On March 8th, the wonderful Karen Kain shared her remarks with a full house of visitors during the ICON opening reception.
2019 marked Karen Kain’s 50th year with The National Ballet of Canada, and Kain’s work will be forever tied to the company’s success. ICON: Celebrating 50 Years of Karen Kain with The National Ballet of Canada displays how this relationship produced an Artist, Leader and an Icon.
Since 1969, Karen Kain has been an influential and revolutionary figure in the world of ballet. For almost 30 years, her excellence as a world-renowned dancer thrilled and inspired the public. In 2005 she was appointed the Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada. In this role, she enabled the company to sustain its vision of supporting the excellence of its artists in Canada and abroad.
Visitors will explore Kain’s impact on the art of ballet as a dancer, and her accomplishments as the Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada through costumes, photos, and videos sourced from The National Ballet Archives.
The costumes on display will showcase ballets that have defined Kain’s success throughout her career. They are comprised of both costumes worn onstage, and costumes from ballets she re-staged and directed. Many of these costumes have never been seen off-stage until now.
This exhibition is created in partnership with The National Ballet of Canada and the University of Toronto’s Museum Studies program.
You can read the exhibit panels on The National Ballet of Canada’s website, as well as find out more about the National Ballet of Canada’s year of programming celebrating Karen Kain’s 50th anniversary with the company, at: https://national.ballet.ca/Meet/Karen-Kain-50th-Celebrations
Curated by: Elizabeth Colraine, Christina D’Agnillo, Judith Fernandez, and Cassandra Hutt.