Having Alexei Ratmansky create a new Romeo and Juliet for The National Ballet of Canada to mark our 60th anniversary is a dream come true. His aesthetic -- steeped in the Russian school but open to contemporary sources -- is ideal for this work and for our company, which, with our classical heritage and our passion for the modern, is perfectly suited to his distinctive dance vision.

You're terrified that nothing will ever give you the fulfillment that dancing has given you.

The arts are an integral part of the city's economic progress.

I know how demanding the process of creation is.

Like everyone else, I want to go on dancing forever, but I know the day is going to come when I will have to be doing something else.

To be able to make decisions and see them come to fruition and feel the excitement around them, what it generates within the company, how the artists get motivated — that's the most rewarding part; feeling I can be a catalyst for an artistic experience for our artists and for the public.

I really felt it was time for a new vision.