{"id":122213,"date":"2026-03-02T16:30:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=122213"},"modified":"2026-03-10T09:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:54:50","slug":"scrutiny-national-ballet-canada-opens-winter-season-classical-purity-contemporary-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/03\/02\/scrutiny-national-ballet-canada-opens-winter-season-classical-purity-contemporary-power\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | The National Ballet of Canada Opens Winter Season with Classical Purity and Contemporary Power"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Genevieve
Genevieve Penn Nabity with Artists of the Ballet in\u00a0Flight Pattern (Photo: Ted Belton, Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The National Ballet of Canada: Flight Pattern \/ Suite en blanc. Choreographers Crystal Pite (Flight Pattern) & Serge Lifar (Suite en blanc). February 27, 2026, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Continues until March 6; tickets here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The National Ballet of Canada\u2019s first program of the winter season is an absolute knockout.<\/p>\n

Pairing the do-rigueur classical showpiece with a major contemporary work, the company demonstrates both its stylistic purity and its emotional range. It is the kind of program that reminds you why this remains one of the finest ballet companies in the world.<\/p>\n

\"Artists
Artists of the Ballet in\u00a0Suite en Blanc (Photo: Bruce Zinger, Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Suite en Blanc<\/h3>\n

The evening opens with Serge Lifar<\/strong>\u2019s Suite en Blanc, which entered the company\u2019s repertoire in 2024. Two years on, the dancers have grown into it magnificently. Lifar famously said he created the work for no other consideration than pure technique, and it shows. This is naked classical ballet. There is nowhere to hide. One slip would be glaring.<\/p>\n

Using music from \u00c9douard Lalo<\/strong>\u2019s 1882 ballet Namouna, Suite en Blanc is structured as a series of named variations \u2014 Mazurka, La Fl\u00fbte, Serenade, Presto, La Cigarette \u2014 drawn from the original ballet. Yet nothing about it feels narrative. Instead, it is an architectural exploration of placement, pattern and technical brilliance.<\/p>\n

On second viewing, the eccentricity of Lifar\u2019s staging becomes striking. A raised platform dominates the stage, with staircases descending on either side. Dancers appear from above, from below, from the wings, sometimes running through an ongoing variation or crossing the upper level while another group performs below.<\/p>\n

The ballet even begins with its final tableau, which slowly dissolves, leaving us to wonder how Lifar will reassemble it by the end. The unpredictability of entrances and exits gives the work a restless energy beneath its pristine white surface.<\/p>\n

\"Keira
Keira Sanford, Tene Ward and Monika Haczkiewicz in\u00a0Suite en Blanc. (Photo: Karolina Kuras, Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The music itself is surprisingly strange for ballet. Lalo\u2019s score often sounds operatic \u2014 pompous, exotic, at times almost Asian in colour. There are martial rhythms, hints of distant steppes, echoes of Russian and Eastern inflections. It does not always sound like lyrical ballet music.<\/p>\n

Under David Briskin<\/strong>, the orchestra delivered a sumptuous overture in darkness before the curtain rose, earning a strong ovation. At moments you feel you are about to witness grand opera rather than delicate classical choreography.<\/p>\n

The dancers rose magnificently to the challenge. Agnes Su<\/strong>, one of the company\u2019s new principals from Stuttgart, made a striking impression. Her duet with Christopher Gerty<\/strong> was beautifully controlled, her solo finely etched, and her partnering both secure and generous. With long, elegant lines and remarkable stillness en pointe, she revealed why she was such a prized addition to the roster.<\/p>\n

Koto Ishihara<\/strong> never disappoints, dancing with refinement and assurance. Genevieve Penn Nabity<\/strong> and Isabella Kinch<\/strong> brought luminous precision to their variations. Beckanne Sisk<\/strong> and Chase O\u2019Connell<\/strong>, both new principals from Houston, danced a trio with Peng-Fei Jiang<\/strong> that offered a welcome opportunity to see the newcomers alongside a dancer of Jiang\u2019s charismatic presence.<\/p>\n

Three ensemble dancers \u2014 Keira Sanford<\/strong>, Tene Ward<\/strong> and Monica Haczkiewicz<\/strong> \u2014 performed a delicate trio in long, French-style skirts, Lifar\u2019s homage to earlier ballet traditions before the shift to short Russian tutus.<\/p>\n

Throughout, the corps was impressively in sync. The collective exactitude \u2014 particularly in passages where difficult steps were executed simultaneously \u2014 underscored how far the company has grown into this demanding work.<\/p>\n

\"Artists
Artists of the Ballet in\u00a0Flight Pattern (Photo: Ted Belton, Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flight Pattern<\/h3>\n

If Suite en Blanc showcases classical purity, Crystal Pite<\/strong>\u2019s Flight Pattern reveals the company\u2019s contemporary power. Created in 2017 for The Royal Ballet and now making its National Ballet debut and North American premiere, the one-act work is set to the first movement of Henryk G\u00f3recki\u2019s Symphony No. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. The music\u2019s lamenting melancholy provides an emotional undertow that is difficult to escape.<\/p>\n

Pite\u2019s title is deeply ironic. Instead of birds in coordinated migration, we see people in desperate flight. The ballet begins with a tightly woven mass of bodies moving in unified formation. As the lighting brightens, we see tattered coats and high enclosing walls. Gradually the formations fracture. Individuals break away. Coats become bundles. The group clusters, separates, regroups in broken patterns that mirror the brokenness of displacement.<\/p>\n

Smaller ensembles emerge \u2014 Hannah Galway<\/strong> with Naoya Ebe<\/strong>, Ben Rudisin<\/strong> with Aidan Tully<\/strong>, Christopher Gerty<\/strong> with Alexandra MacDonald<\/strong>, Genevieve Penn Nabity<\/strong> with Ben Rudisin<\/strong> \u2014 supporting, resisting and clinging to one another before being torn apart again.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the walls open and the larger group advances, leaving two behind. Galway sits with her back to the audience, shoulders shaking in silent sobs. Ebe\u2019s final solo is ferocious, his body crashing and rising repeatedly until he simply reaches to touch her shoulder. The last image \u2014 two figures isolated before a narrow crack of light between towering walls \u2014 is heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

The audience response was extraordinary. Cheers mingled with tears. One patron in the lobby was still openly sobbing after the curtain call. While I watched with more intellectual distance than emotional surrender, there is no denying the work\u2019s power or Pite\u2019s ability to capture the anguish of refugees and the displaced.<\/p>\n

It is worth noting that Flight Pattern proved such a success in London that Pite later expanded it into a full-length work in 2022. The National Ballet has chosen to stage the original one-act version. Given the impact of this premiere, one wonders whether we might one day see the full-length incarnation here as well.<\/p>\n

\"Aidan
Aidan Tully and Ben Rudisin in\u00a0Flight Pattern (Photo: Ted Belton, Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n

Together, these two works form a compelling statement. Suite en Blanc affirms the company\u2019s classical strength and stylistic discipline. Flight Pattern demonstrates its emotional and contemporary reach. Hope Muir<\/strong> can take genuine pride in the depth and versatility of her dancers.<\/p>\n

It is a winter program that begins the season with authority and leaves the audience both dazzled and deeply moved.<\/p>\n

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The National Ballet of Canada\u2019s first program of the winter season, featuring Serge Lifar’s Suite en blanc and Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern, is an absolute knockout.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":122219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42533,445,20,52,63],"tags":[39438,2346,40491],"yst_prominent_words":[14397,36252,36251,32018,13922,6687],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Copy-of-REVIEW-2026-03-02T162751.435.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-vNb","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122213"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122213"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122436,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122213\/revisions\/122436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122213"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=122213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}