Meet Canada’s other national ballet company: it’s bringing classics like ‘Swan lake’ and ‘The Nutcracker’ to audiences that might otherwise never see them live

Toronto Star 
Feb. 22, 2025 
By Michael Crabb Special to the Star  

Call them the unsung heroes of Canadian dance.  

In their home city, Toronto, they tend to go unnoticed, but talk to audiences in Glace Bay, Rimouski, Regina or Kitimat and, from their perspectives, Ballet Jörgen is effectively Canada’s national dance troupe. 

If it weren’t for Ballet Jörgen, audiences in smaller centres and often remote communities coast to coast would never have the chance to see fully realized, professional productions of such popular classics as “The Nutcracker,” “Swan Lake” and “Romeo and Juliet” in live performance. 

“Our focus is underserved communities and underserved demographics,” explained Stockholm-born Bengt Jörgen who, after five seasons with the National Ballet of Canada, audaciously decided in 1987 to found a company of his own. 

Jörgen’s initial goal was to create a platform for the creation of new Canadian choreography, his own included. It was a virtuous ambition, but not an easy one to finance. 

The company began to attract bookings in smaller centres in 1991 and, three years later, made its first tour to the United States. Even so, Ballet Jörgen struggled to survive. Despite his allegiance to new work, the entrepreneurially minded Jörgen realized there was an untapped market in smaller cities and communities for classical ballet and, in 1995, launched a successful production of “The Nutcracker,” scaled to adapt to variously sized venues. 

It was the start of a whole new era for Ballet Jörgen as the repertoire expanded with other full-length classics and original story ballets in a classical mode, all of them specially choreographed for a troupe that, according to need and finances, has ranged in size from a dozen to now 20 dancers. 

Jörgen is proud of the fact that after 37 years the company has built its entire repertoire from scratch. “There are no hand-me-downs here,” he said. 

The appetite for live performance in smaller communities is robust and growing. 

Ballet Jörgen ended 2024 with its bestselling “Nutcracker” season ever. A recent performance of “The Sleeping Beauty” in North Bay sold out a 900-seat theatre with some attendees driving several hours to see it. Jörgen says it is not uncommon for the company to receive thank-you letters. 

The show in North Bay included more than the regular complement of dancers. One of Ballet Jörgen’s most appreciated features is the way it engages with communities through school shows, workshops and by incorporating students from local schools in its performances. 

“The community outreach program is such an amazing opportunity for the dancers to perform alongside professional ballet dancers,” said Marie Steffen, owner of her own school in Mount Pearl, NL. 

“Ballet Jörgen has the whole experience so well-tuned. The participants learn the choreography, stage the work and get costumed in an incredibly short amount of time. The company then seamlessly adds these young dancers into the storyline of the show in a meaningful and valued way. The children literally have their dreams come true on that stage.”

Community engagement also has a ripple effect. 

“Canada’s Ballet Jörgen is unique in providing a sense of community in dance right across the country,” said Susan Mitchell, a studio owner and teacher in Maple Ridge, B.C. “My students have benefited from the company’s outreach programs for over 15 years. I can’t say enough about how much we appreciate the inclusive and encouraging interactions they’ve enjoyed with the company dancers.” 

“Several of our students who’ve been involved in the Ballet Jörgen youth participant program have gone on to pursue post-secondary studies and professional careers in dance,” said Heidi Churchill, who runs the Carousel Dance Centre in Waterloo, ON. 

“Their takeaways reach beyond the stage,” Churchill added. “We often see our students coming back to class more focused and engaged. It reaches beyond the students too, deeper into our community, and engages a bigger audience, some of whom might not normally go to see the ballet if they didn’t know a dancer who was performing.” 

Touring used to be the lifeblood of most Canadian dance companies. At one time, Toronto audiences, like those in other Canadian cities, could expect regular visits from the big out-of-town troupes as well as from the leading contemporary companies. 

From season to season, the National Ballet of Canada would head out on alternating tours to Western and Atlantic Canada. To fit smaller stages, it was not uncommon for the company to build more compact touring versions of its big productions. 

All this activity was only possible because of federal funding specifically earmarked for touring. Then, with the government facing demand from an ever expanding arts community, touring grants began their decline to zero. Annual ceilings were set that essentially made it impossible for a large company such as the National Ballet to take its big story ballets — the ones audiences were eager to see — on the road. 

The Toronto-based company of roughly 70 dancers, including apprentices, does make annual visits to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, which still has a presenting budget, but relies on private donors to balance the books for prestigious international tours to cities such as New York, London or Paris. 

This has left Ballet Jörgen to do what it can to fill the gap in an increasingly challenging environment. Half its annual revenue of $3.4 million comes from performing. In comparison, National Ballet box office accounts for less than 40 per cent of its almost $40-million operating budget. Public grants continue to shrink. 

“In the olden days all the companies used to tour,” said Jörgen. “Now we’re still carrying that torch all the while trying to deal with constantly rising costs. I look at the environment out there and this existential situation. How long can we do this?” 

And yet they do, the dancers piling into four rented minivans while the specially designed sets and costumes and technical equipment are packed into two trucks. To save costs, Ballet Jörgen often uses volunteer drivers. Company members might even take the wheel, including the boss. 

“I don’t need to drive the truck anymore, but if I need to I will,” said Jörgen, whose contributions to Canadian dance were recognized with the Order of Canada in 2018. 

Although local presenters have felt bound to cancel a performance the odd time — a flood in Fredericton, NB, a blinding snowstorm in Brampton — the company itself never has. 

“We’ve faced snow and we’ve faced tornadoes, but we’ve always shown up, ready to dance,” said Jörgen. “We have contingency plans for everything.” 

Bengt Jörgen turned 62 in early February and is as passionate and energized as ever, but the issue of the company’s future looms. 

“We’re a very well-oiled machine,” said Jörgen. “We’re fortunate to have people in the organization who’ve been here a long time. If I became unavailable for our upcoming Western tour, it would still go on without me. 

“The question is who’s going to be willing to take over one day and wake up in the middle of the night worrying about meeting payroll? Will anyone be willing to invest enough of their own life to operate in this environment where you feel like a punching bag every day?” 

Ballet Jörgen continues to tour “The Sleeping Beauty” across Canada. See jorgendance.ca/events for information and tickets.