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Ballet companies around the world are in the thick of Nutcracker season right now, and many are grappling with some surprisingly meaty issues at the heart of this light, sugary ballet

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens has brought a brand new piece to the stage; a neo-classical adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s controversial novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

It’s the end of the 17/18 season for most ballet companies and for many, this means rounding off with a glitzy gala night. I feel these performances always go in one of two directions: they’re either a Greatest Hits or a bit of a patchwork quilt. 

Casse Noisette (the Nutcracker) is an annual tradition for shrieking hoardes of ballet-lovers all over the globe. If you want to keep it real, I heartily recommend a Sunday matinee.

Les Grands Ballets has a new Artistic Director – Ivan Cavallari – and 13 new dancers, mostly cherry-picked from some of Europe’s best ballet companies. Montreal audiences are in for a thorough journey through European contemporary ballet movements; which is not so far from the trajectory the previous Artistic Director Gradimir Pankov established during his tenure

Les Grands Ballet brought two international choreographers, Ken Ossola (Switzerland) and Shen Wei (USA) to Montreal to create brand new works for the repertoire, and the resulting double bill is an excellent showcase for Les Grands Ballets' lyricism and skill.

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens open their 2015-2016 season with Kaguyahime by Jiří Kylián, a Japanese legend told through dance and drums.