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The National Ballet Visits Bloorview

On April 26, 2010, Bloorview was treated to two shows by a troupe of dancers from The National Ballet of Canada’s Dance About program.  The performance featured four dancers, a piano accompanist and a narrator who performed for 150 Bloorview clients and Bloorview School students.

The two performances each started with two dancers (Esabelle Chen

and Jackson Carroll) performing their daily stretches and exercises. Sharon Vanderlinde acted as narrator and facilitator, involving the audience members and quizzing them on a number of topics including what was the language the ballet was structured around (French), what made ballet shoes so tough (layers of canvas held together with glue), and why spinning dancers don’t get dizzy (they use a technique called spotting, where they focus on a spot as long as they can before snapping their head around and reconnecting with it).

As the show progressed, the dancers switched out of their sweats into full costume, performing classic pieces, including a rendition of the dance between Puss n’ Boots and the White Cat from Sleeping Beauty.

Afterwards, veteran stage performer, Victoria Bertram arrived on stage in full regalia as Queen Carabose.  She was joined by another key figure from the world of Canadian ballet, Tomas Shramek, who performed as an old woman communicating without words.

Many of the kids at the shows expressed an interest in learning ballet - Bloorview was fortunate to host the excellent travelling troupe!

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