Draft:Peter JS

Piotr Stanczyk born in 1979 is an Canadian-Polish ballet dancer. He was a Principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada until his retirement in November 2023.

Early life and training

Mr. Stanczyk was born in Poznan, Poland. At first he attended sport school nr.14 in Poznan where he was swimming in junior team. From 1991 to 1997 he trained at the State Ballet School of Poznan under E.Szymanska and W.Bulanow, eventually he moved to Canada in 1997 to continue his studies at Canada’s National Ballet School under L.Fisher, S.Stefanski, G.Gilmur.

Career

He joined The National Ballet of Canada in 1998 and was promoted to 2nd soloist in 2000 then 1st soloist in 2002. In 2008 he was promoted to Principal Dancer. He was mentored by James Kudelka, Magdalena Popa, Lindsey fisher, Karen Kain and Peter Ottmann.

A compelling artist with pristine technique and gift of for storytelling. Piotr Stanczyk has been a brilliant interpreter of dramatic roles in both the classical and contemporary repertoires. Mr. Stanczyk has performed leading roles on many stages around the world including Toronto, Montreal, New York, Washington. Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, London, Paris, Vienna, Bratislava. Hamburg, Singapore.

Among others his repertoire includes: Colas in  La Fille mal gardée by Sir F.Ashton, Camille, Count Danilo Danilovitsch in The Merry Widow by R.Hynd, Basilio in Don Quixote by N.Beriozoff, Eugene Onegin, Lensky in Onegin by J.Cranko, Leontes in The Winter’s Tale by C.Wheeldon, Karenin in Anna Karenina, Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, Diaghilev in Nijinsky by J.Neumeier, Prince Siegfried, Rothbart in Swan Lake, Prince in The Nutcracker, Prince Florimund in Sleeping Beauty by R.Nureyev, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet by J.Cranko and A.Ratmansky, Petrouchka in Petruchka by M.Fokine.

Leads in: The Four Temperaments, Symphony in C, Theme and Variations, Rubies, Emeralds, Serenade by G.Balanchine, The Four Seasons, The Man in Black, Desire, Pastoral, Musings, Passion, Cruel World, Cinderella by J.Kudelka, Soldiers’ Mass, Petite Mort by J.Kylián, Etudes by H.Lander, The Second Detail by W.Forsythe, Song of a Wayfarer by M.Béjart, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Polyphonia by C.Wheeldon Maddadam, Chroma, MaddAddam by W.McGregor, Intermezzo, A Footstep of Air by E.Feld, In the Night, West Side Story Suite, The Concert by J.Robbins, In the Upper Room by T.Tharp, Emergence by C.Pite, Meditation from Thais, Marguerite and Armand by Sir F.Ashton, Solitaire, Song of the Earth, Elite Syncopations Sir K.MacMillan, Four last songs by R.van Dantzig, Alice, La Ronde, Voluntaries by G.Tetley, Lady of the Camellias by V.Caniparoli.

Piotr Stanczyk worked closely with choreographers like James Kudelka, William Forsythe, Glen Tetley, John Neumeier, Christopher Wheeldon, Crystal Pite and Alexei Ratmansky, Rudi van Dantzig, Eliot Feld and Val Caniparoli. He also collaborated with Canadian choreographers; Jean-Pierre Perreault, John Alleyne, Sabrina Matthews, Matjash Mrozewski and Guillaume Côté.

In 2023 he retired from the National Ballet of Canada after a 25-year career, 15 years as Principal dancer, currently freelancing as ballet teacher, rehearsal director and assistant choreographer for James Kudelka, Christopher Wheeldon, Anna Hop and John Neumeier for Bolshoi Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Polish National Ballet and Citadel&Companie Toronto.

Honors

1995 2nd prize at Ballet Competition in Gdansk Poland

2003 William Marrié Award for Dramatic Excellence

2012 Rolex Dancers First Award artist of the year

2013 Toronto Now Magazine dancer of the year

2016 Rolex Dancers First Award artist of the year

2022 Nomination for Canadian Dora award.

Sources https://teatrwielki.pl/ludzie/piotr-stanczyk/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmc9xxYFBN4

http://www.przewodnikhandlowy.com/Content/pdf/82-92%2010.pdf

http://taniecmagazyn.pl/pasja-do-tanca/

https://www.ludwig-van.com/toronto/2023/11/08/interview-national-ballet-principal-dancer-piotr-stanczyk-talks-retirement/

https://www.balletnews.co.uk/the-national-ballet-of-canada-principal-dancer-piotr-stanczyk-retires-in-november-2023/

https://www.broadwayworld.com/toronto/article/Principal-Dancer-Piotr-Stanczyk-Retires-After-25-Years-in-November-2023-20230203

https://bolshoi.ru/en/persons/piotr-stanczyk