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Boris Volkoff
Boris Vladimirovich Volkoff, (born Boris Vladimirovich Baskakoff; April 24, 1900 – March 11, 1974) was a Canadian-Russian ballet dancer, director, choreographer and ballet master. After studying dance in Warsaw and Moscow he defected from Russia and eventually settled in Toronto. He created the Boris Volkoff School of Dance which trained ballet dancers, and the Boris Volkoff Ballet Company which is arguably considered the first ballet company in Canada. He gave his dancers and studio to the National Ballet of Canada to raise the profile of Canadian ballet. He regretted this decision and attempted to revive his company which ended in failure. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada in 1973, one year before his death. Early life and dance career Volkoff, birth name Boris Vladimirovich Baskakoff, was born on April 24, 1900, in Schepotievo, Russia. When he was nine Volkoff joined his brother Igor in Warsaw to dance and perform for the Russian Army. He alternated b ...
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Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of North American cities by population, fourth-most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. As of 2024, the census metropolitan area had an estimated population of 7,106,379. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multiculturalism, multicultural and cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, ...
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Canadian Ballet Festival
The Canadian Ballet Festival was an annual event staged in Canada from 1948 to 1954 that brought together various Canadian dance companies to generate public interest in classical dance. Prior to the festivals, it was difficult for professional Canadian dancers to earn a living by practising their art in their own country. When the festivals ended in 1954 after six years, Canadian dancers were able to find paid work in Canadian television practising their art. Formation In 1947, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet formed the Canadian Ballet Festival under the direction of the manager David Yeddeau. The Canadian Ballet Festival Association (CBFA) became the official organizing body. In a statement to the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, the Canadian Ballet Festival Association identified the purpose of the festival as being to generate interest in dance in order "to prepare a professional field for Canadian dancers, thus enabling them to earn their ...
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Ballet Choreographers
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer creates choreographies through the art of choreography, a process known as choreographing. It most commonly refers to dance choreography. In dance, ''choreography'' may also refer to the design itself, sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. Dance choreography is sometimes called ''dance composition''. Aspects of dance choreography include the compositional use of organic unity, rhythmic or non-rhythmic articulation, theme and variation, and repetition. The choreographic process may employ improvisation to develop innovative movement ideas. Generally, choreography designs dances intended to be performed as concert dance. The art of choreography involves specifying human movement and form in terms of space, shape, time, a ...
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Members Of The Order Of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, centennial of Canadian Confederation, the three-tiered order was established in 1967 as a fellowship recognizing the outstanding merit or distinguished service of Canadians who make a major difference to Canada through lifelong contributions in every field of endeavour, as well as efforts by non-Canadians who have made the world better by their actions. Membership is accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin motto, , meaning "they desire a better country", a phrase taken from Hebrews 11:16. The three tiers of the order are Companion, Officer and Member. Specific people may be given extraordinary membership and deserving non-Canadians may receive honorary appointment into each grade. , the reigning Canadian monarch, is the order's sov ...
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1974 Deaths
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; following List of Prime Ministers of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir's resignation in response to high Israeli casualties, she was succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin. In Europe, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkey, Turkish troops initiated the Cyprus dispute, the Carnation Revolution took place in Portugal, the Greek junta's collapse paves the way for the establishment of a Metapolitefsi, parliamentary republic and Chancellor of Germany, Chancellor of West Germany Willy Brandt resigned following an Guillaume affair, espionage scandal surrounding his secretary Günter Guillaume. In sports, the year was primarily dominated by the 1974 FIFA World Cup, FIFA World ...
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1900 Births
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2100. Summary Political and military The year 1900 was the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Two days into the new year, the U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy regarding China, advocating for equal access for all nations to the Chinese market. The Galveston hurricane would become the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 people, mostly in and near Galveston, Texas, as well as leaving 10,000 people homeless, destroying 7,000 buildings of all kinds in Galveston. As of 2025, it remains the fourth deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record. An ongoing Boxer Rebellion in China escalates with multiple attacks by the Boxers on Chines ...
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Canadian Choreographers
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''Canadian''. Canada is a multilingual and multicultural society home to people of groups of many different ethnic, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of Old World immigrants and their descendants. Following the initial period of French and then the much larger British colonization, different waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-indigenous peoples took place over the course of nearly two centuries and continue today. Elements of Indigenous, French, British, and more recent immigrant customs, languages, and religions have combined to form the culture of Canada, and thus a Canadian identity and Canadian values. Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic, ...
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Ballet Masters
A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In modern times, ballet masters are generally charged with teaching the daily company ballet class and rehearsing the dancers for both new and established ballets in the company's repertoire. The artistic director of a ballet company, whether a male or female, may also be called its ballet master. Historic use of gender marking in job titles in ballet (and live theatre) is being supplanted by gender-neutral language job titles regardless of an employee's gender (e.g. ''ballet master'' in lieu of ''ballet mistress'', ''wig master'' as an alternative to ''wig mistress''). History of the position Especially during the early centuries of ballet troupes and ballet companies from the 18th century until the early 20th century, the position of ''first ...
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Heritage Toronto
Heritage Toronto is an agency of the Municipal Government of Toronto that works to builds a better city by bringing people together to explore Toronto’s shared past and peoples’ lived experiences. It is located in St. Lawrence Hall in the city. Its programs include tours, historical plaques, the State of Heritage Report, and online exhibits. Programming Heritage Toronto's programming includes Tours, the Heritage Toronto Awards, Plaques, and special projects. Tours From April/May to October, Heritage Toronto offerwalking, bicycle and bus toursaround the city as well as private tours for smaller groups . Tours are researched, designed and led by local historians, community groups and professionals who volunteer their time. Heritage Toronto Awards Every October, Heritage Toronto hosts an evening of awards. Different award categories recognize the best in new books, architecture and craftsmanship, public history, and community heritage volunteer efforts. ThHeritage Toront ...
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David Adams (dancer)
David Adams, (16 November 1928 – 24 October 2007) was a Canadian ballet dancer and a founding member of the National Ballet of Canada. Early career After his training under Gweneth Lloyd at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, David began his performing career with England's Metropolitan Ballet. Here he met Celia Franca, who would become the founding Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada. He also shared the stage with Eric Bruhn, Sonia Arova and John Taras, performing ''Design with Strings'', ''Dances from Galanta'' and other works on a tour of Scandinavia. Career He returned to Canada in 1949 and after a brief musical theatre diversion in Vancouver and California, moved to Toronto to join Celia Franca during the formative years of Canada's National Ballet. He became the company's first principal male dancer in 1951 and remained with the company until 1963. He used his knowledge of classical dance and stagecraft to build an audience for the company, and introduced Canad ...
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Celia Franca
Celia Franca (25 June 1921 – 19 February 2007) was a co-founder of The National Ballet of Canada (1951) and its artistic director for 24 years. Early life Franca was born Celia Franks in London, England, the daughter of an East End tailor. Her family were Polish Jewish immigrants. She began to study dance at the age of four and was a scholarship student at the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal Academy of Dance."National Ballet founder dies at 85"
''The Globe and Mail'', Sandra Martin, 19 February 2007
She made her professional debut aged 14. She successfully auditioned for Marie Rambert's ballet company in 1936. She changed her name to Franca in emulation of Alicia Marks, who changed hers to Alicia Markova. She entered i ...
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John Weinzweig
John Jacob Weinzweig (March 11, 1913 – August 24, 2006) was a composer, teacher, and advocate of contemporary Canadian concert music. Born in Toronto, Weinzweig went to Harbord Collegiate Institute, then studied music at the University of Toronto. In 1937, he left for the United States to study under Bernard Rogers. During the Second World War, he began composing film music, and in 1952 he became a professor at the University of Toronto. In the previous year he had co-founded the Canadian League of Composers, and he was actively involved in several other organizations representing musicians and composers. In 1974, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1988, he was awarded the Order of Ontario. In 2004, Weinzweig was the recipient of the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual SOCAN Awards in Toronto. Early life John Jacob Weinzweig was the eldest child of Joseph and Rose (Burstyn) Weinzweig, Polish Jewish immigrants. His younger siblings were named ...
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