Emerging Artist Program

Program Description

The Emerging Artist Program (EAP) supports young artists through a unique training opportunity with the professional artists of Atlantic Ballet Atlantique Canada under the guidance of the Artistic Director. Students with a high school diploma who have reached a suitable advanced level of training, may apply and audition for this program. The Emerging Artist program provides a supportive, flexible transition from completion of training to full-time professional practice.

Program participants are expected to meet basic professional standards, continuously improve when rehearsing and performing (performing is subject to consent by the Artistic Director and not guaranteed) and meet the Company’s technical and artistic values in the community.

The Emerging Artist is expected to:

  • Continue to improve artistically and technically during the course of the term with the guidance of company coaches, teachers, dancers and staff;
  • Participate in community and youth engagement events and programs as requested;
  • Be self-directed, take the initiative, and ask for direction when needed.

Program structure

The Program runs for 40 weeks each year, beginning in May in accordance with the schedule of the professional company.  The Program can be for 1 or 2 years, depending on the progress of the Emerging Artist. EAP students will:

  • Attend class with the professional Company Monday through Friday;
  • Attend and understudy selected roles within the company repertoire;
  • Discuss progress and career plans with the Artistic Director;
  • Attendance at the School of Atlantic Ballet under the supervision of Dance Principal Yuliia Shevchenko is optional ( at no additional cost) but encouraged in order to further skills in areas less covered with the professional company like character, contemporary dance and pointe classes.

Program Fee: $3400 per year.

About Atlantic Ballet Atlantique Canada

Atlantic Ballet Atlantique Canada is an international award-winning creation-based company focusing on new works, collaboration, and broad-based public engagement in the arts. It presents 20 to 30 performances annually at home and abroad.

Atlantic Ballet serves as a creative dance hub by supporting artist development and exchange through an Artist in Residence program, a biennial IMPACTfest featuring dance, film, workshops and artist networking and hosting an intensive International Summer training program.

Recognized as a national leader in using ballet-art for public engagement, Atlantic Ballet has established cross-sector partnerships with the education, social/health and ICT sectors, creating leading large-scale provincial, regional and national initiatives. Every year the Company engages in projects and initiatives that are grounded in the community.

The Company embraces diversity and is a multicultural company of soloist artists well known for their extensive technical abilities and strong emotional qualities on stage. Through collaboration with like-minded artists attracted by our Artistic Director’s vision and artistic philosophy, our creative practice uses ballet-art as a platform to see our world in more compelling, poignant and imaginative ways.

Program Supervision

Emerging Artists work under the tutelage and guidance of Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Atlantic Ballet Atlantique Canada, Igor Dobrovolskiy.  Igor Dobrovolskiy is one of Canada’s most prolific choreographers – having created 15 full-length ballets, one one-act ballet and over 50 short works in almost 20 years. Igor Dobrovolskiy’s creative work catapulted the Company onto the international stage. Beginning in 2006, his works have toured regularly throughout Europe – Belgium, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the United States, including two invitations to present his work in Brooklyn, NY.

In 2014, he received the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for High Achievement in the Performing Arts for his outstanding contribution to artistic excellence in New Brunswick. He was named a recipient of the RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award in 2016, which recognizes inspirational immigrants who have come to Canada, achieved success, made a positive difference living here and helped make Canada a better country. In 2017, he was awarded the Senate of Canada’s 150th Anniversary Medal. That same year, Mr. Dobrovolskiy was one of the 2017 recipients of the Order of Moncton, our city’s highest honour recognizing those who have contributed to bettering the community. Most recently, in 2021, Mr. Dobrovolskiy received the Meritorious Service Decorations (Civil Division) along with CEO Susan Chalmers Gauvin for their work establishing Atlantic Ballet Atlantique Canada as one of the premiere dance company in the country.

Igor Dobrovolskiy’s works weave dramatic narrative with inventive choreography to create powerful, emotional and lyrical forms which explore the human condition. Drawing on an extensive musical and literary background, as well as his experience as a dancer, teacher and choreographer, Mr. Dobrovolskiy uses the solid foundation of classical ballet technique as a springboard for an expressive dance lexicon limited only by his boundless imagination. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the pedagogy of ballet, dance and choreography from the Kiev National University of the Arts. His professional career has taken him across Europe and South America.

Collaborating with like-minded artists attracted by his vision and artistic philosophy, Mr. Dobrovolskiy has created a work environment that has become a focus for exploration and discovery. He has built a high artistic standard and international appeal, which has resulted in a loyal and growing audience, nationally and globally.

Please email us at: [email protected] for the registration form.