FASHION Magazine

See the Mad Hot Ballet Gala 2014 photos »

On any other night, principal dancer Guillaume Côté’s dance moves would be mad hot. Given that the National Ballet of Canada already bestows that superlative on its annual gala, the connection was pretty clear. On Wednesday night, Toronto’s socials, patrons and dance lovers filled the glass-cased Four Seasons Centre for Mad Hot Ballet, this year entitled “Spellbound.” Beginning, fittingly, with a gala performance of several spellbinding numbers, the night’s repertoire featured four pieces choreographed by Côté. The standout among them was surely his solo “Body of Work,” during which he modernized Beethoven’s “Symphony 7 –II, Allegretto” with a series of undulating movements. Another had Leonard Cohen quirk-ified with three caryatid-meets-cabaret style dancers (Dylan Tedaldi, Kathryn Hosier and Felix Paquet) moving sprightly to “Tonight Will Be Fine” and “Dance Me To the End of Love.”

After the performance, guests in gowns (and some in tutus) spilled out into the foyer for cocktails, canapés and the second annual best-dressed award announced by FASHION editor-in-chief Bernadette Morra. Partygoer Lillian To took top honours for her ballet-inspired lashes which spelled out “mad hot.” Meanwhile, Morra herself was dressed in a custom Lucia Matis dress which featured the event’s creative (principal dancer Xiao Nan Yu mid-pose in the King Edward Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom.

By Alexandra Breen

When it comes to encapsulating the pathos and fervour of a melodrama like Onegin, based on Alexander Pushkin’s novel Eugene Onegin, experience can be your best weapon. Just ask Xiao Nan Yu (a.k.a. Nan), a dancer for The National Ballet of Canada who first took on the role of Onegin’s Tatiana at age 22, just before climbing the ranks of the company to become a principal.

“It was a fast promotion,” she says before diving into a rehearsal. “I felt pressure to live up to their standards and questioned whether I did enough to deserve it.” Years of critical acclaim later, the 36-year-old is reprising her cherished Tatiana role this month (March 19-23) opposite McGee Maddox at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

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.