These Facts About Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Are On Point(e)

Highly decorated and in-demand choreographer Garrett Smith is a hot commodity, with at least one work meant to be performed in the cold. Smith co-choreographed a Swan Lake production on ice at the Dynamo Stadium in Moscow—featuring dancers, acrobats, and Olympic figure skaters, including Olympic gold medalist Evgeni Plushenko and prima ballerina Olga Smirnova. You can get a sense of his choreography for more traditional stages, including a snippet of Complete set to Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, and on the Feb 17-18 Northrop Dancing Beethoven program, on his YouTube channel. Born in Salt Lake City, UT, Garrett’s work with prestigious dance companies around the world, including Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Houston Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and Teatro alla Scala di Milano, has earned him numerous awards.

The late Uwe Scholz choreographed Symphony No. 7, the second part of the Feb 17-18 Northrop Dancing Beethoven program, for the Stuttgart Ballet in 1991 and it is considered his masterpiece. He revised the work and, as the director and chief choreographer, brought it to the Leipzig Ballet in 1993. Scholz began dancing at just four years old, developing an affinity for ballet along with his passion for music. Influenced by his lifelong mentor Marcia Haydée, Scholz choreographed his first piece Serenade for 5+1 at the age of 18. The talented German dancer and choreographer passed away in 2004 at just 45 years old, having choreographed more than 100 works.

For the Northrop performances, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens will be dancing to live music provided by the Minneapolis STRINGenius Symphony—a talented group of local musicians, many of whom play for The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. Leading them for the performances will be highly acclaimed principal conductor of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Orchestra Dina Gilbert, currently Music Director of the Kamloops Symphony (British-Columbia) and of the Orchestre symphonique de l'Estuaire (Québec). Few artistic experiences are more electric than those that bring exceptional musicians and world-class dancers together.

Beethoven (1770-1827) is undeniably one of the most famous composers of all time—and that means he has a commanding presence in much of popular culture. The composer is certainly important in the Peanuts comic strip created by Twin Cities native Charles M. Schulz. In Peanuts, piano-playing prodigy Schroeder will have you know that Beethoven is the “answer to life.” Meanwhile, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 can be heard in a variety of films and television shows—including (but not limited to) the 1980 premiere of the documentary series Cosmos, The King’s Speech, Mr. Holland’s Opus, an episode of Seinfeld, and in the 1974 special It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!

The list of works performed by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens since the company’s founding in 1957 includes great ballet classics, with at least one work starting with each letter of the alphabet—except for Z. First on the alphabetical list is A Soldier’s Song, choreographed by Milko Šparemblek. Last on the list is Your Self, choreographed by Ukrainian-born Tetyana Martyanova—who was a member of the company from 2011-13 and rejoined in 2017.