National Ballet of Canada update

Bridgett Zehr and Brendan Saye / Photo by Aleksander Antonijevic

Guillaume Coté / Photo by Sian Richards

Bridgett Zehr and Zdenek Konvalina in Swan Lake / Photo by Aleksander Atonijevic

>> by Cynthia Brett
Dancers at The National Ballet of Canada (NBoC) have been making headlines both at home and internationally this spring. On April 24th, principal dancer Guillaume Côté's choreography No. 24 won third prize (2,000 Euro) at Ballet Society Hanover's 25th International Competition in Germany, where it was performed by principal dancer Aleksander Antonijevic and second soloist Elena Lobsonova. The piece, originally created for NBoC's 2010 Choreographic Lab, is Côté's second work. In other news, Antonijevic's own creative endeavour, a photography exhibit called "Secrets of the Flesh", ran May 10th through 15th at CONTACT International Photography Festival in Toronto. In a press release, he commented that, "In my photography, I continually explore the essence of shape and form. My many years as a dancer gives me an unique understanding of the effect body movement has on our senses." Finally, the company recently announced that two of its principal dancers, Bridgett Zehr and Zdenek Konvalina, will join the English National Ballet as principal dancers in the 2011/12 season, but will remain with NBoC as guest artists. NBoC wraps up this season with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (June 4th through 25th) and Mozartiana, Other Dances and In The Upper Room (June 15th through 19th).