This ballerina's kiss goodbye to Swan Lake
Behind the scenes with Heather Ogden
as she dances ballet classic for last time
Principal dancer Heather Ogden, centre, performs in The National Ballet of Canada's Swan Lake with other dancers on March 18. It was one of Ogden's final three performances of the Russian classic at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.Alex Lupul/CBC
CBC News Mar. 26, 2025
Principal dancer Heather Ogden has performed Swan Lake for the last time in The National Ballet of Canada's production of the Russian classic.
The dual role of Odette/Odile was Ogden's first major one with the National Ballet in 2003. She's been with the company since 1998 and danced lead roles in beloved classics, such as Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
But Ogden says she felt it was the right time for her to bid farewell to Swan Lake this month when she danced in three of the sold-out performances.
'One of my coaches told me, 'You have to give it a kiss goodbye,' ' Ogden said. 'And so I kind of thought it was a nice sentiment to just give it a nice farewell.'
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Last week, CBC News photographer Alex Lupul was backstage to capture the ballerina's final two performances of Swan Lake at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.
Go behind the scenes with Ogden and all her swan friends as they performed to sold-out audiences on March 18 and 21.
Getting ready
Ogden said she likes to give herself plenty of time to get ready before the show.
For this 7:30 p.m. performance, she'll start preparing at 5 p.m., giving herself an hour for hair and makeup — then an hour to warm up.
Warming up
In the rehearsal hall before the show, Ogden practised her standard series of warm-ups.
She says she was trying some moves from Act 2, when she comes on stage as the White Swan.
'I usually try my first entrance, my first balances and a couple pirouettes — things like that,' she said.
Taking the stage
This production of Swan Lake, which was directed and staged by the National Ballet's then-artistic director Karen Kain, premiered in June 2022.
The original Swan Lake dates back to the late 1800s and is based on a German fairy tale, which tells the story of Prince Siegfried and Odette, a princess in a faraway kingdom who is turned into a swan after being cursed by the evil sorcerer Baron von Rothbart.
"When the kingdom's eligible royal, Prince Siegfried, falls in love with Odette, Rothbart conjures a trick to keep them apart — Odile, a ravishing imitation of Odette,' the National Ballet said on its website.
Something to remember
During her final performance, Ogden says she felt excited and tried to soak it all in. She thought the audience was 'incredibly warm' and appreciative.
'It just felt very nice,' she said. 'I felt very showered with love … It was something I'll remember.'
Layout and editing by photo editor Showwei Chu
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