Canada's National Ballet School facts for kids

Canada's National Ballet School, also known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a famous classical ballet school. It is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This school is one of the main places in Canada that trains professional ballet dancers. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School is another important ballet training center. Margaret Tracey became the Artistic Director of the school in 2024. She took over from Mavis Staines, who had been the Artistic Director since 1989.

History of the School

How the School Started

The National Ballet of Canada was formed in 1951. It was started by an English ballet dancer named Celia Franca. She had danced with ballet companies in the United Kingdom before moving to Canada. After arriving in Canada in 1951, Celia Franca founded the National Ballet of Canada. She also hired Betty Oliphant, an English ballet teacher, to work with the new company.

As the National Ballet grew, Franca and Oliphant decided to create a special school. This school would train dancers specifically for their company. The school was designed like Britain's Royal Ballet School. It opened in 1959 in Toronto. The first building was a former Quaker meeting house on Maitland Street. The National Ballet Guild bought this building for the school. Betty Oliphant became the school's first Artistic Director.

In 1983, students from the school were featured in a film. This film was called Flamenco at 5:15. It was a dance film made by the National Film Board of Canada. The film even won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject.

School Expansion and New Buildings

A view of the school on Jarvis Street

In 2000, the school got a new location at 400 Jarvis Street. This property was bought from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for just one dollar. The old buildings on the site were carefully fixed up and redesigned. This work was done by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects (GBCA).

Three new buildings were also planned and built. This big project was called Project Grand Jete. GBCA worked with Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) on these new buildings. Construction started in 2003. In 2005, the school officially moved to its new home.

The major expansion of the school was finished in 2007. It cost about $100 million. The original building at 111 Maitland Street is now called Currie Hall. It serves as the school's dining hall.

Famous People Who Attended

Many talented dancers and artists have studied at Canada's National Ballet School. Here are some of them:

• John Alleyne
• Frank Augustyn
• Neve Campbell
• Brennan Clost
• Guillaume Côté
• Anne Ditchburn
• Kimberly Glasco
• Martine van Hamel
• Rex Harrington
• Jocelyn Hudon
• Brooke Lynn Hytes
• Karen Kain
• James Kudelka
• Martine Lamy
• Evan McKie
• Kevin Pugh
• Mavis Staines
• Veronica Tennant

School Buildings and Design

The Margaret McCain Academic Building is part of the school. This building was first built for Havergal Ladies' College in 1898. It was a college until 1932. From 1945 to 1996, it was used by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for their main radio studios in Toronto.

The school also includes a very old and important building. This is the 1856 home of Sir Oliver Mowat. He was the longest-serving Premier of Ontario. He was also a Father of Confederation and later Ontario's Lieutenant-Governor. This large house was first called Norfield House. It was used by Havergal College and then by the CBC. Now, it is called Lozinski House. It holds the school's artistic and administrative offices.

The architectural firms GBCA and KPMB designed the school. They combined the old buildings with three new ones. The new buildings use modern materials like glass, steel, and concrete blocks. From the street, they look very open and transparent. The three new buildings were completed in 2007. They are the Celia Franca Centre, a "Bar" building, and a six-story "North Tower" building. The North Tower has three large dance studios stacked on top of each other.

The Celia Franca Centre is used for many different things. It has twelve dance studios of various sizes. Some of these studios face Jarvis Street, so people walking by can see the dancers. The Celia Franca Centre also has a coffee shop, a library, study areas, and places to sit. The Betty Oliphant Theatre is also inside the Celia Franca Centre. It includes change rooms, dressing rooms, and wardrobe areas for performers. The outside of the Celia Franca Centre has glass walls and stone tiles. These are held together by steel panels. The opening scene of The Nutcracker ballet is even shown on the glass of the south side. It is written in Benesh notation.