Karen Kain

Ms. Kain is one of Canada's most renowned and committed arts leaders. She is the longest serving Artistic Director of the National Ballet since Founder Celia Franca and has led the organization with great success. She has had an invaluable impact, as both an artist and a leader, on the National Ballet as well as the arts in Canada and around the globe. One of the greatest classical dancers of her generation, she joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1969 and went on to a distinguished career that included international guest performances with such companies as Paris Opéra Ballet, Roland Petit's Le Ballet de Marseille, The Bolshoi Ballet, London Festival Ballet and The Hamburg Ballet. During her career she developed a close creative partnership with Rudolf Nureyev and often performed with him. Ms. Kain retired from dancing following a cross-Canada farewell tour in 1997 and took up the position of Artist-in-Residence, a role later expanded to Artistic Associate. She was appointed Artistic Director in 2005. Under her tenure, the National Ballet embarked on 23 international tours, commissioned, co-commissioned and co-produced 24 new works from international and Canadian choreographers, received worldwide acclaim for the calibre of dancing and achieved financial success with 10 years of operating surpluses and the completion of the $104 million Soaring Campaign, the largest fundraising campaign in the history of the National Ballet. Ms. Kain also launched CreativAction, a new initiative to support Canadian choreographers and the dance community and appointed three Choreographic Associates. Ms. Kain's commitment to education and community engagement saw over 5.9 million children and their families enjoy free programming during her time as Artistic Director.