Liquid Moonlight: The National Ballet of Canada’s 2024 Winter Season

Christopher Gerty and Hannah Galway in Silent Screen. (Photo: Bruce Zinger)

Last Saturday night, the National Ballet of Canada launched its winter season at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre with a triple bill featuring works new to the company. Running from November 9-16, the two-hour program included Sol León and Paul Lightfoot’s evocative Silent Screen, Frederick Ashton’s sparkling Rhapsody, and Guillaume Côté’s introspective Body of Work, a solo piece expressing his personal connection to dance as he prepares to retire at the end of the 2024/25 season.

The performance of Rhapsody is also noteworthy as it is part of Ashton Worldwide—a five-year international festival celebrating Frederick Ashton’s legacy from 2024 to 2028. The National Ballet is among 24 companies participating in this initiative aimed at highlighting Ashton’s influence through global performances of his works.

Given the range of choreographers featured, the program showcases a variety of styles from neoclassical to contemporary ballet, allowing audiences to explore themes of loss, nostalgia, and artistic inheritance.

Body of Work, for instance, reflects on Côté’s evolution as a beloved Quebec-born Canadian ballet star in his final season with the company that has been his artistic home for the past 26 years. Originally created as a tribute to his mentor Anik Bissonnette for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards in 2014, this powerful solo performance is now reinterpreted to encapsulate his own experiences in dance. Set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, it blends elegance with raw physicality, with rippling arm movements that evoke imagery associated with classical ballet while incorporating contemporary elements that resonate deeply with the audience.

In contrast, Rhapsody revisits highlights from the classical canon with nods to Ashton’s influences. This piece showcases a different kind of artistry, one that is effervescent and steeped in tradition. Lastly, Silent Screen, the anchor work of the program, invites audiences on an inner journey through poetic imagery rather than linear storytelling. Taken together, the premieres offer an experience that is both reflective and forward-looking—but with uneven results.

Guillaume Côté in Body of Work. (Photo: Bruce Zinger)

Originally created for Nederlands Dans Theatre in 2005, Silent Screen draws inspiration from the evocative world of silent films, using exaggerated expressions and movements reminiscent of Murnau’s Nosferatu and Lang’s Metropolis. The monochrome palette, accented with red—most notably in the filmed figure of León and Lightfoot’s young daughter, Saura—adds a striking visual element but can sometimes obscure the intricate choreography.

León and Lightfoot, formerly married and now working independently but both known for creating work in dialogue, also designed the sets and film sequences. These include a rocky oceanfront with crashing waves and a retreating figure who appears to get lost in the sea, as well as a snow-sprinkled forest with a single path. Surreal elements enhance the emotional journey without a concrete narrative—a hallmark of their style—such as when the camera focuses on their daughter’s eye, transforming it into a spiralling vortex. Philip Glass’s score adds a repetitive, hypnotic layer that enhances this surreal atmosphere.

The performance unfolds like a storm of bright flashes—visually arresting and filled with moments of stunning beauty. The choreography captivates with an electric symphony of movement. The dancers, clad in bare-chested black suits and bare-legged black jackets, evoke the sleek allure of high-fashion magazine spreads—sexy and inviting.

Yet beneath this polished exterior lies an intention to inspire intimacy through intricate facial gestures and nuanced movements. However, in the vastness of Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre, these details can feel distant; one almost needs binoculars to truly appreciate their subtlety—a challenge when aiming to evoke closeness and connection. While León and Lightfoot aspire to create an intimate experience that resonates deeply, this ambition struggles against the reality of a large theatre setting. Despite its aesthetic appeal and innovative choreography, Silent Screen ultimately feels like an artful display lacking the nurturing substance that moves the soul.

Standout performances by Hannah Galway, Christopher Gerty, and Ben Rudisin highlight potential within this visually captivating piece. Newcomers Shaakir Muhammad and Erica Lall as the couple in white bring fresh energy to their roles. However, as a whole, it leaves one pondering why it fails to resonate more deeply—captivating momentarily but not fully engaging the spirit.

Tirion Law and Siphesihle November in Rhapsody. (Photo: Karolina Kuras)

In contrast, Ashton’s Rhapsody, set to Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, offers an effervescent exploration of classical ballet that showcases Ashton’s signature British style: lyrical, precise, and imbued with energy. Originally created for Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lesley Collier in 1980, this ballet is rich with intricate footwork and floating lifts that evoke the elegance of past eras. Principal dancers Siphesihle November and Tirion Law deliver standout performances that radiate charm and technical brilliance.

November’s interpretation is not merely an homage but a vibrant embodiment of the explosive energy characterizing this work. His command over Ashton’s bold athleticism is remarkable as he takes on a Baryshnikov role for the second time in his young career. Law is just as striking; she shimmers like liquid moonlight streaming across the stage. Her fleet and intricate movements reflect Ashton’s choreography’s nuances while balancing strength with delicacy—a true highlight of the evening.

The central couple is beautifully framed by a corps de ballet adorned in ethereal costumes, their movements echoing the elegance of a royal court. Male dancers partner them in a display of academic dance that not only showcases technical prowess but also infuses a sense of playful interaction.

Speaking of interaction, Ashton’s choreography, rich with nods to his mentors—Petipa, Nijinska, and Massine—invites viewers to engage in a discreet game of “spot the ballet.” As you watch Rhapsody, familiar poses and movements pop up unexpectedly, sparking recognition of classics like Swan Lake and La Bayadère, especially among those who might identify as ballet insiders. This clever interplay creates a dialogue with the past, adding depth to the performance while establishing its own unique identity. The blend of homage and innovation allows for moments of lightheartedness and wit, reminding the audience that ballet can be both reverent and joyous when it honours its classical roots.

– Deirdre Kelly is a Toronto-based journalist, author and internationally recognized dance critic and style writer on staff at The Globe and Mail newspaper from 1985 to 2017. She writes for Dance Magazine in New York, the Dance Gazette in London, and NUVO in Vancouver, and is a contributor to the International Dictionary of Ballet and AWOL: Tales for Travel-Inspired Minds. The best-selling author of Paris Times Eight and Ballerina: Sex, Scandal and Suffering Behind the Symbol of Perfection, she is a two-time recipient (2020 and 2014) of Canada’s Nathan Cohen Prize for outstanding critical writing. In 2017, she joined York University as Editor of the award-winning The York University Magazine where she is also the publication’s principal writer. In 2023, she published her latest book, Fashioning The Beatles: The Looks That Shook The World.