30 pm)
Elena Lobsanova and Brendan Saye* (November 28 at 7:30 pm/November 30, December 1 at 2:00 pm)

Jenna Savella and Naoya Ebe* (November 27, 29, 30 at 7:30 pm)
Koto Ishihara* and Spencer Hack* (November 28 at 7:30 pm/December 1 at 2:00 pm)
Tina Pereira* and Skylar Campbell* (November 30 at 2:00 pm)

Petite Mort

Elena Lobsanova, Larkin Miller
Koto Ishihara, Skylar Campbell
Jillian Vanstone, Donald Thom
Tina Pereira, Spencer Hack
Hannah Fischer, Brendan Saye
Greta Hodgkinson, Guillaume Côté
(November 27, 29, 30 at 7:30 pm)

Antonella Martinelli, Larkin Miller
Jenna Savella, Isaac Wright
Svetlana Lunkina, Brent Parolin
Tanya Howard, Naoya Ebe
Heather Ogden, Ben Rudisin
Sonia Rodriguez, Piotr Stanczyk
(November 28 at 7:30 pm/November 30 at 2:00 pm)

Antonella Martinelli, Larkin Miller
Jenna Savella, Isaac Wright
Jillian Vanstone, Donald Thom
Tanya Howard, Naoya Ebe
Heather Ogden, Ben Rudisin
Sonia Rodriguez, Piotr Stanczyk
(December 1 at 2:00 pm)

* Debut

All casting is subject to change.