National Ballet of Canada
Development
Development
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The company toured Canada extensively, with Franca, Lois Smith and David Adams as its stars. In 1964, the National Ballet adopted the 3200\-seat O'Keefe Centre (now known as [Meridian Hall](/wiki/Meridian_Hall_%28Toronto%2C_Ontario%29 "Meridian Hall (Toronto, Ontario)")) in Toronto as its home venue. The company moved in 2006 to new facilities at the [Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts](/wiki/Four_Seasons_Centre "Four Seasons Centre"), which was purpose\-built for ballet and opera, and is shared with the [Canadian Opera Company](/wiki/Canadian_Opera_Company "Canadian Opera Company").

In 1976, Alexander Grant, former Principal Dancer with London's [Royal Ballet](/wiki/The_Royal_Ballet "The Royal Ballet") and Artistic Director of Ballet for All, became the Artistic Director of the National Ballet. Under his leadership, the company added a number of works by [Frederick Ashton](/wiki/Frederick_Ashton "Frederick Ashton") to its repertoire. The National Ballet of Canada became the first Canadian company to perform at the [Royal Opera House](/wiki/Royal_Opera_House "Royal Opera House"), Covent Garden, London in 1979\.

In 1981 the company participated alongside [Les Grands Ballets Canadiens](/wiki/Les_Grands_Ballets_Canadiens "Les Grands Ballets Canadiens"), the [Royal Winnipeg Ballet](/wiki/Royal_Winnipeg_Ballet "Royal Winnipeg Ballet"), le Groupe de la Place Royale, the Danny Grossman Dance Company, the [Toronto Dance Theatre](/wiki/Toronto_Dance_Theatre "Toronto Dance Theatre"), Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers and the Anna Wyman Dance Theatre in the Canadian Dance Spectacular,Stephen Godfrey, "Dance Spectacular is just that". *[The Globe and Mail](/wiki/The_Globe_and_Mail "The Globe and Mail")*, May 30, 1981\. a dance show at Ottawa's [National Arts Centre](/wiki/National_Arts_Centre "National Arts Centre") which was filmed by the [National Film Board of Canada](/wiki/National_Film_Board_of_Canada "National Film Board of Canada") for the 1982 documentary film *[Gala](/wiki/Gala_%281982_film%29 "Gala (1982 film)")*.Stephen Godfrey, "Gala: a dance milestone makes a fascinating film". *[The Globe and Mail](/wiki/The_Globe_and_Mail "The Globe and Mail")*, May 1, 1982\.

In 1989, [Reid Anderson](/wiki/Reid_Anderson_%28dancer%29 "Reid Anderson (dancer)") became the artistic director. He led the company through a [difficult economic recession](/wiki/Early_1990s_recession "Early 1990s recession") by choreographing traditional ballet pieces while also commissioning Canadian and international choreographers to create contemporary pieces. In 1995, he left the company citing a frustration of the continued funding cuts from the government, and the directorship was taken up in 1996 by choreographer [James Kudelka](/wiki/James_Kudelka "James Kudelka").

In 2005, [Karen Kain](/wiki/Karen_Kain "Karen Kain"), former Principal Dancer, became Artistic Director of the company. In 2009, *Innovation* debuted, a mixed programme featuring three world premieres by Canadian choreographers [Crystal Pite](/wiki/Crystal_Pite "Crystal Pite"), [Sabrina Matthews](/wiki/Sabrina_Matthews "Sabrina Matthews") and [Peter Quanz](/wiki/Peter_Quanz "Peter Quanz"). In 2011, the company premiered a new version of Prokofiev's *[Romeo and Juliet](/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_%28Prokofiev%29 "Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)")* by [Alexei Ratmansky](/wiki/Alexei_Ratmansky "Alexei Ratmansky"). The National Ballet of Canada remains Canada's largest and most influential dance company.

In June 2020, Kain stepped down from the company. The following month, it was announced that [Hope Muir](/wiki/Hope_Muir "Hope Muir") will succeed Kain, effective January 1, 2022\.


Who were some of the stars of the company that toured Canada extensively?