Canada's National Ballet School's Free Summer BLOCK PARTY

Dancing Opens Doors at Canada’s National Ballet School’s Free Summer Block Party

(2024 Pride Toronto Affiliate Event)

Grab your family and friends and celebrate dance at Canada’s National Ballet School’s (NBS) Block Party! The School’s third annual community celebration (which is free of charge) will take place at its iconic Toronto campus on Saturday, June 1 from 11:00am to 5:00pm.  NBS BlockParty is an official 2024 Pride Toronto Affiliate Event.

The Block Party promises to give the Toronto community an all-access pass inside the school campus and energize the 400 Jarvis Street block with fun, family-friendly festival programming such as dance workshops for all ages and skill levels, pop-up dance performances, a live DJ, games, and more! This year’s Block Party will be particularly meaningful as it will also celebrate the immeasurable legacy of NBS’ Artistic Director Mavis Staines as she approaches her retirement at the end of June 2024.

“The much-anticipated annual Block Party is part of our vision to make the power of dance accessible for everyone—through opening NBS’ doors to the wider community,” said Mavis Staines, Artistic Director & CEO of Canada’s National Ballet School. “Block Party also is the realization of a personal dream to see dancers coming together, connecting and celebrating—whether they are exploring dance for the very first time, or have years of experience. Witnessing this transformative event is always deeply inspiring.”

This year's pop-up performances include:

• Bollywood by Rajvi Dedhia
• Street dance by House of Hunniez
• Fancy Shawl by Deanne Hupfield
• Flamenco by Ritmo Flamenco Dance

Additionally, there will be performances by students from NBS' Young Dancers Program, featuring the latest Sharing Dance choreography. 

Guests will also have the opportunity to view NBS' Professional Ballet Program students in action on stage, rehearsing classical and contemporary works all day at the Betty Oliphant Theatre at 404 Jarvis St.

Join free dance workshops for all ages and levels!

Try a variety of dance forms such as Ballet, Afrofusion, Bollywood, Brazilian, Powwow, and many more:

• Zahra Badua, Afro Fundamentals
• Bartira Barreto, Family Ballet
• Zachary Cardwell, Contemporary
• Monika Duddy, Brazilian Dance
• Edz Gyamfi, Dancehall
• Rosie Harbans, Jazz
• Esie Mensah, Afrofusion
• NBS’ Community Dance Teachers, Creative Dance
• Madison Noon, Powwow
• Kevin Ormsby, Afro Caribbean
• Ian Parsons, Adult Ballet 16+
• Lopa Sarkar, Bollywood
• Ravyn Wings, Movement Meditation

Learn more at www.nbs-enb.ca