{"id":74318,"date":"2022-03-08T10:30:22","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T15:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=74318"},"modified":"2022-03-09T14:34:08","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T19:34:08","slug":"feature-interview-national-ballet-canada-principal-dancer-jillian-vanstone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2022\/03\/08\/feature-interview-national-ballet-canada-principal-dancer-jillian-vanstone\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | An Interview With National Ballet of Canada Principal Dancer Jillian Vanstone"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jillian
Jillian Vanstone (Photo: Karolina Kuras \/ Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were quite a few raised eyebrows when principal dancer Jillian Vanstone announced her retirement this year from the National Ballet of Canada after 22 years. For most Vanstone aficionados, there was a lot of dance still left in her. Nonetheless, her final appearance will be in the mixed program that begins this Wednesday, Mar. 9 at the Four Seasons Centre.<\/p>\n

Vanstone, 40, who is from Nanaimo BC, began dance lessons at age 6. When she was 13, she moved to Toronto to study at Canada\u2019s National Ballet School. She joined the National Ballet in 1999, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2011.<\/p>\n

What follows is the candid interview she gave Ludwig Van about her life in dance and what she hopes the future holds for her.<\/p>\n

Was your decision to retire a sudden one? It certainly came as a big surprise to your fans.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I had actually been thinking about it before the pandemic. I was going through a shift about what ballet meant to me. I wasn\u2019t feeling the same about my connection to the stories in the tutu and tiara ballets. They were making less sense to me. Although I love the neoclassical and contemporary works, the classics are still at the core of a ballet company, and they were falling out of alignment to me. Then there was the physical part. I have to work extra hard at it because my hip structure is not perfect for ballet, and that part of the training was becoming more frustrating.<\/p>\n

You asked the company to get British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon\u2019s ‘After the Rain’ for your farewell performance. Wheeldon was very important for your career, wasn\u2019t he?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

His choosing me for the lead in Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland<\/em> in 2011 led directly to my being promoted to principal dancer. The role was a gift because it gave me a beautiful opportunity to show my strengths. He was also the kind of choreographer that allowed you to ask questions, and not every choreographer is open to that. He created a space for me where I could dive in. His work also makes sense for my body. I always knew I wanted to retire performing a Wheeldon ballet.<\/p>\n