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There are many dance companies in Canada. Listed are some of the professional dance companies.
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There are many dance companies in Canada. Listed are some of the professional dance companies.
The Canadian Encyclopedia lists some other companies:
The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 by artistic director Hope Muir. Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets, as well as the development of Canadian choreographers.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America.
Ludmilla Chiriaeff was a Latvian-Canadian ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company director.
Brian Ronald Macdonald was a Canadian dancer, choreographer and director of opera, theatre and musical theatre.
Louis Robitaille, is a Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was discovered at a high school dance performance and received a scholarship to train at Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. He danced with Anik Bissonnette in Eddy Toussaint's dance company, where they garnered acclaim. He also danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as a principal dancer.
Grant Strate, was a Canadian dancer, choreographer and academic.
Fernand Nault, OC, CQ was a Canadian dancer and choreographer.
The Canadian Ballet Festival was an annual event staged in Canada from 1948 to 1954 that brought together various Canadian dance companies to generate public interest in classical dance. Prior to the festivals, it was difficult for professional Canadian dancers to earn a living by practising their art in their own country. When the festivals ended in 1954 after six years, Canadian dancers were able to find paid work in Canadian television practising their art.
The Toronto Dance Theatre is a Canadian modern dance company based in Toronto, Ontario. Described by The Canadian Encyclopedia as "one of the foremost modern-dance companies in Canada", the company tours nationally and internationally and regularly performs at the Harbourfront Centre and Winchester Street Theatre in Toronto. The company currently consists of nine dancers and two dance interns in addition to other artistic staff. The ensemble has been led by Artistic Director Christopher House since 1994.
Norbert Vesak, one of Canada's leading choreographers in the 1970s, was a ballet dancer, choreographer, theatrical director, master teacher, dance columnist, lecturer, and opera ballet director, known for his unique, flamboyant style and his multimedia approach to classical and contemporary choreography. He is credited with helping to bring modern dance to Western Canada.
Reid Bryce Anderson is a Canadian ballet dancer, ballet director and artistic director. He danced with the Stuttgart Ballet before returning as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada in 1987. He returned to the Stuttgart Ballet as artistic director in 1996.
Vincent de Paul Warren, was a Canadian dance historian and lecturer. After a distinguished career as a ballet dancer and teacher, he became widely known and respected as a historian and archivist. He is celebrated as a leading figure in the dance world of Canada.
Robert Guy Desrosiers is a Canadian dancer, choreographer, and actor. After a brief dance career, he founded the Desrosiers Dance Theatre and choreographed surreal and theatrical dances. After the company’s disbandment, he pursued a variety of artistic professions before returning as a freelance choreographer.
David Earle is a Canadian choreographer, dancer and artistic director. In 1968 Earle was co-founder and co-artistic director of Toronto Dance Theatre alongside Patricia Beatty and Peter Randazzo, where Earle choreographed new modern dance pieces. In 1996 Earle started his own company called Dancetheatre David Earle where he continues to choreograph new works, to teach, and to create with the next generation of modern dancers. David Earle has received many accolades; a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Jean A. Chalmers Award for Distinction in Choreography, also an honorary doctorate degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Eva von Gencsy was a dancer, choreographer and teacher. After immigrating to Canada from Europe she performed with prominent Canadian dance companies Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. After discovering jazz dance she founded a new style of dance called ballet-jazz. She created Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal in 1972 and became their first artistic director. After leaving the company she continued to teach and showcase her new style of dance across Canada and around the world. She died in Montreal of complications due to cardiac arrest.
Ballet BC is a contemporary ballet company located in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Geneviève Salbaing was a Canadian dancer, choreographer and director. She was born in Paris but moved to Casablanca shortly afterwards. She began taking classes at three years old and returned to Paris to continue her training. After dancing with the Washington Concert Ballet for three years, she moved to Montreal and danced for various choreographers. After getting injured she turned her attention to choreography and co-founded Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. She became its artistic director and opened dance studios in various Canadian cities to train dancers in the ballet-jazz style. She retired as its artistic director in 1992. In 1987 Salbaing was appointed a member of the Order of Canada and in 2012 she became an officer of the National Order of Quebec.
Miriam Elaine Adams is a dancer, choreographer, and dance archivist from Toronto. After performing with the National Ballet of Canada, she co-founded 15 Dance Laboratorium with her husband Lawrence Adams. It was the first theatre to present experimental dance in Toronto. In 1983, Miriam and Lawrence launched Encore! Encore! to document the works of six Canadian choreographers from the 1940s and 1950s, and in 1986 they launched a centre for archiving dance and publishing books called Arts Inter-Media Canada/Dance Collection Danse (DCD).
Annette av Paul is a Swedish-Canadian ballet dancer who had a 30-year dance career performing, teaching, and directing companies across Canada. Av Paul was born in Rönninge, Sweden, about 30 kilometres outside Stockholm on February 11, 1944. Her mother was a dance and piano teacher and her father an artist and writer. She studied at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and in 1962, at the age of 17, was apprenticed to the company, becoming principal dancer in 1966.
Judith Rose Marcuse is a Canadian dancer and choreographer. She created over 100 choreographic works many of which are focused on community-engaged art for social change. Marcuse's performance and choreographic work has been recognized in Canada and around the world.