By Lauren Kramer

Cantanta de Mauro Bigonzetti - Photo Robert Etcheverry

When Tel Aviv celebrates its 100^th anniversary in June, Canada will be there. Canada’s ballerinas, at any rate.

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal will be performing in the Holy Land for the first time ever, as part of a three-week international tour that will also take the dancers to Egypt, Slovenia and Germany.

They’ll pirouette at the outdoor stage of the Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre on June 1 and 2, and then again at the Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts on June 5. The latter performance will form part of the Israel Festival, and Les Grands Ballets will perform Noces by Balgian choreographer Stijn Celis and Cantata by Italian Mauro Bigonzetti.

“This tour will be a milestone in our history,” Alain Dancyger, the ballet’s executive director, said in an article in the Canadian Jewish News. “The company’s historic presence in the Middle East is significant, clearly underscoring our established international reputation.”

Dancyger is referring to the fact that Les Grands Ballet’s trip to Israel marks the 60^th anniversary of bilateral relations between Canada and Israel. The company also has a personal tie to Israel through Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin. Back in 2002, Les Grands Ballets commissioned Naharin to create the dance work Minus One, which is now a staple of the company’s repertoire.

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