The outer shell of any ballerina—pointe shoes, ribbons, tutu, makeup and jewellery—is only the surface of a world built on hard work, discipline, persistence, and pain.
For 16 years Tara Butler has danced through the classic lives of Juliet, Cinderella, Anastasia, and others under the original choreography of Ballet Jörgen Canada. She will dance her final performance on March 27 as Klara in “Coppélia” before retiring from the company.
“It’s really her farewell performance in Toronto for major classical dancing,” says Bengt Jörgen, artistic director and co-founder of Ballet Jörgen Canada.
“She’s retiring from those kinds of roles and it’s going to be a special occasion.”
Butler graduated from the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto and performed with the National Ballet of Canada, Alberta Ballet, and Banff Festival Ballet. She has been a principal guest artist with the Hong Kong Ballet, the International Miami Hispanic Dance Festival, and the Banff Anniversary Gala.
She joined Ballet Jörgen in 1995 and since then has performed in “every little nook and cranny” of the country. Ballet Jörgen is the only local Toronto company that showcases classical ballet in Canadian communities stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
“It’s really a great experience to expose people to dance who wouldn’t normally have ever seen a ballet,” she says.
Dancing the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet proved to be one of Butler’s most memorable experiences at Ballet Jörgen.
“I’ve danced that role for 14 years now,” she says. “What I’m always amazed with is her power and her strength. When you get to perform a role like that you really discover a lot about yourself and how much the human spirit can endure and how giving and hopeful we can be.”
In performing a role, it can sometimes be a challenge to relive the character’s life on stage, she says.
“Sometimes emotionally everything is there but physically you can’t get your body to do what you want to do. And other times physically you’re the strongest you have ever been and you’re on top of your game, and then emotionally you don’t feel connected and you’re not really telling the story. So there’s a battle to find a balance.”
When not performing, Butler finds balance in Bikrim Yoga. Dancing for so many years can take a toll on the body. Butler sweats out the pain in the ankles, knees, and lower back with yoga poses in a hot studio.
“It’s balancing your body out with strengthening and stretching, finding the mental focus, going beyond what you think you can do, and just letting go of the ego and pushing yourself to the limits that you weren’t aware that you could get to.”
At other times, the prima ballerina relaxes by working with clay in a pottery class.
After retiring from Ballet Jörgen, Butler hopes to work closely with the company to coach dancers and teach ballet at George Brown College.
She will make her final appearance in Toronto on March 27 at 2:00 pm at the Betty Oliphant Theatre. With Bengt Jörgen as Dr. Coppélius, the company will also perform Coppélia in Ottawa on April 2 and Halifax on April 19.
“Coppélia is the ugly step-child of all the big great classics like Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, and the Nutcracker, etc.,” says Jörgen.
“You can really say that we updated it and tried to make it more relevant and fun for an audience today in the 21st century rather than an audience in the 19th century.”
For more information or to purchase tickets please visit www.balletjorgencanada.ca.
For 16 years Tara Butler has danced through the classic lives of Juliet, Cinderella, Anastasia, and others under the original choreography of Ballet Jörgen Canada. She will dance her final performance on March 27 as Klara in “Coppélia” before retiring from the company.
“It’s really her farewell performance in Toronto for major classical dancing,” says Bengt Jörgen, artistic director and co-founder of Ballet Jörgen Canada.
“She’s retiring from those kinds of roles and it’s going to be a special occasion.”
Butler graduated from the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto and performed with the National Ballet of Canada, Alberta Ballet, and Banff Festival Ballet. She has been a principal guest artist with the Hong Kong Ballet, the International Miami Hispanic Dance Festival, and the Banff Anniversary Gala.
She joined Ballet Jörgen in 1995 and since then has performed in “every little nook and cranny” of the country. Ballet Jörgen is the only local Toronto company that showcases classical ballet in Canadian communities stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
“It’s really a great experience to expose people to dance who wouldn’t normally have ever seen a ballet,” she says.
Dancing the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet proved to be one of Butler’s most memorable experiences at Ballet Jörgen.
“I’ve danced that role for 14 years now,” she says. “What I’m always amazed with is her power and her strength. When you get to perform a role like that you really discover a lot about yourself and how much the human spirit can endure and how giving and hopeful we can be.”
In performing a role, it can sometimes be a challenge to relive the character’s life on stage, she says.
“Sometimes emotionally everything is there but physically you can’t get your body to do what you want to do. And other times physically you’re the strongest you have ever been and you’re on top of your game, and then emotionally you don’t feel connected and you’re not really telling the story. So there’s a battle to find a balance.”
When not performing, Butler finds balance in Bikrim Yoga. Dancing for so many years can take a toll on the body. Butler sweats out the pain in the ankles, knees, and lower back with yoga poses in a hot studio.
“It’s balancing your body out with strengthening and stretching, finding the mental focus, going beyond what you think you can do, and just letting go of the ego and pushing yourself to the limits that you weren’t aware that you could get to.”
At other times, the prima ballerina relaxes by working with clay in a pottery class.
After retiring from Ballet Jörgen, Butler hopes to work closely with the company to coach dancers and teach ballet at George Brown College.
She will make her final appearance in Toronto on March 27 at 2:00 pm at the Betty Oliphant Theatre. With Bengt Jörgen as Dr. Coppélius, the company will also perform Coppélia in Ottawa on April 2 and Halifax on April 19.
“Coppélia is the ugly step-child of all the big great classics like Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, and the Nutcracker, etc.,” says Jörgen.
“You can really say that we updated it and tried to make it more relevant and fun for an audience today in the 21st century rather than an audience in the 19th century.”
For more information or to purchase tickets please visit www.balletjorgencanada.ca.
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