Alberta Ballet started life as an amateur troupe called Dance Interlude, which is a great fact to pull out at your next dinner party. That small company grew into the ballet people across the province know by heart.
The story begins in Edmonton in 1958, when Ruth Carse founded Dance Interlude. By 1961 it had a new name, the Edmonton Ballet Company. In 1966 the group reorganized as a professional ensemble under the name it carries today, Alberta Ballet. That’s three names in eight years, from a company that knew where it wanted to go.
Carse stayed until 1975. After a brief hand-off, Brydon Paige took over as artistic director in 1976 and led the company until 1988. Paige gave it a more classical profile, and audiences met classical versions of The Nutcracker, The Firebird and Cinderella. Next came Ali Pourfarrokh, who steered things toward neo-classical work and gave early exposure to choreographers like Crystal Pite and Robert La Fosse. His era brought a fresh Nutcracker in 1995 and Romeo and Juliet in 1998. It also brought Lifted by Love in 1994, a Peter Pucci work set to songs by k.d. lang. Hardly typical tutu territory, and that’s the fun of it.
Calgary enters the picture during Pourfarrokh’s years. The company merged with the Calgary City Ballet in 1990 and set up shop at the Nat Christie Centre in Calgary. In 1991 it opened the Alberta Ballet School of Dance as its teaching arm. Dancers could now learn and perform under one banner. It still stages regular seasons in Edmonton too, a reminder that this company belongs to the whole province.
Since 2001 the story has had a bold, colourful middle chapter. Jean Grand-Maître took over as artistic director that September and leaned into big, story-driven works. Carmen arrived in 2003. Romeo and Juliet followed in 2005. In 2007 came Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and the Drum, which will ring a bell if you read our story of the year Joni Mitchell spent in Calgary.
In 2010 came Love Lies Bleeding, a ballet inspired by the life and music of Elton John. That same year the company danced Grand-Maître’s choreography at the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics. An Alberta company, on a global stage.
This history says something about the arts scene here. Companies grow by saying yes to a merger and yes to a pop-music project that might raise a few ballet purists’ eyebrows. The result is a company that can handle The Nutcracker at Christmas and a rock-and-roll ballet in spring.
A ballet company carries a city’s name wherever it goes. When Alberta Ballet performs, it’s a Calgary and Alberta calling card.
To feel the company’s history in person, head to the Nat Christie Centre, where Alberta Ballet is based today. Look it up on a map and you’ll see how a merger and a school ended up under one roof. The company’s own site lists what’s on stage next.
Look up an Alberta Ballet performance this season and book a seat. Take someone who swears ballet isn’t for them.
Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia, Alberta Ballet Company; Wikipedia, Alberta Ballet Company.
Keep going with The Calgary Fringe Found Its Home in Inglewood or Wagonstage Has Been Bringing Plays to Calgary Parks Since 1971, whichever calls to you.
Keep going with Wynonna Earp Made Calgary Its Home Base and Go sit in the King Eddy, Calgary’s home of the blues.
Quick answers
Alberta Ballet started in Edmonton in 1958, when Ruth Carse founded the amateur troupe Dance Interlude. By 1961 it was the Edmonton Ballet Company, and in 1966 it reorganized as a professional ensemble under the name it carries today, Alberta Ballet.
Alberta Ballet merged with the Calgary City Ballet in 1990 and set up shop at the Nat Christie Centre in Calgary. In 1991 it opened the Alberta Ballet School of Dance as its teaching arm. The company still stages regular seasons in Edmonton too.
Ruth Carse stayed until 1975, and Brydon Paige led the company from 1976 to 1988. Ali Pourfarrokh followed, and Jean Grand Maître took over as artistic director in September 2001, leaning into big, story driven works such as Carmen in 2003.
