West Side Story Suite &
Pur ti Miro &
Opus 19/The Dreamer
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Performance Photo Gallery (7 images)
- Stephanie Hutchison and Jordana Daumec with Artists of the Ballet in West Side Story Suite. Photo by Bruce Zinger.
- Guillaume Côté with Artists of the Ballet in West Side Story Suite. Photo by Sian Richards.
- Artists of the Ballet in West Side Story Suite. Photo by Sian Richards.
- Guilluame Côté and Piotr Stanczyk with Artists of the Ballet in West Side Story Suite. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.
- Alejandra Perez-Gomez with Artists of the Ballet in Opus 19/The Dreamer. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.
- Guillaume Côté with Artists of the Ballet in Opus 19/The Dreamer. Photo by David Cooper.
- Sonia Rodriguez and Aleksandar Antonijevic with Artists of the Ballet in Opus 19/The Dreamer. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.
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Performance Photo Gallery (7 images)
Performance Video 
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Piotr Stanczyk in West Side Story Suite. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.
About the Ballets
- Choreography:
- Jerome Robbins
- Co-Choreographer:
- Peter Gennaro
- Staged by:
- Jean-Pierre Frohlich
- Music:
- Leonard Bernstein
- Lyrics:
- Stephen Sondheim
- Set Design:
- Oliver Smith
- Scenic Supervision:
- Rosaria Sinisi
- Costume Design:
- Irene Sharaff
- Costume Consultant:
- Holly Hynes
- Lighting Design:
- Jennifer Tipton
- Repetiteurs:
- Rex Harrington and Peter Ottmann
- Performed by Permission of The Robbins Rights Trust.
- West Side Story Suite Suite is geneously supported by Walter Carsen, O.C., Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, Judy Korthals and Sandra & Jim Pitblado.
- West Side Story Suite is presented as part of Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity.
West Side Story Suite
Jerome Robbins' West Side Story Suite represents the ebullient, forthright and populist side of his protean choreographic character. The work is both sheer, effervescent, giddy fun, and an urgent, touching piece of pure Americana.
Using seven of the popular song and dance numbers from the famous Broadway collaboration with Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, complete with singing, West Side Story Suite's energy and exuberance is consistent and engaging, from the love song of Somewhere to the gang fights in Rumble. No longer weighed down by the intricacies and complications a full-length Broadway musical requires, West Side Story Suite has been pared down to its very essence, a love story.
- Choreography:
- Jorma Elo
- Assistant to Mr. Elo:
- Nancy Euverink
- Music:
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Claudio Monteverdi
- Costume Design:
- Holly Hynes
- Lighting Design:
- John Cuff
- Repetiteur:
- Mandy-Jayne Richardson
- Violin Soloist:
- Benjamin Bowman
- Pur ti Miro is a gift from THE VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE, THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA.
Pur ti Miro
A world premiere by Jorma Elo
Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo’s work is renowned for its speed and physicality, its intricate fusion of the classical and contemporary and for the extraordinary but rewarding demands it makes on dancers.
A highly sought-after choreographer who has created works for numerous ballet companies in both Europe and North America, Mr. Elo is currently the resident choreographer with Boston Ballet. His new work for the National Ballet will be his first for the company.
- Choreography:
- Jerome Robbins
- Staged by:
- Lindsay Fischer
- Music:
- Sergei Prokofiev
- Costume Design:
- Ben Benson
- Lighting Design:
- Jennifer Tipton
- Violin Soloist:
- Benjamin Bowman
- Performed by Permission of The Robbins Rights Trust.
- Opus 19/The Dreamer is made possible by a generous contribution from David & Torunn Banks.
Opus 19/The Dreamer
Opus 19/The Dreamer displays the enormous range of choreographic talent that Jerome Robbins possessed. The work marries, in quintessential Robbins fashion, the cool, studied elegance and precision of the classical with the playfulness and impetuosity of the everyday, mirroring the twin influences of the European and American traditions on his work.
Robbins created Opus 19/The Dreamer originally as a vehicle for Mikhail Baryshnikov. The work exemplifies Robbins’ later choreographic style, with its abstract and stylized movement, yet the ballet is intensely musical. Each movement of the work incorporates different recurring musical themes, which are reflected in the choreography’s repetitions. Evoking a dream-like atmosphere, Opus 19/The Dreamer presents a man on a mysterious quest, perhaps for something he can never attain.
Set to Prokofiev’s thrilling Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Opus 19/The Dreamer is a stirring and unforgettable work by one of American choreography’s greatest talents.
Reviews
"West Side Story Suite is icing on a tasty cake."
- Toronto Star
Read the Toronto Star Review >
"a pure triumph... the company looks sensational."
- The Globe and Mail
Read the Globe and Mail Review >
"Pur ti Miro means "I adore you," and the audience seemed to adore it, given the whoops and cheers that came during the curtain call."
- National Post
Read the National Post Review >
"In fact, dancers like Guillaume Côté, Piotr Stanczyk, Jordana Daumec and the lovely, leggy Hutchison take the opportunity to demonstrate a thrilling fluency in dance that proves conclusively that when it comes to talent, it not only runs deep in this company, but runs wide as well"
- Toronto Sun
Read the Toronto Sun Review >
More
Ballet Notes
West Side Story Suite
Opus 19, The Dreamer
Pur ti Miro
Ballet Talks
Ballet Talks are free for ticket holders and take place 45 minutes before every show in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
Watch the Ballet Talk >
The Ballet Talk for all performances will be hosted by Ballet Master Lindsay Fischer.
Casting
Pur ti Miro
Sonia Rodriguez or Tanya Howard, Heather Ogden or Chelsy Meiss, Jenna Savella or Jordana Daumec, Stephanie Hutchison or Lise-Marie Jourdain, Elena Lobsanova or Sarah Elena Wolff Patrick Lavoie or Jiří Jelinek, Noah Long or Jonathan Renna, Naoya Ebe or James Shee, McGee Maddox or Keiichi Hirano, Robert Stephen or Brett van Sickle
Opus 19/The Dreamer
| Sonia Rodriguez and Zdenek Konvalina | (June 4, 9 at 7:30 pm) |
| Tanya Howard and Keiichi Hirano* | (June 5, 6 at 2:00 pm) |
| Heather Ogden* and Jiří Jelinek* | (June 5, 10 at 7:30 pm) |
| Bridgett Zehr* and Brett van Sickle* | (June 10 at 2:00 pm/June 12 at 7:30 pm) |
| Xiao Nan Yu and Guillaume Côté | (June 11 at 7:30 pm/June 13 at 2:00 pm) |
| Chelsy Meiss or Alexandra MacDonald, Tiffany Mosher or Alexandra Golden, Elena Lobsanova or Krista Dowson, Jenna Savella or Juri Hiraoka, Lisa Robinson or Nadine Drouin, Selene Guerrero-Trujillo or Grace Hanley, Robert Stephen or James Shee, James Leja, Christopher Stalzer or Nan Wang, Jonathan Renna or Aarik Wells, Naoya Ebe and Ryan Booth, Brendan Saye | |
West Side Story Suite
| Tony Zdenek Konvalina |
(June 4, 5, 9, 10, 12 at 7:30 pm) |
| Christopher Stalzer* | (June 5, 6, 10, 13 at 2:00 pm/June 11 at 7:30 pm) |
| Riff (leader of the Jets) Guillaume Côté |
(June 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 at 7:30 pm) |
| Noah Long | (June 5, 6, 10, 13 at 2:00 pm/June 12 at 7:30 pm) |
| Bernardo (leader of the Sharks) Piotr Stanczyk |
(June 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 at 7:30 pm) |
| Jonathan Renna | (June 5, 6, 10, 13 at 2:00 pm/June 12 at 7:30 pm) |
| Anita (Bernardo's girlfriend) Stephanie Hutchison |
(June 4, 9, 12 at 7:30 pm) |
| Sonia Rodriguez* | (June 5 at 2:00 pm/June 11 at 7:30 pm) |
| Tiffany Mosher* | (June 5, 10 at 7:30 pm/June 13 at 2:00 pm) |
| Jordana Daumec* | (June 6, 10 at 2:00 pm) |
| Maria (Bernardo's sister) Elena Lobsanova |
(June 4, 5, 9, 10, 12 at 7:30 pm) |
| Jillian Vanstone* | (June 5, 6, 10, 13 at 2:00 pm/June 11 at 7:30 pm) |
| Rosalia (a friend) Jordana Daumec |
(June 4, 9, 10, 12 at 7:30 pm) |
| Stephanie Hutchison | (June 5 at 7:30 pm/June 10, 13 at 2:00 pm) |
| Alejandra Perez-Gomez* | (June 5, 6 at 2:00 pm/June 11 at 7:30 pm) |
| Singers: | Michael Hughes, Kathleen Brett, Gabi Epstein, Robyn Newman and Louise St. Cyr |
*debuts
All casting subject to change.
Running Times
| Pur ti Miro | 28:00 |
|---|---|
| Intermission | 20:00 |
| Op. 19/The Dreamer | 21:00 |
| Intermission | 20:00 |
| West Side Story Suite | 31:00 | Total (approx) | 2 hours |