By Michael Crabb The last time the National Ballet of Canada unveiled a new Swan Lake, in May 1999, it bore the unmistakably dystopian thumbprint of then artistic director James Kudelka, and was played out against the backdrop of a public scandal. The previous December, principal dancer Kimberly Glasco had sideswiped the Toronto-based company by
By Michael Crabb As the pandemic’s most recent quasi-lockdown ended and the provincial government began a phased return to “normal,” there was a welcome blossoming of live, in-person events. Friends and admirers of the late Patricia Beatty, co-founder of Toronto Dance Theatre, were finally able to gather for a celebration of her life and art.
By Michael Crabb The pandemic has presented dance artists everywhere with financial and creative challenges that no amount of resilience can easily overcome. It presents an existential threat that, even with the arrival of vaccines, shows no sign of vanishing any time soon. If you can’t make dances and perform them for audiences, what in