As the Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of the National Ballet, Hope Muir may have the highest profile dance job in the country, but her personal profile is not very well known.
In a candid Zoom conversation, Muir, 53, talked to Ludwig Van about her career in dance, the upcoming season, which opens Nov. 9 to 16 at the Four Seasons Centre, and more to the point, her vision for the company.
Keep reading to get to know Hope Muir.
Hope Muir: The Interview
You were born in Toronto, but you never went to the National Ballet School.
No, because I was interested in studying all styles of dance. I didn’t restrict myself.
And yet, when you moved to London when you were 15, because of your mother’s job, you focused on ballet.
It was a conscious decision. That’s because I saw a performance of the London Festival Ballet, now called English National Ballet, and I didn’t know classical ballet could be like that. They had a really interesting repertoire. I applied for the school and was one of only 10 students taken from 400 applicants.
When you graduated, you joined the company, but stayed only four years.
In truth, I began to find the classical repertoire limited, so I moved to Rambert Dance Company, that had both classical and contemporary pieces. I also wanted to work with artistic director Christopher Bruce. After ten years at Rambert, I wasn’t ready to stop dancing, but I didn’t like the direction the company was moving in, and there were choreographers I wanted to work with.
You spent the last several of years of your dance career at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, which I always thought of a jazz dance company.
It was much more than that. Artistic director Lou Conte was really diversifying choreographic voices. He was the first to bring in Ohad Naharin and Twyla Tharp, for example, and the European rep. It was Christopher Bruce who suggested I go there.
After 17 years as a professional dancer, you officially retired in 2006. What did you plan to do?
I thought I would have another career away from dance. I was studying politics, philosophy and economics at the Open University, hoping to earn a Bachelor of Science degree.
The second part of your dance career is quite remarkable, because you became a much in demand rehearsal director and teacher. How did that come about?
I guess I got pulled back into the studio when I was asked by choreographers like Christopher Bruce to stage their works on other companies, and people saw that my impact with dancers was positive. It all happened very organically.
After Chicago, I came to Toronto because I had family here, and I wasn’t in a rush to go back to Europe. I worked with ProArteDanza, doing a little bit of everything, admin, teaching, rehearsal director. I assisted Emily Molnar when she set a work on the company. I even wrote grants and had a little office at the Dance Umbrella. Karen Kain had me in as a guest teacher at the National a couple of time. Emily brought me to Ballet BC when she took over the company. I start to build a reputation as both a guest teacher and guest rehearsal director, and people came to me.
You worked with the National on several occasions.
I staged Christopher Bruce’s Rooster in 2008, and assisted Crystal Pite when she set Emergence on the company in 2009. I was also a guest teacher at the National for a week. In terms of Crystal, I was a huge fan, but I didn’t know her. The company was having a really busy season, and I offered to help as an extra pair of hands. Karen jumped and put me together with Crystal, and after that, I started staging her work.
Then came your all-important association with Scottish Ballet, when you were hired as rehearsal director in 2009. Why did you decide to settle down with one company?
Ashley Page was the artistic director, and I was very interested in the exciting things he was doing. As well, their classical and contemporary repertoire suited me perfectly.
Nowadays, dancers have choices and can perform in many styles. In my day, dancers were either classical or contemporary. I was unusual, a real unicorn, because I had skills as both a classical and contemporary dancer and could coach in both genres.
I also could coach choreographic improv strategies, like William Forsythe does with dancers, which I had encountered at Hubbard Street. I enjoy engaging with choreographers who do process, like assigning prepared tasks which allows freedom, but are still highly directed improvs. The intentions are specific. I had never really thought about how I moved, and this got me thinking about it.
In 2012, Christopher Hampson became artistic director of Scottish Ballet, and we went way back together. We were dance partners at English National Ballet and had been the principal couple in Balanchine’s Square Dance. He promoted me to assistant artistic director in 2015.
Did you ever try choreographing?
I did, but I wasn’t very good at it.
And so, we move to the next phase of your career, becoming an artistic director.
At a certain point, I knew I wanted to direct a company. I had applied twice. The first time, I didn’t get an interview. The second time, I got fairly a long way down the process. I didn’t care about the where. I just wanted to get my feet wet and have an impact on a company.
And then the job at Charlotte Ballet in North Carolina came up. They were hungry for something different, and I was appointed artistic director in 2017. The Carolina job was hotly contested, and while I wasn’t known at all, I had very strong references.
Why was Charlotte Ballet an attractive choice?
It had 20 dancers in the main company, and 10 in a second company. It had a school, and very importantly, it had a big budget. The city of Charlotte itself was becoming an important international banking centre and was attracting a sophisticated population. They were ready for a shift.
Right from the beginning, I brought in works by leading edge choreographers like David Dawson, Christian Spuck and Crystal Pite. I also worked getting tours. We were just about ready to go to the Joyce when the pandemic hit.
In a smaller company, you also learn a lot, because you’re doing everything, like marketing, social media, community outreach. It was a wonderful experience building something.
Which brings us to the National Ballet. The announcement was made in 2021, and you took over in 2022.
It began with a message asking me to apply for the job as artistic director, and I admit, I was surprised. Historically, the National has been a company about stars, and I know the money that big names can pull in. I didn’t have a career here. I had never been a famous prima ballerina. It’s a testament to the search committees in both Charlotte and Toronto that they took me seriously and recognized that doing the job was important enough without the star quality.
What do you think you bring to the company?
Trust. I’m present in the studio. I care deeply about a dancer’s career path. My career had been so varied that I can relate to their desire to be multifaceted.
I believe everyone should feel useful, and be successful in their own way, and have different experiences, which is why I’m okay with dancers going elsewhere to try new things. I think the dancers know that I care, that I’m here for them 100%. You can feel the energy, the cameraderie, after the London/Paris tour. It feels like a real company, and I’m proud I had a part in creating that.
But, I’m also here for the work. I lead with the work.
Where do you see problems?
Coming back from the pandemic. I don’t think anyone recognized what a trauma it was, and that now we’re having to do a bit of a rebuild. It’s a slow revival for all companies. There is also the racial reckoning — the lens we’re looking at work now is completely different, which is not unique to the National. The work/life balance thing was never anything I heard in my career, but dancers today are taking a minute to look after themselves. Being artistic director is a different job, because the company is completely different post pandemic.
Nonetheless, I’m excited. In times of challenge, that’s when we get creative. I’m hugely thrilled about what we’re going to do next.
Are we always going to perform at the Four Seasons Centre, or are we going to scale down, and become more nimble, and get out into Canada? I want to be more places more often.
How much were you involved with the repertoire the company took to London and Paris?
The tour was in the works before I came, but I helped suggest the repertoire. We took different generations of choreographers which would give a unique perspective on who we are.
For London, we had James Kudelka as the veteran, Crystal Pite in mid-career, and Emma Portner as new talent. In Paris, Kudelka was replaced by William Yong, because the French are crazy about modern dance language. We certainly created a lot of interest.
What is your vision for the company?
I never use the word vision which is wishy-washy. I prefer the word ambition which I feel is something I can grab.
I want to build a distinct identity anchored in Canadian talent, giving us a different voice from other companies. When we go on tour, we should be showing Canadian work that no one else is doing. That’s why taking the Canadian dances on the European tour was so satisfying.
I want the repertoire to continue to be both classical and contemporary, and I want to give our dancers, during the time that they are here with me, an amazing career. And I want to touch audiences.
And I want to tour. I want to do everything.
Are there any future plans you can talk about?
Well, the 75th anniversary is coming up, so that’s of interest. I also want to add in classical repertoire that we don’t have. For example, we’ve commissioned a new Coppelia.
I also want to rework the classics that we do have. Look how successful Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote was. I absolutely believe you can revisit the tried and true. I don’t support disposable art, so I’m willing to try something again that may not have worked. I’m open to bringing old productions back to life. The new Swan Lake will have changes to the storytelling and be rehearsed to within an inch of its life.
As well, there’s a more sophisticated dance audience who seem to be responding to the edgier shifts in the mixed programs, and I want to attract more of them.
Is there one specific goal you have?
I want to announce an all-Canadian season. I know it’s never been done before. That’s what I’m working towards, and it will be amazing.
Before we end, we should talk about the opening mixed program of the fall season, particularly how it came together. I’m thrilled to have a Leon-Lightfoot work, because Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot are two of my favourite choreographers, and they rarely, if ever, give work away.
I always start off with one piece that I want, and how it utilizes the dancers, and then, how do we create balance?
I’ve been stalking Paul Lightfoot, talking to him whenever I can. When I knew they were finally open to giving us a work, Silent Screen was the most fitting, because of its quirkiness and the imagery of dancers in a silent film. It’s meditative, and human, and stunning, and I tear up when I see how it has transformed our dancers. Sol and Paul take dancers on a process of learning, and every bead of sweat is earned. It’s overwhelming. I felt this was the piece that would be most impactful in Toronto, and Sol and Paul were grateful that I gave them what they needed to work here.
Silent Screen, however, presented a problem. It’s 50 minutes of Philip Glass’ minimalist music. So, I went to our music director David Briskin and asked, tell me what we need to give audiences before the Glass, and he asked, tell me about the pieces you’re thinking about, and we settled on Sir Frederick Ashton’s Rhapsody which is a really dancey, really happy piece.
Rhapsody was set on Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lesley Collier, but it’s not super heavy in partnering. It’s a chance for virtuoso men like Misha to shine, such as Siphesihle November and David Preciado. Misha politely declined coaching the piece, but Leslie did coach when we were in London.
There’s also Guillaume Côté’s solo Body of Work set to Beethoven which will be super poignant.
I must confess, Hope, that I was one of the ones who said Hope who? when your appointment was announced.
I know. It doesn’t hurt my heart. I know what my career was. I had an amazing career. I’m just glad that the people in power took the punt on me. I have done the work, and I feel I’m 100% qualified to do what I’m doing.
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