How Canadians Are Conquering the Ballet World

When you think of hotbeds of balletic talent, Saskatoon and North Bay are not the first places that spring to mind.

Yet, Canadians are making waves all over the ballet world, often with little recognition at home. Get to know 14 of them in these two illustrated lectures with video clips, and explore the variety of what constitutes “ballet” today.

An award-winning author and former Canadian Oxford Dictionary editor, Katherine Barber is known to legions of fans as “Canada’s Word Lady”, for her knack for making word histories lively and entertaining. But her real passion is ballet! She has taken ballet classes for over forty years, has seen thousands of performances all over the world, and organizes ballet-themed holidays in North America and Europe under the “Tours en l’air” brand. A popular teacher of ballet appreciation courses, Ms. Barber is a highly knowledgeable balletomane who vivaciously communicates her love and knowledge of the art form while demystifying its sometimes-intimidating aspects. At the Miles Nadal JCC Katherine has taught Yiddish and Hebrew Are Alive and Well and Living In English, Jewish Contributions to the World of Ballet and The Surprising Side of Ballet, and we are very pleased to welcome her to the virtual Miles Nadal JCC this spring.