Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Dancer-turned-actress Neve Campbell says she hopes her documentary about the National Ballet of Canada sheds light on some of the uglier aspects of the dance world that demand change.
Campbell says it's one of the reasons she agreed to produce the film "Swan Song," which traces the company's 2022 production of "Swan Lake" as envisioned by principal dancer-turned-artistic director Karen Kain.
Directed by Chelsea McMullan, the feature includes interviews with young dancers who address the mental health struggles, racism, classism and rivalries that dog the profession. It opens Friday after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film centres on Kain as she recounts a glittering international career that includes a celebrated partnership with Russian superstar Rudolf Nureyev and culminates with her vision for a more modern take on the quintessential romantic crowd-pleaser, "Swan Lake."
Cameras follow Kain as the National Ballet of Canada attempts to rebound from a pandemic-induced shutdown with a renewed commitment to boost diversity among its ranks and audience.
Campbell acknowledges similar efforts underway in other companies, and says she hopes the film can further challenging conversations in a field that historically rewards tradition, conformity and compliance.
"It is addressing the racism that has existed in the ballet world, the need for diversity, the need for change in dance and that any art form needs to shift and grow," said Campbell, who trained with Canada's National Ballet School before starring in TV's "Party of Five" and the "Scream" film franchise.
"What I love about this story is that you see dancers who are doing really well, you see dancers who are struggling and see people doing better than them -- the competitive element of that, what that does to you spiritually, emotionally, what you have to overcome, whether you want to continue doing it because you love the art form. That, I related to a lot."
Kain, too, opens up about mental health difficulties in her own career, which rocketed after she joined the corps in 1969 -- she was promoted to principal dancer in 1971 and soon gained international fame.
During a round of TIFF interviews alongside Campbell, Kain described herself as "lucky" and someone who's benefited from supporters who went "out of their way to create opportunities" for her. "The National Ballet just let me fly."
But success did not come without a cost.
"It's not like I've just sailed through life," Kain added.
"Even getting so well known so young was very challenging for me because it made a lot of people around me who I thought were my friends be, kind of, not so friendly to me. And that was hurtful to me."
Dancers showcased in the documentary include "Swan Lake" lead Jurgita Dronina, who conceals a debilitating injury; corps member Shaelynn Estrada, who recounts cleaning dance studios as a kid to help cover the cost of classes; and corps member Tene Ward, a dancer of Sri Lankan, African-American and Cherokee Indian descent who speaks about grappling with impostor syndrome.
Of course, it's not all trials and tribulations.
Kain and the dancers also speak of passion and love for their chosen career, and the sacrifices they're willing to make for their art. Campbell, who portrayed a dancer in the 2003 feature "The Company," credited her childhood ballet training with inspiring her later success as an actress.
"Storytelling is magical. And I'm glad I found another way to do it. I was never going to get to a place where Karen was in the company," said Campbell.
"Dancers are amazing athletes, amazing artists and I'm glad the world is witnessing that more.
"When I made the film that I did 20 years ago, there was not a lot of awareness around dance. But I think because of a lot of these reality shows and competitions now on television and documentaries being made we're really getting a greater understanding and appreciation of the dance world."
"Swan Song" opens theatrically in Toronto on Friday before rolling out to other cities. Dates include Wolfville, N.S., on Oct
11; Sudbury, Ont., on Oct. 12; the Ontario cities of Kingston and London on Oct. 13; Ottawa on Oct. 16; Vancouver, Victoria and Saskatoon on Oct. 20; and Amherst, N.S., on Oct. 26, with more markets possibly added.
"Swan Song" also airs as a four-part hour-long series on CBC and CBC Gem, starting Nov. 22.
It's one of several CBC projects that expand on recent feature film releases, among them the film "Bones of Crows," which premiered as a five-part drama Sept. 20, and the film "BlackBerry," which debuts as a three-part hour-long series Nov. 9.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2023.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.