National Ballet School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Ballet School of Canada is located in Toronto, Ontario.
The National provides a full-time program which combines classical ballet training with academic education from Grades 6 through 12 at its boarding school. The school offers intensive specialized dance training after Grade 12, an apprenticeship program with its parent company, The National Ballet of Canada, and a full-time teacher-training program.
The School was founded in 1959 by Celia Franca. It was directed for many years by co-founder Betty Oliphant to train dancers primarily for the National Ballet of Canada, but also for companies across Canada and around the world. Graduates of the school include Frank Augustyn, Neve Campbell, Rex Harrington, Karen Kain (current Artistic Director of the Company), James Kudelka (former Artistic Director of the Company), Veronica Tennant, Martine Lamy, John Alleyne, and Mavis Staines. Miss Staines is the current Artistic Director of The National Ballet School of Canada.
Since 1959, the School has trained hundreds of professional dance teachers – teachers who in turn have inspired and guided tens of thousands of young dancers in every part of Canada and on all five continents. It is one of the preeminent training facilities in the world for both dancers and teachers, setting crucially extraordinary standards for ballet internationally.
Each year, the School conducts outreach tours in twenty or more cities across Canada. Students have come to the National from every province in Canada – and from many other countries including the United States, Japan, Korea, and Sweden.
Admission to The National Ballet School of Canada is highly competitive. Students are accepted after an audition on the basis of merit alone, with financial assistance available depending on family means. Over fifty percent of NBS families receive some sort of financial aid. Students who make it through the initial auditions must pass in intensive summer at the School continuing to audition, and some are asked to train at the School in the fall. At the end of each academic year, students are evaluated and asked back to continue training the following year if they have shown progress and promise.
In addition to the core Professional Ballet/Academic Program, the School offers a post-secondary advanced dance training program (IDP: Intensive Dance Program, often affiliated with the apprenticeship program with the Company), a teacher training program, summer school, student and adult recreational classes throughout the year, teachers’ seminars, and teacher and pianist workshops as part of its annual national recruitment tour. Over 700 students and their families access the School’s programs each week with an additional 150 joining the student body for the annual summer school.
The National Ballet School of Canada also has a strong international reputation. Mavis Staines, the School’s Artistic Director, serves as Artistic President of the Prix de Lausanne, the most prestigious international competition for emerging young dancers held yearly in Lausanne, Switzerland.
