Ballet Jörgen The Nutcracker – A Canadian Tradition

Holiday magic is made year after year by Ballet Jörgen’s traditional treasure The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition. Created by acclaimed choreographer and Artistic Director Bengt Jörgen to Tchaikovsky’s well-loved score, this delightful classic is a favourite that brings magic to the holidays.

Born from a collaboration with Kleinburg’s world-renowned McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and with well over 100 costumes in richly coloured fabrics, The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition brings out the magic of Canada. 20th Century landscapes make up the stunning 30-foot backdrops, including Franklin Carmichael’s Church and Houses at Bisset (1931), Tom Thompson’s Snow in the Woods (1916), and L.L. Fitzgerald’s Trees and Wildflowers (1922). This is a beautiful Canadian work, and audiences are taken on Klara’s familiar, magical dream journey as she arrives in Canada and experiences winter landscapes filled with snowflakes, lumberjacks, Mounties, and creatures of the woods.

SIGN UP HERE FOR YOUTH AUDITIONS – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th – for an opportunity to rehearse and perform with the professional company of Ballet Jörgen as they prepare to mount this exciting iteration of The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition on BPAC’s Main Stage.

BPAC is proud to be part of Ballet Jörgen’s The Nutcracker Youth Participant Program – an opportunity for young dancers aged 8-17 to perform alongside professionals in our BPAC production of The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition. The program includes auditioning, rehearsing, performing in the ballet, gaining experience with professional dancers and staff, and understanding the backstage operations of a professional production.

Ballet Jörgen

Ballet Jörgen was founded in 1987 to support the development and dissemination of Canadian choreography and, since its inception, has exclusively danced works created for the company by Canadian and Canada-based choreographers. In 2011 CBJ was awarded the National Arts Centre Award for Distinguished Contribution to Touring, and the company received the BC Touring Council Artist of the Year Award in both 2009 and 2013.
In 2019 Artistic Director & CEO Bengt Jörgen was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada “for his commitment to promoting ballet in Canada as a choreographer and artistic director.”

“Ballet Jörgen combines respect for tradition with a canny eye for what will make its productions distinct.”
– Michael Crabb, The Toronto Star