FASHION Magazine

Arguably the “most” favourite of favourite ballets, Swan Lake has been a serious crowd-pleaser long before it became synonymous with Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis’s portrayal of the (in)famous characters. Premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet in 1877 in Moscow, the show has had more than a century to evolve into various renditions, and the one presented at […]

The post An Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Look at the National Ballet of Canada’s <em>Swan Lake</em> appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the ballet dancers on the street »

On stage, the connection between ballet and fashion has always been clear. From the tutus to the tiaras, costumes are like cinematic tools, laying the groundwork for dance masterpieces to unfold. Off stage, the connection is just as present: “As a ballet dancer you develop a strong instinct for aesthetics,” says National Ballet of Canada principal dancer Heather Ogden. “The line of a leg or the angle of your arms is really important. We are very body aware and you learn what looks good on you and I think that applies to fashion too.” Last month, photographer David Pike visited the National Ballet to capture dancers in everyday gear while in rehearsal for the current production of Swan Lake. The grande dame of ballet is amongst the most difficult to perform for the principals, soloists and corps, which would explain comfort being of the utmost importance for all the company’s dancers. “I have to be able to move, and I have to like the way my body looks in whatever I’m wearing,” says second soloist Dylan Tedaldi. With that in mind, let’s view this batch of ballet street style as a lesson in how to look good all winter long.

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.

Go behind the scenes with Carmen »

Last night, The National Ballet of Canada premiered its latest masterpiece, Carmen. Finally being shown in its entirety since its partial debut in 2006, Davide Bombana’s re-imagining of Bizet’s classic tragedy is an electrifying mix of raw sexuality and awe-inspiring dance. Stripped of the original’s bombastic flamenco associations, Carmen is one minimalist wow from start to finish. At last night’s opening performance, real-life husband and wife team Guillaume Côté and Heather Ogden played the passionate on-again-off-again lovers Don Jose and Carmen. As you can imagine, their chemistry was off the charts, especially with otherworldly leaps through each others legs, arms and so on.

See the Greta Constantine Fall 2013 collection photos »
See the Greta Constantine Fall 2013 party photos »

Continuing the tradition of showing their collections off schedule and off the grid, Greta Constantine designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong debuted their Fall 2013 offering with a restaurant meets art party meets impromptu runway show last night in Toronto. Beginning at the west end hotspot Parts & Labour, the duo hosted the city’s top media and clients for a three-course meal, interrupted of course, by many shots of Stolichnaya vodka. As Greta-clad guests including Cronenberg It girl Sarah Gadon, socialite Stacey Jordan (formerly Kimmel) and trend forecaster Carly Stojsic indulged in main courses of chicken and gnocchi, Amazonian models took to the makeshift runway (aka the bar) in the duo’s latest wares. The clothes, while heavily styled with tribal inspiration—think long braids, faux mohawks and animal skulls worn as jewellery designed by Dandi Maestre—forged ahead with last season’s new motto: sleeker, stronger and relatively pared back. Amongst the pleated and curved statement dresses, the standout look was a long and lean cow’s hide coat paired with black wideleg pants and a simple white crew neck.

View the party photos »

The National Ballet of Canada must be feeling quite royal this year because it’s celebrating a diamond anniversary (that being 60 years) of pliés, and toasted as such at last night’s glittering Diamond Gala. The special edition of the company’s annual Mad Hot gala featured five performance works, including premieres of two spellbinding works, Polar Night (choreographed by Robert Binet and danced by real-life couple Heather Ogden and Guillaume Côté) and Silence Screams Venom (choreographed by Côté and danced by Greta Hodgkinson alongside Giorgio Galli, Keiichi Hirano, Patrick Lavoie and Christopher Stalzer) and finishing off with the most glittering of all: an excerpt from George Balanchine’s Diamonds, complete with the entire company decked out in jewel-encrusted costumes.

After the performances, the full house, including the ballet’s artistic director Karen Kain, Rufus Wainwright and Jorn Weisbrödt and the fabulously feathered Lynda Prince (who was overheard giving Kain posing directions) mingled all around the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The designer-clad doyennes, Victoria Webster, Trinity Jackman, Cleophee Eaton and Amy Burstyn-Fritz, made Katrantzou/Erdem/McQueen sightings seem as simple as it could be with vodka cocktails and rock candy stir sticks in hand.