Ever since Ludmilla Chiriaeff founded the company in 1957, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal has been communicating its passion for dance and firing the imagination of audiences worldwide. This widely acclaimed company is devoted to developing ballet in all its forms, while remaining faithful to the spirit of classical ballet.
Les Grands Ballets has lit up stages around the world, particularly since the appointment of Gradimir Pankov as Artistic Director in 1999. The company’s reputation has been reinforced by many international successes over the past few years: Oman (2012), China (2011), the Middle East (2009), North America and Europe (Madrid, Berlin, Munich and three weeks at Les Étés de la danse in Paris). A leader among Montreal’s cultural institutions, the company now presents works by up-and-coming artists—Christian Spuck, Stephan Thoss, Stijn Celis, Didy Veldman—and renowned choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Mats Ek and Ohad Naharin.
The company is also strongly commitmed to the local community. Since 1997, The Nutcracker Fund for Children has given thousands of children from disadvantaged communities an unforgettable holiday season, with educational workshops and a free performance of The Nutcracker. In 2010, Les Grands Ballets launched The Nutcracker Market—Montreal’s first non-profit Christmas market—to raise money for the Fund.
Les Grands Ballets is currently preparing a number of large-scale projects, in particular those for the National Centre for Dance Therapy, launched in 2013. The company will also be relocating in 2016 to its new premises, the Espace Danse, in the heart of Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles, a unique creative crossroads. All of these initiatives have one goal: Moving the world. Differently.
