On February 11, Romeo & Juliet by Ballet Jorgen will be taking the stage at Key City Theatre.

A timeless classic written by William Shakespeare tells the tale of Romeo & Juliet, two love struck teens living on opposite sides of two feuding families. Masterfully transformed for the world of ballet, this tale of love, anguish and revenge is elegant and intensely emotional.

Since 1997 the Ballet Jorgen has successfully toured Romeo & Juliet around the world with stops in New York, China and Hong Kong. Praised as one of the sunniest versions of the play, Bengt Jorgen’s focuses on creating a clear and emotionally driven journey into this timeless classic. “Bengt Jörgen crafts a jewel-box Romeo & Juliet,” says Paula Citron (Globe and Mail) and Michael Crabb (National Posts) calls it “a production that looks like a ballet but feels like a play.”

Ballet Jorgen will be bringing an ensemble of 15 dancers with Hiroto Saito and Saniya Abilmajineva cast in the roles of Romeo and Juliet. Hiroto Saito is a Japanese born ballet dancer who has been dancing and teaching with Ballet Jorgen since 2007. Along with dancing, Hiroto has choreographed a variety of works for Ballet Jorgen and organized ‘Dance for Japan’ a fundraiser to support earthquake relief in Fukushima.

Saniya Abilmajineva is originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan and started training for ballet at the age of 10. A graduate from the Choreography College in Moscow, she has been the recipient of several awards including the gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Berlin and a semi-finalist at the International Ballet Competition at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre.

In addition Ballet Jorgen will be providing six to 10 to local dancers and two theatre students the opportunity to participate in the ballet. Students are selected based on their instructor’s recommendation or through live auditions. Students successfully selected will have the rare opportunity to gain insights to the inner workings of a professional ballet production. They will have the chance to participate in rehearsals and perform as villagers, ballroom guests and guards in front of a live audience at the Key City Theatre.

Founded in 1987, Ballet Jorgen gives over 120 performances a year sharing the experience of ballet with more communicates in Canada than any other dance company. With over 117 ballets in their repertoire they are the only major Canadian ballet company that exclusively offers original ballet performances.  Ballet Jorgen performs to over 50,000 people annually helping them meet their goal of advancing the appreciation of ballet and Canadian choreography through their performances.

Key City Theatre

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