British ColumbiaVancouver choreographer Joshua Beamish is bringing a new ballet company to the city, which will launch with a program of four works next spring.Ballet Vancouver is set to launch next April, with local and international talentCassidy McMackon · The Canadian Press · Posted: Sep 09, 2025 12:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoDancer Stephanie Petersen is seen in an undated handout photo. Petersen, formerly of American Ballet Theatre and Australian Ballet, has been confirmed as a guest artist for Ballet Vancouver’s inaugural performance in April 2026. (Ballet Vancouver, Karolina Kuras/Canadian Press)Vancouver choreographer Joshua Beamish is bringing a new ballet company to the city that aims to establish a local place for classical, neoclassical and narrative ballet performed en pointe.Ballet Vancouver is set to launch next April with a program of four works, including the premiere of two-part “After the Rain” by English choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.There will also be a new collaboration between Beamish and Indigenous artist and fashion designer Yolonda Skelton.The company says its programming will include renowned local and international talent. Among the dancers on board are former American Ballet Theatre artist Stephanie Petersen, Vancouver born-and-raised dancer Benjamin Freemantle and performer Julian Hunt, who toured with Kidd Pivot.WATCH | New student housing tower for Goh Ballet Academy: Vancouver’s Goh Ballet Academy proposes student housing tower in Mount PleasantThe Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver is looking at redeveloping its property to include a 25-storey building for student housing near the future Mount Pleasant SkyTrain station. The artistic and general director of Goh Ballet Canada, Chan Hon Goh, said the plan would allow 344 students to stay in the community.The other works planned are Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Redemption,” which tells the tale of a fallen angel, and the Vancouver reprise of Wen Wei Wang’s “Swan,” a modern reimagining of “Swan Lake.”A news release says the company’s advisory committee includes New York City Ballet’s associate artistic director Wendy Whelan, as well as current and former principal dancers with the National Ballet of Canada, Heather Ogden and Chan Hon Goh.Beamish was born in Edmonton and raised in Kelowna. He moved to Vancouver in 2004, shortly after which he founded the Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY at age 17. His works have been commissioned by the Royal Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Cape Town Opera, among other national and international companies.
New ballet company to open in Vancouver under Joshua Beamish next year
