Canada's National Ballet School
Encyclopedia
The National Ballet School of Canada is a classical ballet
school located in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it is one of the leading ballet schools in Canada and one of the most renowned internationally. Many graduates achieve employment with professional ballet companies around the world, most notably with the National Ballet of Canada
.
, which was formed in 1951 by the English ballet dancer Celia Franca
. Franca had previously been a leading dancer with ballet companies in the United Kingdom, before Dame Ninette de Valois recommended her as the best candidate to form a new Canadian ballet company modelled on her own Sadler's Wells Ballet, better known today as The Royal Ballet.
Franca subsequently emigrated to Canada in 1951 and founded the National Ballet of Canada that same year, also hiring the English ballet teacher Betty Oliphant
to work with the Company. As the Company became established, Franca and Oliphant decided it was essential to establish their own ballet academy to train dancers for the Company. This led to the formation of The National Ballet School of Canada in 1959 as a feeder school to the Company.
Oliphant became the School's first Artistic Director and having studied the Cecchetti method
under Dame Marie Rambert and Antony Tudor
, she chose the method as the foundation for the School's training programme. The Cecchetti method taught at the school was the original syllabus devised by Enrico Cecchetti
himself in collaboration with the dance writer and historian Cyril Beaumont, and which is today preserved and examined worldwide by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
. Students of the school were notably assessed by examiners from the United Kingdom, to ensure complete impartiality.
The School had been based in a former Quaker meeting house at 111 Maitland Street in Toronto, a building purchased for the school by the National Ballet Guild at a cost of $80,000. The first enrolment of full time students included 27 females, with 202 students enrolling for part time study, of which nine were boys.
training with academic education from Grades 6 through 12 at its boarding school. The School offers intensive specialized dance training after Grade 12 and a full-time teacher-training program.
The National Ballet School plays a significant role in revitalizing a neglected part of the city. Its stunning architectural form and its seamless ease with neighbouring heritage buildings help bring a sense of elegance to its site. Located on 400 Jarvis street
, the building faces onto the busy street with tall glass structures, creating connections with the exterior and the interior. Composed of 4 main building masses, the NBS scheme is admired for its seamless wholeness. Several architects have played a significant role in building and expanding the NBS. Project Grand Jete, which is the expansion plan for the Celia Franca Centre was planned and executed by Kuwabara Payne Mckenna Blumberg Architects. In collaboration the Goldsmith Borgal & Company, executed the restoration and redesign of the heritage buildings. These separate buildings play and interact with one another to achieve a harmonious unity. In architectural aspect and in cultural aspect this building captures the beauty of the history of its site and successfully reform it to achieve a grander and more modern presence within the city.
The School was founded in 1959 by two Englishwomen, Celia Franca
and Betty Oliphant
, on the model set forth by England's Royal Ballet and its associated Royal Ballet School
. It was directed for many years by co-founder Betty Oliphant
(also British) to train dancers primarily for the National Ballet of Canada
, but also for companies across Canada and around the world. Alumni and alumnae of the school include Martine van Hamel, Frank Augustyn
, Neve Campbell
, Rex Harrington
, Karen Kain
(current Artistic Director of the Company), James Kudelka
(former Artistic Director of the Company), Veronica Tennant
, Martine Lamy, John Alleyne, and Mavis Staines. Miss Staines is the current Artistic Director of The National Ballet School of Canada.
Since 1959, the School has trained hundreds of professional dance teachers – teachers who in turn have inspired and guided tens of thousands of young dancers in every part of Canada and on all five continents. It is one of the preeminent training facilities in the world for both dancers and teachers, setting crucially extraordinary standards for ballet internationally.
Each year, The School conducts outreach tours in twenty or more cities across Canada. Students have come to The National from every province in Canada – and from many other countries including the United States, Japan, Korea, and Sweden.
Admission to The National Ballet School is highly competitive. Students are accepted after an audition on the basis of merit alone, with financial assistance available depending on family means. Over fifty percent of NBS families receive some sort of financial aid. Students who make it through the initial auditions must pass an intensive summer at The School continuing to audition, and some are then accepted and asked to train at The School in the fall. At the end of each academic year, students are evaluated and asked back to continue training the following year if they have shown progress and promise.
The School's mission has expanded to train students for ballet companies in Canada and internationally. Alumni and alumnae of The School can be seen dancing at many prestigious companies world-wide, including The Royal Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, (the former) Frankfurt Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Swedish Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, and many others.
In addition to the core Professional Ballet/Academic Program, the School offers a post-secondary advanced dance training program (IDP: Intensive Dance Program, often affiliated with the apprenticeship program with the Company), a Teacher Training Program (TTP), summer school, student and adult recreational classes throughout the year, teachers’ seminars, and teacher and pianist workshops as part of its annual national recruitment tour. Over 700 students and their families access The School’s programs each week with an additional 150 auditionees joining the student body for the annual summer school.
The School originally trained most of its students in the British version of the Cecchetti method (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing -- ISTD, which differs sharply from the less-developed version taught by the Cecchetti Council of America. While Cecchetti has been the root of The National's training, most of the year was not developed to preparing for syllabus exams. Instead, The National developed its own system of training and used the ISTD Cecchetti exams at the end of the year to gage and assess its own students by inviting external ISTD examiners from England to examine its students. In the Upper School at The National, students were exposed to the Vaganova method
by Russian and other Soviet teachers. Classical Spanish dance (namely Flamenco
), Character Dance
, and Modern Dance
were included into the system of training to make well-rounded and versatile dancers. Students no longer prepare for the ISTD Cecchetti Exams, however those enrolled in the Teacher Training Program may do so, or elect to study Royal Academy of Dance
or RAD syllabus, or the Vaganova method
.
The National Ballet School also has an Associates Program for training of other students which is not affiliated with its academic boarding school. They teach Hip Hop
, Jazz
, and ballet
. The current head of the Associates Program is Laurel Toto, a graduate of the Teacher Training Program.
The School also has a strong international reputation. Mavis Staines, the School’s Artistic Director, serves as Artistic President of the Prix de Lausanne
, the most prestigious international competition for emerging young dancers held yearly in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In 2007, a major extension to the National Ballet School was completed and composed of three main structures, the Celia Franca Centre, which contains a curtain wall with the opening scene of the Nutcracker engraved into the glass panels, a “Bar” building, and a six storey “North Tower” building, which consist of three large studio spaces, each stacked on top of the other. The whole composition of the site weaves together beautifully since the school’s structure is able to incorporate the heritage buildings that surround it on Jarvis Street. The combination of these Victorian buildings with the contemporary architecture of the ballet school creates an interesting composition. The entire structure is composed of glass panels put together to create floor to ceiling windows, allowing the passers-by on Jarvis Street to get a glimpse of the art of ballet, and bringing the beauty of dance to the street.
Canada's National Ballet School was founded in 1959 by two English dancers, Betty Oliphant and Celia Franca. As the school began to grow with its academic program and become a well established and prestigious ballet school, there was a need for an expansion. Thus Project Grand Jeté began as the School's expansion project with a $100 million budget. In 2007, the structure was finally completed and composed of three main structures, the Celia Franca Center which contains a curtain wall with the opening scene of the Nutcracker engraved into the glass panels, a “Bar” building, and a six storey “North Tower” building, which consist of three large studio spaces, each stacked on top of the other. The whole composition of the site weaves together beautifully since the school’s structure is able to incorporate the heritage buildings that surround it on Jarvis Street. The combination of these Victorian buildings with the contemporary architecture of the ballet school creates an interesting composition. This site is the perfect way of depicting Toronto’s architecture in a single structure by showing how all of Toronto consists of old and new architecture knitted together. The entire structure is composed of glass panels put together to create floor to ceiling windows, allowing the passersby on Jarvis Street to get a glimpse of the art of ballet, and bringing the beauty of dance to the street.
Classical ballet
Classical Ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles, it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet...
school located in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it is one of the leading ballet schools in Canada and one of the most renowned internationally. Many graduates achieve employment with professional ballet companies around the world, most notably with the National Ballet of Canada
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
.
History
The National Ballet School is the associate school of the National Ballet of CanadaNational Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
, which was formed in 1951 by the English ballet dancer Celia Franca
Celia Franca
Celia Franca, was the founder of The National Ballet of Canada and its artistic director for 24 years ....
. Franca had previously been a leading dancer with ballet companies in the United Kingdom, before Dame Ninette de Valois recommended her as the best candidate to form a new Canadian ballet company modelled on her own Sadler's Wells Ballet, better known today as The Royal Ballet.
Franca subsequently emigrated to Canada in 1951 and founded the National Ballet of Canada that same year, also hiring the English ballet teacher Betty Oliphant
Betty Oliphant
Nancy Elizabeth "Betty" Oliphant, was a co-founder of the National Ballet School of Canada.Born in London, she suffered from pneumonia as a child and her doctor prescribed ballet lessons to help with her breathing. She studied with Tamara Karsavina, Laurent Novikoff and Marie Rambert...
to work with the Company. As the Company became established, Franca and Oliphant decided it was essential to establish their own ballet academy to train dancers for the Company. This led to the formation of The National Ballet School of Canada in 1959 as a feeder school to the Company.
Oliphant became the School's first Artistic Director and having studied the Cecchetti method
Cecchetti method
The Cecchetti method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Italian ballet master and pedagogue Enrico Cecchetti . The Cecchetti method, is a strict training system with special concern for anatomy within the confines of classical ballet technique, and seeks to develop the...
under Dame Marie Rambert and Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer.-Biography:Tudor, born William Cook, discovered dance accidentally. He began dancing professionally with Marie Rambert in 1928, becoming general assistant for her Ballet Club the next year...
, she chose the method as the foundation for the School's training programme. The Cecchetti method taught at the school was the original syllabus devised by Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in...
himself in collaboration with the dance writer and historian Cyril Beaumont, and which is today preserved and examined worldwide by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing is a leading dance teaching and examination board based in London, England and operating internationally. Established on 25 July 1904 as the Imperial Society of Dance Teachers, it changed to its current name in 1925 and is now a registered educational...
. Students of the school were notably assessed by examiners from the United Kingdom, to ensure complete impartiality.
The School had been based in a former Quaker meeting house at 111 Maitland Street in Toronto, a building purchased for the school by the National Ballet Guild at a cost of $80,000. The first enrolment of full time students included 27 females, with 202 students enrolling for part time study, of which nine were boys.
Overview
The National Ballet School provides a full-time program which combines classical balletClassical ballet
Classical Ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles, it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet...
training with academic education from Grades 6 through 12 at its boarding school. The School offers intensive specialized dance training after Grade 12 and a full-time teacher-training program.
The National Ballet School plays a significant role in revitalizing a neglected part of the city. Its stunning architectural form and its seamless ease with neighbouring heritage buildings help bring a sense of elegance to its site. Located on 400 Jarvis street
Jarvis Street
Jarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Bloor Street in the north to Queens Quay East in the south. South of Front Street, it continues as Lower Jarvis Street...
, the building faces onto the busy street with tall glass structures, creating connections with the exterior and the interior. Composed of 4 main building masses, the NBS scheme is admired for its seamless wholeness. Several architects have played a significant role in building and expanding the NBS. Project Grand Jete, which is the expansion plan for the Celia Franca Centre was planned and executed by Kuwabara Payne Mckenna Blumberg Architects. In collaboration the Goldsmith Borgal & Company, executed the restoration and redesign of the heritage buildings. These separate buildings play and interact with one another to achieve a harmonious unity. In architectural aspect and in cultural aspect this building captures the beauty of the history of its site and successfully reform it to achieve a grander and more modern presence within the city.
The School was founded in 1959 by two Englishwomen, Celia Franca
Celia Franca
Celia Franca, was the founder of The National Ballet of Canada and its artistic director for 24 years ....
and Betty Oliphant
Betty Oliphant
Nancy Elizabeth "Betty" Oliphant, was a co-founder of the National Ballet School of Canada.Born in London, she suffered from pneumonia as a child and her doctor prescribed ballet lessons to help with her breathing. She studied with Tamara Karsavina, Laurent Novikoff and Marie Rambert...
, on the model set forth by England's Royal Ballet and its associated Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
. It was directed for many years by co-founder Betty Oliphant
Betty Oliphant
Nancy Elizabeth "Betty" Oliphant, was a co-founder of the National Ballet School of Canada.Born in London, she suffered from pneumonia as a child and her doctor prescribed ballet lessons to help with her breathing. She studied with Tamara Karsavina, Laurent Novikoff and Marie Rambert...
(also British) to train dancers primarily for the National Ballet of Canada
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
, but also for companies across Canada and around the world. Alumni and alumnae of the school include Martine van Hamel, Frank Augustyn
Frank Augustyn
Frank Joseph Augustyn, OC is a Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and the Berlin Opera Ballet. He was artistic director of the Ottawa Ballet, from 1989–1994....
, Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
, Rex Harrington
Rex Harrington
Rex Howard Harrington, OC, FRSC is a Canadian ballet dancer. In 2000, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2005, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by York University and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada...
, Karen Kain
Karen Kain
Karen Alexandria Kain, CC is a retired Canadian ballet dancer, and currently the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada.-Early Training:...
(current Artistic Director of the Company), James Kudelka
James Kudelka
James Kudelka, OC, , is a choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director for the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ballet's artist in residence....
(former Artistic Director of the Company), Veronica Tennant
Veronica Tennant
Veronica Tennant, CC, FRSC is a Canadian dance and performance film producer and director, and former ballet dancer.She was born in London, England and moved to Canada with her parents and sister in 1955...
, Martine Lamy, John Alleyne, and Mavis Staines. Miss Staines is the current Artistic Director of The National Ballet School of Canada.
Since 1959, the School has trained hundreds of professional dance teachers – teachers who in turn have inspired and guided tens of thousands of young dancers in every part of Canada and on all five continents. It is one of the preeminent training facilities in the world for both dancers and teachers, setting crucially extraordinary standards for ballet internationally.
Each year, The School conducts outreach tours in twenty or more cities across Canada. Students have come to The National from every province in Canada – and from many other countries including the United States, Japan, Korea, and Sweden.
Admission to The National Ballet School is highly competitive. Students are accepted after an audition on the basis of merit alone, with financial assistance available depending on family means. Over fifty percent of NBS families receive some sort of financial aid. Students who make it through the initial auditions must pass an intensive summer at The School continuing to audition, and some are then accepted and asked to train at The School in the fall. At the end of each academic year, students are evaluated and asked back to continue training the following year if they have shown progress and promise.
The School's mission has expanded to train students for ballet companies in Canada and internationally. Alumni and alumnae of The School can be seen dancing at many prestigious companies world-wide, including The Royal Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, (the former) Frankfurt Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Swedish Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, and many others.
In addition to the core Professional Ballet/Academic Program, the School offers a post-secondary advanced dance training program (IDP: Intensive Dance Program, often affiliated with the apprenticeship program with the Company), a Teacher Training Program (TTP), summer school, student and adult recreational classes throughout the year, teachers’ seminars, and teacher and pianist workshops as part of its annual national recruitment tour. Over 700 students and their families access The School’s programs each week with an additional 150 auditionees joining the student body for the annual summer school.
The School originally trained most of its students in the British version of the Cecchetti method (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing -- ISTD, which differs sharply from the less-developed version taught by the Cecchetti Council of America. While Cecchetti has been the root of The National's training, most of the year was not developed to preparing for syllabus exams. Instead, The National developed its own system of training and used the ISTD Cecchetti exams at the end of the year to gage and assess its own students by inviting external ISTD examiners from England to examine its students. In the Upper School at The National, students were exposed to the Vaganova method
Vaganova method
The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova . Fusing elements of traditional French technique from the romantic era, with the athleticism and virtuosity of the Italian school, the method is designed to work the body...
by Russian and other Soviet teachers. Classical Spanish dance (namely Flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
), Character Dance
Character dance
Character Dance is a specific subdivision of Classical Dance. It is the stylised representation of a traditional folk or national dance,mostly from a European country, and uses movements and music which have been adapted for the theatre....
, and Modern Dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
were included into the system of training to make well-rounded and versatile dancers. Students no longer prepare for the ISTD Cecchetti Exams, however those enrolled in the Teacher Training Program may do so, or elect to study Royal Academy of Dance
Royal Academy of Dance
The Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
or RAD syllabus, or the Vaganova method
Vaganova method
The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova . Fusing elements of traditional French technique from the romantic era, with the athleticism and virtuosity of the Italian school, the method is designed to work the body...
.
The National Ballet School also has an Associates Program for training of other students which is not affiliated with its academic boarding school. They teach Hip Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. The current head of the Associates Program is Laurel Toto, a graduate of the Teacher Training Program.
The School also has a strong international reputation. Mavis Staines, the School’s Artistic Director, serves as Artistic President of the Prix de Lausanne
Prix de Lausanne
The Prix de Lausanne is an International dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition are now leading stars with major ballet companies...
, the most prestigious international competition for emerging young dancers held yearly in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In 2007, a major extension to the National Ballet School was completed and composed of three main structures, the Celia Franca Centre, which contains a curtain wall with the opening scene of the Nutcracker engraved into the glass panels, a “Bar” building, and a six storey “North Tower” building, which consist of three large studio spaces, each stacked on top of the other. The whole composition of the site weaves together beautifully since the school’s structure is able to incorporate the heritage buildings that surround it on Jarvis Street. The combination of these Victorian buildings with the contemporary architecture of the ballet school creates an interesting composition. The entire structure is composed of glass panels put together to create floor to ceiling windows, allowing the passers-by on Jarvis Street to get a glimpse of the art of ballet, and bringing the beauty of dance to the street.
Architecture
The National Ballet School is located at 400 Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto, in the Wellesley-Church district. The building is composed of the Celia Franca Centre and an old heritage building called the Northfield house which is situated in the center of the school. The architectural firm, KPMB, concept was to express the tradition in ballet by using the old heritage building and express the innovation in ballet by using the new contemporary construction. The new building is composed of glass, steel, metal panels, and concrete blocks, and appears transparent from the street façade. The architects played with horizontal and vertical plane elements to create the building composition. Since the completion of the construction of the building in 2005, the building and the architects have won many prestigious awards, including the Governor’s General Award in 2006.Celia Franca Centre – «Project Grand Jeté»
The Celia Franca Centre was designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB). The construction of the National Ballet School expansion «Project Grand Jeté» began in 2003, and the Celia Franca Centre was completed in 2005. The Celia Franca Centre is used for multiple purposes. Most importantly are the twelve dance studios of various sizes, some of which are facing Jarvis Street. These studios function as an open stage to the city. The Franca Celia Centre also includes a coffee shop, library/ resource centre, study areas, and seating zones. Also, the Betty Oliphant Theatre has change rooms, dressing rooms and wardrobe all encompassed within the Franca Celia Centre. The Façade of the Celia Franca Centre consists of glazed curtain walls married with cultured stone tiles tied by steel grate panel sub-structures. The choreography of the opening scene of The Nutcracker is visible in the suspended frit glass of the south pavilion facade in Benesh notationCanada's National Ballet School was founded in 1959 by two English dancers, Betty Oliphant and Celia Franca. As the school began to grow with its academic program and become a well established and prestigious ballet school, there was a need for an expansion. Thus Project Grand Jeté began as the School's expansion project with a $100 million budget. In 2007, the structure was finally completed and composed of three main structures, the Celia Franca Center which contains a curtain wall with the opening scene of the Nutcracker engraved into the glass panels, a “Bar” building, and a six storey “North Tower” building, which consist of three large studio spaces, each stacked on top of the other. The whole composition of the site weaves together beautifully since the school’s structure is able to incorporate the heritage buildings that surround it on Jarvis Street. The combination of these Victorian buildings with the contemporary architecture of the ballet school creates an interesting composition. This site is the perfect way of depicting Toronto’s architecture in a single structure by showing how all of Toronto consists of old and new architecture knitted together. The entire structure is composed of glass panels put together to create floor to ceiling windows, allowing the passersby on Jarvis Street to get a glimpse of the art of ballet, and bringing the beauty of dance to the street.