Alberta Ballet Company

Alberta Ballet, also known as the Alberta Ballet Company, was started by Muriel Taylor and Dr. Ruth Carse in 1958. It became a professional dance company in 1966. The company performs beautiful ballet shows for people to enjoy.

Alberta Ballet is one of the main dance companies in Canada. It has special homes to perform in, called resident venues. These are the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta, and the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary, Alberta. Each year, Alberta Ballet puts on shows in both of these wonderful places.

Development

Carse led the company until 1975. After her, several directors guided the group, including Jeremy Leslie-Spinks, Brydon Paige, and Ali Pourfarrokh. During Pourfarrokh's time, in 1990, the company joined with the Calgary City Ballet and started performing at the Nat Christie Centre in Calgary. Since then, the company has performed in both Edmonton and Calgary.

Later, Mikko Nissinen, a former dancer from the San Francisco Ballet, directed the company until 2002. He introduced works by Balanchine and brought in new choreography from Canadian and international artists. The company also traveled to China, Finland, and Egypt. Jean Grand-Maître took over as artistic director in 2002. In 2019, Christopher Anderson became a co-artistic director, preparing to fully take the role in the 2022/2023 season. However, in June 2023, Anderson and the company decided to part ways, and he left in December 2023 to teach at the University of South Carolina. Since January 2024, Francesco Ventriglia has been the director of the company.

Choreography

Artistic director Jean Grand-Maître has created dances for shows like Carmen, which traveled to China, and Fiddle and the Drum, made together with Joni Mitchell. In 2010, the company performed a show called ELTON: Love Lies Bleeding based on music by Elton John. Elton John liked Fiddle and the Drum so much that he asked the Alberta Ballet to make a dance for him.

The Alberta Ballet was the first in Canada to perform a dance by Christopher Wheeldon from the New York City Ballet. Wheeldon made A Midsummer Night's Dream for them. The company also asked Jorma Elo from the Boston Ballet to create two dances. Canadian dancer Sabrina Matthews has also made dances for the company.

Recent Seasons

The Alberta Ballet Company has many exciting shows each year. Some of their past performances include Dracula, The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, Hamlet, Giselle, and Swan Lake.

They also have special guest performances from other dance groups. In some years, shows were changed or delayed because of health concerns. The company continues to bring new and classic ballet stories to the stage each season.

Dancers

Dancers of Alberta Ballet for the 2025–2026 season are listed here.

Alberta Ballet School

The Alberta Ballet School has a special program for students in grades 7 to 12 that combines dance and school subjects every day. Students in grades 5 and 6 can also join a part-time dance class. There is also a group for older students in grades 10 to 12 who want to learn modern dance styles.

The school is led by Artistic Principal Ashley McNeil. In 2018, it was honored by Canadian Heritage for helping train talented dancers for professional careers.

Other Notable Artistic Staff

Here are some of the talented people who have worked with Alberta Ballet:

• David Adams
• Jeremy Leslie-Spinks
• Cherice Barton
• Lambros Lambrou
• Marianne Beausejour
• Scott Harris
• Brian Bender
• Jay Brooker
• Claude Caron
• Nicole Caron
• David Chipman Seibert
• Svea Eklof
• Marc LeClerc
• Mark Mahler
• Daniel McLaren
• Barbara Moore
• Kevin Peterman
• Michel Rahn
• Martin Vallée
• Yumiko Takeshima
• Greg Zane
• Jung Min Hong
• Howard Epstein
• Clark Blakley
• Wayne Mcknight
• Anita Bostok
• Youri Alechine
• Stephanie Achuff