November is the time of year when Canada’s National Ballet School goes coast to coast to find the top ballet dancers in the nation, to recruit them into their comprehensive training program.
Graduates from the school have gone on to prestigious international careers, including that of Siphe November who is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, Emma Hawes who is the lead principal dancer of the English National Ballet, and Neve Campbell of television and screen fame.
On Nov. 8, the school auditioned 30 promising young dancers at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks as part of their national recruitment tour.
“Launching here in Calgary, we’ll travel to 11 cities to find just those young people who have a spark and a passion for movement and really want to use ballet as their primary way of telling their stories,” said Ashley Powell, director of teacher training and community programs at Canada’s National Ballet School.
“We really love to meet all of our students and auditioners as individuals, get to know a little bit about them, and then they’ll do what they love to do best, which is move and jump and communicate through dance.”
She said that the school will evaluate the skill levels of the dancers depending on their age level, as the school was auditioning students anywhere from Grade 6 through to post-secondary, before inviting the best of those auditioners to a second audition in Toronto.
“Ballet is about communication. It’s a storytelling art form. It’s a way of telling a bit about who we are, sharing our emotions. So the very first thing we’re looking for is someone who is at home telling things about themselves through movement,” said Powell.
“We’re looking for coordination and creativity and flexibility, of all of those characteristics that that we that we know have the potential to develop someone into a lifelong career as a ballet dancer.”
Powell said the hope was that for the younger students, she would have see a passion for movement and desire to explore the potential of ballet.
Older students would be expected to have some ballet classes from the great ballet teachers in Calgary, and are ready to make a commitment to take their training to the next level and approach the school as a full-time rigorous commitment.
“When somebody goes through that first and second stage audition process and eventually makes the choice, which is, of course, an individual choice, a family choice, that they want to move to Toronto and take this on. They really know that ballet is their language, and they’re really excited about the opportunity,” said Powell.
“Through these audition processes, we’ve learned about their passion, their commitment to rigor, their creativity.”
Dancers audition for Canada’s National Ballet School at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks in Calgary on Saturday, November 8, 2025. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Excitement among dancers for Canada’s National Ballet School audition
One of the young audtioners on Saturday was Elodie Phillipson, who said that she had a passion for ballet.
“I am very excited,” she said.
Phillopson said that she had a boost in interest after her sister was accepted to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School—the only other provider of national level full-time professional ballet for students as a school in Canada.
Dani Phillipson, Elodie Phillipson’s mother, said that her daughter was happiest when she was dancing.
“I think she’s always done great work in ballet and dance. She loves it, and she’s just thrilled to be involved… it’s great to see her find such a great direction,” she said.
Whether Elodie Phillipson made it into the next round of Canada’s National Ballet School auditions, Dani Phillipson said that the audition in Calgary was always going to further fuel her ambitions in dance.
“It’s just one audition, and it’s a great experience to learn what auditions are like and see the kind of class and training that’s on offer,” she said.
Whether a student was accepted or not, Powell said that it was important to see the overall development of ballet dancers across the nation.
“We want to see Canadian talent. We want to see young people in rural communities and small communities and big communities, we know that there are tons of great teachers who are working hard to develop Canadian talent,” she said.
For any Calgarians who missed the audtions, Powell said that they could still send a video audition to Canada’s National Ballet School for consideration.
For more details, see www.nbs-enb.ca/train-develop/professional-ballet-program/professional-ballet-academic-program.
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