The National Ballet of Canada announced on Tuesday that prima ballerina Guillaume Côté will perform for the last time the role of Romeo, in the choreography of Alexei Ratmansky, from Sergei Prokofiev’s famous ballet, Romeo and Juliet.
This final performance will take place on June 16, in Toronto. The Quebec dancer will share the spotlight with Sara Mearns, principal dancer at New York City Ballet, who will perform Juliette.
“I am very grateful to be part of the original cast of this final production. I love the version of Romeo and Juliet by Alexei Ratmansky – he pushes classical dance to its limits, giving it a new and contemporary feel, and he really tells the story through movement alone. The role of Romeo is so rewarding and so challenging to dance to,” Côté said in a statement.
Iconic ballet, the Romeo and Juliet by Ratmansky was created for the Toronto company’s 60th anniversary in 2011. Although the principal dancer is bidding farewell to this role, he is not retiring and will continue to perform other principal roles with the National Ballet of Canada .