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 will succeed Kain, effective January 1, 2022. Canada's National Ballet School The Canada's National Ballet School was founded in 1959 by Celia Franca and Julia Bondy and was directed for many years by co-founder Betty Oliphant. The primary goal of the school is to train dancers for the National Ballet of Canada and also for companies across Canada and around the world. Graduates of the School include Frank Augustyn, Neve Campbell, Anne Ditchburn, Rex Harrington, Karen Kain (former Artistic Director of the Company), James Kudelka (former Artistic Director of the Company), Veronica Tennant, Martine Lamy, John Alleyne, Emmanuel Sandhu, and Mavis Staines (Artistic Director and Co-CEO of the School). International recognition Rudolf Nureyev danced with the company in 1965 and returned in 1972 to stage his version of The Sleeping Beauty. His work is credited to raising the standards of the company. He was responsible for bringing the Company to Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House in New York City where he showcased the company. The Ballet met with rave reviews and this was a pivotal point in receiving recognition internationally. Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn, two members of NBC, received the prize for best pas de deux at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1973. The following year, in 1974, while on a tour in Canada, Mikhail Baryshnikov defected and requested political asylum in Toronto and joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. His first televised performance after coming out of temporary seclusion in Canada was with the National Ballet of Canada in a version of La Sylphide. More recently the company co-produced Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale with The Royal Ballet in London. The New York Times’ Alastair MaCauley declared that he admired it more in The National Ballet of Canada’s performance than when he "saw the ballet’s first performances in London, principally because of Evan McKie’s eloquent interpretation of Leontes." Macaulay also highly praised Francesco Gabriele Frola, Svetlana Lunkina & Jurgita Dronina; all four dancers being Kain recruits. A duet between Hermione (Dronina) and Leontes (McKie) was "a particular breakthrough for Mr. Wheeldon" as well. Dancers Principal Dancers Guillaume Côté Jurgita Dronina Naoya Ebe Koto Ishihara Harrison James Svetlana Lunkina Siphesihle November Heather Ogden Genevieve Penn Nabity Tina Pereira Ben Rudisin Piotr Stanczyk Principal