Americans Move to Canada

[Ed McPherson]

I have seen a few articles noting the dramatic increase in American visitors to Canada's immigration website since election day. This set me wondering about Canadian ballet companies. I don't know much about our neighbors. Is there a distinct Canadian style? What are the major companies outside of NBC, Winnipeg, and Le Grand? The Canadian government is working to increase its permanent residents, is that feeling prevelant in the arts scene as well?

much thanks

[Paquita]

Hi Ed! The Canadian dance scene is pretty diverse, so I can only really speak for Toronto... I think for the NBoC, it is sometimes hard to keep their brightest dancers. Johan Persson and Jamie Tapper left for the Royal Ballet and the up-and-comer Tina Periera has joined Het National Ballet. NBoC has been able to keep dancers like Chan Hon Goh and Greta Hodgkinson by allowing them to guest with other companies frequently. There are definitely more opportunities in bigger companies (for new works, touring...), but several dancers have said that the reason they stayed in Canada was for Kudelka's ballets.

NBoC, RWB, and Les Grands are definitely the main companies, and there are others, but for the most part they are relatively young. I have heard some good things about the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada http://www.atlanticballet.ca/. Out west there is the Alberta Ballet and Ballet BC (Ballet BC's director, John Alleyne has created several ballets for the NBoC as well). Try their website: http://www.balletbc.com/home.html. These 2 companies collaborate with their Nutcracker, bringing it to different cities in the Western provinces.

It is really difficult to pin point a "Canadian style". There are definitely links with the British style, but with choreographers like John Alleyne and James Kudelka, it has really become quite different. The Quebec scene is more experimental and has produced talents such as Jean-Pierre Perrault (La Fondation Jean-Pierre Perrault) and Edouard Lock (of Lalala Human Steps: http://www.lalalahumansteps.com/). It is a shame that Ontario rarely gets to see ballets from Quebec. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens came to Toronto this week after a 5 year absence and the ticket sales were extremely low. It's not likely they will be returning soon, as their reception in other cities (US, Europe) has been much better.

Hope this helps:)

[Ed McPherson]

It does help, its good to know.

[dancersteven]

I would have to say that usually the dancers are trying to get into the US to work, and not the other way around, at least that was the case for me and many people I know.

In the case of the most talented young dancers (Matt Golding, for example), they dream of dancing with ABT or NYCB as well as NBoC or RWB.

For those of us of lesser talent and ability, a US work visa gives access to the many smaller and medium sized companies that exist in the US, of which there are few in Canada. I do know that the RWB has had trouble finding and keeping principal level men recently, but I do not think that any of the new boys come from an American background.

Anyway, IMHO, I think that most of the dancers in Canadian companies are either Canadian or from other (less financially affluent) countries. Besides, dancers get paid little enough as it is, imagine getting paid in Monopoly money!

[Helene]

Recently retired PNB Soloist Alexandra Dickson danced with the Company when I moved to Seattle in 1994, but sometime in the next couple of years missed at least one season because she couldn't get a work permit as a citizen of Canada. She rejoined after the visa issues were sorted out. PNB also hired two Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancers, Olivier Wevers and Kaori Nakamura. I know that Wevers is from Belgium and Nakamura is from Japan, but I don't know where they are citizens.

There was a story on CBC radio this morning about an immigration law firm in Vancouver that has been receiving an increase in inquiries from Americans since the election. The firm calls them "Bush Refugees," and is going to offer seminars in Seattle, Portland, and one other Western city about how to obtain Canadian residency.

[Mel Johnson]

Also something to consider is that Canada has a system that is like the US in at least one respect: Take a number and wait. You can't just emigrate and claim refugee status unless you can prove that the government of the place you emigrate from is a "real and present danger" to you. Meaning that they're out to get you, personally.

[MJ]

Canada, wonderful country, nice people. Looks just like 'Muhrika, except for the metric crap. Driving a car in Canada is fun, I have no Idea how fast I'm going. I could be breaking the speed of light.

Tim Hortons is not as good as Krispy Kreme, but everything else is acceptable.

Beer there is excellent, you can get real European beers on tap in Canada, not watered down versions here in the states.

Taxes are a killer up there, you think taxes are high in NYC or Kaleeforneeya?

As a dual national, (me mum's Irish, so I was given automatic irish citizenship) I know that applying for citizenship in another country could void your american citizenship, so be very careful what you do.

Cheers,

Mike

[Dale]

The above post was edited -- we do not discuss politics on the board (especially when unrelated to the ballet world). See our policies here:

http://balletalert.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16070

[sandik]

Back to dance -- I know at one time the general policy at Canadian arts organizations (and possibly across the boards, but I don't know) was that they could hire someone from outside Canada only if they could prove that there wasn't a Canadian available who could fill the position. At some point in the 1980's, Bill Evans went to Winnipeg to run a contemporary company there, but he could not get a permanent contract since he wasn't a Canadian. I believe the idea was that he would work there for a time, until they could find someone else for the job.

I have no idea if this is still the case, it wouldn't surprise me -- for several years Canadian media companies were required to include a minimum percentage of work generated by Canadians.

[Mel Johnson]

You'll find that in most nations, there's a labor policy that requires that a foreigner must provide documentation that s/he is uniquely qualified to perform a certain sort of work that cannot be adequately provided by a national of that country. It's fairly standard, but it is another hoop to jump through. Of course, if you are a landed emigrant (you haven't become a citizen yet, buy you've bought property) or a naturalized citizen of that country, then that rule no longer applies.