Stratford Ballet Week
Michel Faigaux, born and raised in Toronto, started his ballet training at the National Ballet School at the age of ten. Graduating eight years later, Michel went on to have a long ballet career, dancing with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada and Alberta Ballet. Known for his powerful jumps, fine technique and wondrous humour, Michel loved performing such roles as the Nutcracker Prince, the Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, Puck in a Mid-Summer Nights Dream and many more lead roles. Michel then went on to have an international guesting career, performing in such cities as Miami, Atlanta, New York City, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Cairo and Helsinki.
Michel always enjoyed helping other company members and fell naturally into coaching, mentoring and teaching. He is now a world-renowned guest ballet teacher, having taught throughout Canada for companies such as Ballet BC, Alberta Ballet, and Ballet Jorgen. He is a regular guest teacher at Studio Architanz in Tokyo, Japan and will teach there again in May and June of 2018.
After being involved with the National Ballet of Canada for almost his whole life, Michel is honoured and thrilled to be on staff as a regular guest teacher. Working with some of the best ballet dancers in the world is a constant source of inspiration, and Michel is continually motivated to become a better ballet teacher.
Now living in Stratford with his wife and 2 children, Michel is excited to bring his high-energy and technically structured ballet class to the Stratford Ballet Week. Using strong yet basic fundamentals, the ballet students will be able to progress rapidly and with a full understanding of proper technique. Building flexibility, turn-out, stamina, musicality, proper placement and lines are the cores to classical ballet, and Michel promises to bring all that and more to every class!
Photo Credits:
Peter Pan Jump courtesy of Ballet Victoria
Stop Sign courtesy of Ray Steinke and The National Ballet of Canada
Symphonic Variations courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada
We are THRILLED to have Miss Lise-Marie Jourdain joining us for our first ever Stratford Ballet Week!
Lise-Marie was born in France, and trained at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School in Paris, France. Lise-Marie joined the world famous Paris Opera Ballet after graduation, and danced there for 7 seasons. While at the Paris Opera Ballet, she was a finalist at the Varna Ballet Competition and won the Couple Prize at the Paris Dance Competition in 2000. Lise-Marie joined the National Ballet of Canada in 2002 and has danced in almost every production in the National Ballet’s repertoire in the last 15 years, including the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, The Hungarian Princess in Swan Lake, Lady Montague in Romeo & Juliet, as well performing in Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Carmen and many others.
With a warm manner, stunning grace and flawless technique, Lise-Marie is a huge asset to any ballet company and we are THRILLED to have her teach our pointe and variations class. Lise-Marie will be teaching ‘en-pointe’, which will be a wonderful way for every student in the Stratford Ballet Week to see, in person, the proper positions, strength, and technique needed to more forward with basic, intermediate and advanced pointe work.
Photo Credits
Head shot and studio shot by Sian Richards
'Emergence' photo by Cylla Von Tiedmann
'Rubies' photo by Bruce Zinger
All photos courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada
A Stratford native, Gavin Yeomans brings a wealth of music knowledge to Stratford Ballet Week. Gavin has been playing piano for more than half his life, and plays piano regularly with the Stratford Salvation Army, the Tini Pel Ballet School, and with the Parkview United Church. He has won the 'Top Stratford Pianist' trophy at the Kiwanis Festival, and played all the music for Stratford Central High School's production of 'The Music Man'.
We are so pleased that we will have 'LIVE' music for both ballet class and pointe class, and no doubt the participants will love having a live piano in the ballet studio.