Piotr Stanczyk

Piotr Stanczyk was born in Poznan, Poland and trained at the State Ballet School of Poznan before studying at Canada’s National Ballet School. He joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1998 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2008.

A compelling artist with a gift for storytelling, Piotr has been a brilliant interpreter of dramatic roles in both the classical and contemporary repertoires. Most recently, he danced in the world premiere of Wayne McGregor’s MADDADDAM. His repertoire includes Count Danilo Danilowitch in The Merry Widow, Eugene Onegin in Onegin, Leontes in The Winter’s Tale, Karenin in Anna Karenina, L’Aviateur in the world premiere of Le Petit Prince, Geppetto in the world premiere of Pinocchio, Stanley in the Canadian premiere of A Streetcar Named Desire and Rothbart in Swan Lake. He has danced principal roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Nijinsky, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Nutcracker, La Fille mal gardée, Hamlet, Petrouchka, Theme and Variations, Symphony in C, Serenade, Etudes, Song of a Wayfarer, The Second Detail, Chroma, The Four Seasons, Rubies, in a state of vanishing and The Man in Black. Piotr has performed in company premieres by such contemporary choreographers as Alexei Ratmansky, Wayne McGregor, Kevin O’Day and John Neumeier.

This season, Piotr will retire from the National Ballet after a 25-year career with James Kudelka’s Passion.

As a guest artist, Piotr has performed at the Vienna State Opera, International Ballet Festival of Miami, Charleston Ballet and Brott Music Festival.

In 2012, Piotr received the Rolex Dancers First Award and was the recipient of the William Marrié Award for Dramatic Excellence in 2003, for his role as Jaguar in The Firebird.