PRESS RELEASE
Vancouver Choreographer Joshua Beamish Announces Launch of New Classical Dance Company, Ballet Vancouver
Company to revitalize Vancouver’s access to professional classical, neoclassical, and narrative ballet en pointe, featuring some of the world’s finest dancers and fostering local emerging talent
Vancouver, BC — Internationally acclaimed Vancouver choreographer Joshua Beamish announces the launch of Vancouver-based ballet company, Ballet Vancouver Performance Series (Ballet Vancouver), which aims to re-establish a consistent local presence for professional classical, neoclassical, and narrative ballet performed en pointe. Ballet Vancouver will present its inaugural mixed program in celebration of the Company’s official launch at the Vancouver Playhouse on April 23-25, 2026.
“After recently celebrating the 20th anniversary of my eponymous dance company, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY, I began reflecting upon what was missing from the local dance ecology of Vancouver – my home city,” says Beamish. “While we have a wealth of exceptional contemporary dance companies and presenters, we don’t have regular access to professional classical ballet en pointe. This moment felt perfectly primed to launch this new Company, to serve and represent the diverse population of Vancouver.”
Based in Vancouver, Ballet Vancouver will present a regular home season, in addition to national and international touring. Programming will encompass homecoming performances by locally trained ballet stars, coupled with appearances by renowned international ballet artists and ballet companies. Emerging, diverse local talent will be fostered through outreach programs and choreographic development initiatives.
“As a proud Coast Salish Stó:lō woman, I am honoured to lead this organization on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. These lands have long been a vibrant hub for storytelling, ceremony, and artistry—since time immemorial,” says Cynthia Robinson, Ballet Vancouver Board President. “Under the visionary leadership of Joshua Beamish, Ballet Vancouver will carve a place in the global dance landscape, igniting thought, emotion, and cultural dialogue through the creation and presentation of world-class ballet.”
The Company will officially launch in April 2026 with a dazzling mixed program, featuring four works and starring a line-up of some of North America’s finest artists, including Stephanie Petersen (formerly of American Ballet Theatre and Australian Ballet), Vancouver born-and-raised Benjamin Freemantle (formerly Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet), Julian Hunt (Kidd Pivot), and Jonatan Lujan (Metopera Ballet NYC, Ballet Argentino Julio Bocca, Ballet Zurich), with complete programming and casting details to be announced in January 2026.
The inaugural program will feature the Vancouver premiere of After the Rain by The Royal Ballet Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, a two-part ballet known for its emotional depth and elegant simplicity, originally performed by New York City Ballet; the world premiere of a new creation choreographed by Beamish, in collaboration with Indigenous artist and fashion designer Yolonda Skelton, which centres a harmonious, thoughtful integration of Indigenous design and ballet; the live Vancouver premiere of Redemption by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, a solo journey of a fallen angel that explores themes of solitude and contemplation, which received its digital premiere at the 2021 PuSh Festival for Performing Arts; and the Vancouver reprise of Wen Wei Wang’s Swan, a modern reimagining of the ballet classic Swan Lake performed en pointe.
Ballet Vancouver’s 2026/27 season will be announced in advance of the company’s premiere performance, in April 2026.
Ballet Vancouver has the tremendous support from an Artistic Advisory Committee of visionary and influential leaders across the ballet world, including former Principal Dancer and current Associate Artistic Director with the New York City Ballet, Wendy Whelan; Goh Ballet Academy Director and former Principal Dancer with The National Ballet of Canada, Chan Hon Goh; Principal Dancer with The National Ballet of Canada, Heather Ogden; former First Soloist with the English National Ballet and Principal Dancer with Hong Kong Ballet, Crystal Costa; Executive and Artistic Director, Dancers of Damelahamid, Margaret Grenier; Head of Intensives and Talent Identification at The Royal Ballet School and former Royal Ballet Soloist, Paul Kay; Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s junior company (BRB2), Kit Holder; and Principal Dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Céline Gittens.
“I am thrilled to welcome Ballet Vancouver to the dance landscape of this beautiful city. I’m certain the audiences in Vancouver will enjoy the opportunity to experience a variety of repertoire, including both classical and neoclassical pointe work pieces,” says Committee member Ogden, who trained at the Richmond Academy of Dance before joining The National Ballet of Canada. “As a ballet student from the Lower Mainland, I always enjoyed seeing the classical companies as they came through. The performances would give me endless motivation as well as strengthen the determination in my own training. I’m sure that Ballet Vancouver will serve as a wonderful inspiration for the current generation of promising young dancers as well.”
Born in Edmonton and raised in Kelowna, Beamish adopted Vancouver as his hometown after moving to the city for his last year of dance training with The Source Dance Company and Pacific DanceArts in 2004. Determined to carve out an unconventional path for himself within the dance world, Beamish founded Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY in 2005, at the age of 17. Over the past 20 years, his works have toured throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and have included commissions from The Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Vancouver Opera, Cape Town Opera, Compania Nacional de Danza de Mexico and Toronto Dance Theatre, as well as workshops with New York Choreographic Institute and the Dutch National Ballet’s Choreographic Academy, among others.
With the launch of Ballet Vancouver, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY will honour its existing commitments through to the end of 2026. The New York chapter of the company, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY America, will continue to produce U.S. events moving forward.
In support of the official launch and upcoming 2026/27 inaugural season, Ballet Vancouver will present Ballet Vancouver: An Exclusive Preview & VIP Invitation on November 20, 2025, at Q7 (77 E 7th Ave.). The intimate evening will include a studio preview from the upcoming April 23-25 mixed program, featuring excerpts from Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Redemption, performed by artists from American Ballet Theatre, and much more. Canapes and refreshments will be served. Donation tickets of $250 per person are now available for purchase at balletvancouver.com
Tickets to Ballet Vancouver’s inaugural performance, April 23-25, will be on sale in January 2026. For more information, visit balletvancouver.com
Ballet Vancouver gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following partners:
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About Ballet Vancouver (balletvancouver.com)
Ballet Vancouver Performance Series is a non-profit charitable dance company founded in 2025 and based in Vancouver. The primary mandate of the company is to revitalize Vancouver’s access to professional classical, neoclassical, and narrative ballet. Ballet Vancouver will present multiple home performances annually, in addition to national and international touring. The company’s programming will encompass both homecoming performances by locally trained ballet stars, coupled with appearances by renowned international ballet artists and ballet companies. Emerging, diverse local talent will be fostered through outreach programs and choreographic development initiatives.
Ballet Vancouver Artistic Director Joshua Beamish is a leading Canadian and international voice in ballet. He collaborated with New York City Ballet Associate Artistic Director, Wendy Whelan, for Restless Creature and created the debut commissions of ABT Principal Herman Cornejo’s Dance Live and New York City Ballet Principal Ashley Bouder’s The Ashley Bouder Project. His recent presentations include Lincoln Center, BAM Next Wave, The Joyce Theater, The Guggenheim Museum, and the Royal Opera House/London.
As the Artistic Director of Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY for the past 20 years, key highlights include: the collaboration with Cirque du Soleil for presentation at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, performing the Closing Gala of the Canadian Cultural Pavilion, and touring an ensemble of 24 Vancouver-based artists for a commissioned presentation at Bangkok International Festival for Dance & Music/Bangkok Opera House. In 2019, the company presented the world premiere of Joshua Beamish’s @giselle at Vancouver Playhouse (a modernized and technology-driven interpretation of the beloved ballet Giselle).
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