Canadian Ballet welcomes 72 Syrian refugees

Guillaume Côté and Elena Lobsanova in Romeo and Juliet - photo by Bruce Zinger — Guillaume Côté and Elena Lobsanova in Romeo and Juliet – photo by Bruce Zinger

The National Ballet of Canada will welcome a group of new Canadians to experience the magic of ballet. With the assistance of COSTI Immigrant Services, 72 Syrian refugees will attend the ‘Share the Magic' performance of Alexei Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet on 15 March.

Since 1986, the National Ballet's ‘Share the Magic' program has introduced ballet to those who would otherwise have little or no access. Over 29 years it has welcomed more than 67,000 people to see a live ballet performance for free. The National Ballet invites attendees through social service agencies, hospitals and shelters in Toronto to experience ballet, many for the first time.

Together with the refugees there will be nine other organizations attending including the Newcomer Women's Services, the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Regent Park School of Music.

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.