Alberta Ballet's Jean Grand-Maitre joins Order of Canada
CBC News | Posted: December 27, 2018 10:25 PM | Last Updated: December 27, 2018
'It’s the most emotional honour I’ve ever had'
Alberta Ballet artistic director Jean Grand-Maitre says being named to the Order of Canada, officially announced Thursday, is one of the highlights of his career — a career filled with some pretty spectacular highlights.
"It's the most emotional honour I've ever had," Grand-Maitre said in an interview with Radio-Canada.
Grand-Maitre learned about the honour two weeks before Christmas, through a phone call.
The choreographer and creative force behind Alberta Ballet since joining the company in 2002, Grand-Maitre's first reaction was to call his folks.
"The first emotion I had when I heard the news I was receiving Order of Canada was to think of my parents and how much they sacrificed for me to become an artist," he said.
The Governor General cited Grand-Maitre "for his creative contributions as a choreographer, and for his leadership as the artistic director of Alberta Ballet."
That includes creating, in collaboration with artists such as Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, kd lang and the Tragically Hip, a number of "portrait ballets" in recent years that helped draw international attention to the Calgary-based ballet company.
Grand-Maitre also choreographed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Prior to joining Alberta Ballet in 2002, Grand-Maitre danced with Montreal's L'Ecole Superieure de Dance du Quebec, Ballet BC and Theatre Ballet of Canada.
As a choreographer, Grand-Maitre has created new work for numerous international arts companies, including the Opera National de Paris, the Teatro alla Scala in Millan, the Stuttgart Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada and many others.
Grand-Maitre said he hoped that by recognizing a performing arts company based in Western Canada, that the designation would shine a spotlight on the creativity of the region.
"It's a celebration for the performing arts in Western Canada as well," he said.
"There's lots of beautiful things happening there, so it's nice to be recognized on a national stage."
Grand-Maitre was one of eight Albertans to receive the Order of Canada designation Thursday.
The others were Indigenous activist Leroy Little Bear (Lethbridge), Olympic athlete Becky Scott (Canmore), philanthropists Charles Fisher and Joanne Cuthbertson (Calgary), mediator Roger Philip Kerans (Calgary), and Edmonton video game developers Raymond Alexander Muzyka and Gregory Zeschuk.
2019 National Tours
Grand-Maitre's Alberta Ballet will be busy in 2019, with tours planned for The Fiddle and the Drum, his portrait ballet co-created with Joni Mitchell, as well as for All of Us, the Tragically Hip-inspired ballet that Grand-Maitre described as "a post-apocalyptic ballet that's against fascism."
Once the announcement went out early Thursday morning, Grand-Maitre said he was overwhelmed with messages from artistic colleagues, friends and collaborators around the globe.
"You remember all the people you've worked with and all the artists who collaborated with you — designers, dancers composers — and you remember all the people who helped you in your career sustain your visions.
"And it takes a lot of people to make a dance company thrive."
- MORE CALGARY NEWS | 'Super sponge' seen as absorbent next step in oil spill mitigation
- MORE CALGARY NEWS | In a city torn by frustration and optimism, Nenshi ponders which dragon we will feed in 2019
- Read more articles by CBC Calgary, like us on Facebook for updates and subscribe to our CBC Calgary newsletter for the day's news at a glance
With files from Fuat Seker, Radio-Canada.