FASHION Magazine

The principal dancer plans her final bow.

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The life of a ballerina never ceases to inspire and amaze us—whether we’re talking how a dancer does her makeup or how he/she warms up backstage, we just want to be a part of that beauty. When it comes to the costumes, it’s basically a fashion girl’s dream come true to visit the wardrobe room […]

The post Ballerina Greta Hodgkinson’s Favourite Costumes of All Time appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the Mad Hot Ballet: Dangerous Love photos »

On Wednesday night, Canada’s best ballet dancers and their most glamorous fans filled the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts to bask in the sultry Spanish glow of Mat Hot Ballet: Dangerous Love. The National Ballet of Canada’s annual benefit gala took its theme from the current production of Carmen, showcasing a few highlights within a dazzling gala performance. Featuring four showy snippets from various pieces, it included Summer Pas de Deux, an excerpt from The Four Seasons, Enketi, choreographed by principal dancer Guillaume Côté and the astoundingly fouette-filled Grand Pas de Deux from Don Quixote performed by Piotr Stanczyk and guest artist Svetlana Lunkina.

See the photos from Greta’s fitting »

For those of us ladies who were once girls who fantasized about being ballerinas, this ones for you! Next Wednesday, The National Ballet of Canada will host its annual Mad Hot Ballet fundraising gala. As always, the gala takes its theme from its current ballet, and this year that ballet is Carmen, the sultry tale of doomed love. To match the ballet’s “Dangerous Love” lace and leather aesthetic, you can expect the gala’s attendees to dress in kind, especially its star, principal dancer Greta Hodgkinson. To find something suitable, Hodgkinson hit up Toronto-based designer Lucian Matis last week and let us come along for the ride. “It’s always fun to play dress up and try on such beautiful clothes,” she told us. And while Hodginkson’s final dress is being kept under wraps until next week’s event, have a look through her fitting for a sneak peek at a few potential options.

Want in on the ballet’s Mad Hot Ballet “Dangerous” Love gala? Tickets are available for purchase at national.ballet.ca!

See the photo gallery »

The tutus were out in full force for the official opening of the National Ballet of Canada’s twofold exhibitions celebrating the company’s first 60 years. 60 Years of Designing the Ballet and the Tutu Project debuted with a glitzy reveal at Toronto’s Design Exchange, with everyone from the ballet’s own dancers like Greta Hodgkinson, Tina Pereira and former prima ballerina Victoria Tennant to Jeanne Beker and Vawk’s Sunny Fong raising a glass in toast. The first exhibit, a look back at some of the most notable costumes and sets curated by the company’s former costume designer Caroline O’Brien, came complete with ultra-lifelike dessert tables and a magical blue sleigh from The Nutcracker and several costumes for the wishful dancers to try on and pose with (we indulged, obviously). The second, an assembly of 60 specially designed tutus—one to celebrate each year in business—was displayed throughout the room. Guests seemed to take their toast quite literally, with Kara Alloway in a voluminous Mary Katrantzou lampshade skirt, Karolyne Ellacott in an actual tutu dress and several other attendees sporting pulled-back ballet topknots.

Go behind the scenes with Evan »

When I danced as a guest at the Paris Opera and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées during couture season in Paris this year, and my fashionable friends were getting ready for their own ventures—Dita Von Teese for her lingerie debut and Diane Pernet for more of her signature style-spotting—I was struck by how similar our worlds are. Fashion shows and ballet performances get the culture crowds revved up with the beauty, body and details of a show. And it’s all over in a flash.

This week we’re taking a look back at the year that was by highlighting some of the best (and worst) moments. First up, we’re turning to you, our dear readers, by re-blogging the top 10 original posts, as clicked by you! We count down your favourites:

Wonderland was unleashed upon the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (and its surrounding area) last night for The National Ballet of Canada’s annual Mad Hot fundraising gala. This year, the Ballet took its theme from the wildly popular premiere of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. After a gala performance—including selections from the work as well as Passacaglia, No. 24 and The Dying Swan, danced by principal dancer Greta Hodgkinson, who is celebrating her 20th year with the company—guests including Karen Kain, Galen Weston Jr., Alexandra Weston and actress Lisa Ray wined, hors d’œuvre’d and wandered the transformed building, which housed an extra-long mirrored dining table filled to the brim with traditional tea fare, a hookah-smoking caterpillar, and multiple bars serving “White Rabbit” cocktails in teacups. Across the street on the Osgoode lawn, six Alices played croquet with flamingos.