New ballet company to open in Vancouver under Joshua Beamish next year

Vancouver choreographer Joshua Beamish is seen in an undated handout photo. 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. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Peter Eastwood, (Mandatory Credit)

TORONTO — 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.

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 but 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.

This report by Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press, was first published Sept. 9, 2025.