program Nov. 16

A 2011 graduate of the Royal Swedish Ballet
School, Annelie attended summer intensives
at The Gotland International Dance Seminars,
Visby, Sweden (2007, 2008); the International
Summer Course at Canada’s National Ballet
School (2009); and The Bartholin International
Dance Seminars at the Royal Danish Theatre
(2010 on scholarship, 2011). She was a finalist
at the Stora Daldansen Ballet Competition in
Falun, Sweden (2010).
Annelie’s repertoire with CBJ includes Bridesmaid
in Romeo & Juliet, Stepsister in Cinderella,
Blue Bird in Sleeping Beauty, Raccoon & Lady
Birch in The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition, and
Pas de deux.
Heather Lumsden-Ruegg
Newmarket, Ontario
Company Member
since 2013
Heather trained at the
Peter Stanton School of
Dance in Newmarket
before moving to the
George Brown Dance
program in 2009. In 2010, Heather performed
as a Local Participant in a CBJ production and
Joined CBJ as an RBC Apprentice in 2012.
With CBJ, Heather has performed various roles
in Sleeping Beauty, Tall and Small stepsister in
Cinderella, Raccoon in The Nutcracker: A Canadian
Tradition, and Czardash & Spanish Dancer in
Swan Lake.
Momoka Matsui
Fukuoka, Japan
Company Member
since 2015
Momoka began her dance
training at the Yukiko Kato
Ballet School in her home
country of Japan. Under
Kato’s mentorship she
performed major roles in The Nutcracker, Paquita,
Harlequinade and Coppélia. In 2009 she was the
silver medal winner of the Ballet Competition
Fukuoka, and the Bronze Medal holder of the 2010
and 2013 NAMUE Classical Ballet Competition.
Momoka was awarded the renowned Fukuoka
Prefectural Governor Award in 2012. She then
joined a Russian concert tour produced by
Morihiro Iwata and had the opportunity to dance
at many prestigious ballet schools, including the
Moscow Ballet Academy.
Momoka joined CBJ as a member of the Junior
Company then RBC Apprentice in 2014, before
being promoted to Company Member in 2015.
Momoka’s roles with CBJ include Blue Bird,
Humming Bird and Canary in Sleeping Beauty;
Lead Fairy in Cinderella; Lady Birch, Dragonfly and
Trillium Flower in The Nutcracker: A Canadian
Tradition; and Pas de Trois, Cygnet, and Neapolitan
Dancer in Swan Lake.
Momoka is sponsored by Marie-Elle Carrothers
through the Sponsor-a-Dancer Program.
Leandro Prado
Altamira, Pará, Brazil
Company Member since
2016
Leandro began taking
ballet lessons at the age
of 15, and moved to Rio
de Janeiro at 16 to study
with Ronaldo and Rachel
Martins Ribeiro, soloists from the Municipal Ballet
Theater of Rio de Janeiro. Leandro has won prizes
at several competitions, including the National
Brazilian Dance Competition and The Enesdança
Dance Competition, and won a full scholarship
to the Joffrey Ballet School in New York at the
International Ballet Competition. In 2012, he
was accepted to the Maria Olenewa State Dance
School and performed with the company in John
Cranko’s Onegin and Enrique Martinez´s Coppélia.
He also received a contract for the 2014 Season
to dance in Dalal Achcar´s The Nutcracker.
Leandro joined the Workshop de Ballet Clássico
da Amazônia in Brazil in 2012 and danced the
lead roles in The Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadère,
Swan Lake and Don Quixote. In 2013 Leandro
was accepted to Com La Danza mas Desarrollo
Social, an Argentinian dance company directed
by Iñaki Urlezaga. Leandro has also performed
as a guest dancer at many major national festivals,
including dancing the principal role of the
Nutcracker Prince with the Albany Berkshire
Ballet in 2015. In 2014, Leandro joined Damz
Dance Company under the Artistic Direction of
Ronaldo Martins.
Leandro’s roles with CBJ have included Snow
Cavalier, Wolf, Male Snowflake, and Bear in
The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition and
Henchman and Mazurka Dancer in Swan Lake.
Ayva Rossouw-Holland
Victoria, British Columbia
Company Member
since 2013
Ayva studied at the Pacific
Dance Centre in Victoria
and attended summer
intensive programs at The
Royal Winnipeg Ballet,
the Banff Centre and the Alberta Ballet. In 2011,
Ayva graduated from the Dance Performance
Studies program at George Brown College and
joined CBJ as a Mentorship Student. In 2012
Ayva became a RBC Apprentice.
Ayva was a guest dancer for Symphony Nova
Scotia’s Nutcracker in 2016 and 2017.
With CBJ, Ayva has performed various roles
in Sleeping Beauty, Cygnets & Mazurka Dancer in
Swan Lake, Flower & Snowflake in The Nutcracker:
A Canadian Tradition, and the Conductor in
Robert Desrosiers’s Bouffonia.
Ayva is sponsored by Pivot Sport Medicine and
Orthopaedics through the Sponsor-a-Dancer
Program.
Hiroto Saito
Kobe, Japan
Company Member
since 2007
Hiroto began dancing at
the Sadamatsu Hamada
Ballet School in Kobe,
Japan at age 7 and went
on to study at the English
National Ballet School in London, UK. Upon
graduation, Hiroto joined the Hong Kong Ballet
under the direction of Stephen Jefferies, and
throughout his career he has worked with internationally
recognized figures such as Wayne
Eagling, Alexander Grant, and Suzanne Farrell.
Hiroto first met Bengt Jörgen while he was
dancing with the Hong Kong Ballet in Bengt’s
Romeo & Juliet and joined CBJ in 2007.
Hiroto’s repertoire with CBJ includes many
principal roles, including the Romeo and Mercutio
in Romeo & Juliet, Nathaniel and Dr. Coppélius
in Coppélia, Dimitry in Anastasia, the Prince and
Suitor in Cinderella, Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty
and Lord Birch in The Nutcracker, A Canadian
Tradition. During CBJ’s 25th anniversary season,
Hiroto was involved in creating many roles in
the company’s new production of Swan Lake,
in which he performed the principal roles of
Siegfried and Von Rothbart.
In 2017, Hiroto transitioned into the role of
Ballet Master at CBJ, taking on a more creative
role with the company as well as performing
on stage.
In addition to his role as a leading dancer, Hiroto
also teaches and coaches dance students around
the world. During the summer of 2013, he taught
for Damansara Performing Arts Centre in Malaysia
and has been a teacher, private coach, and
rehearsal master for CBJ’s Summer Intensive and
Junior Company since 2012. Hiroto has also choreographed
many works such as 05:46 for Hong
Kong Ballet, Lost and Found for George Brown
Dance, and Lord of the Rings for Toronto Youth
Ballet/Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra. He was
also the choreographer for The MarvelousGirl, a
short film produced by CBJ that was partof both
The Cannes Film Festival and The Montreal World
Film Festival. In 2011 Hiroto organized Dance
for Japan, a fundraiser performance with CBJ to
support earthquake relief in Fukushima, Japan.
Apprentices
Márcio Teixeira
São Caetano, Brazil
Márcio started dancing at
the Núcleo de Convivência
Menino Jesus in Brazil
when he was 10. In 2008
at age 14, he went to his
first ballet school, Escola
de Ballet Sandra Amaral
in São Caetano do Sul/SP. In 2012 he studied at
Pacific DanceArts in Vancouver, BC and in 2015
graduated at the English National Ballet School
in London, England and danced with Coastal
City Ballet in Vancouver, BC from 2015–2018.
Márcio was a member of Canada’s Ballet
Jörgen’s Junior Company in 2017 and 2018
where he earned his apprenticeship with the
company for the 2018/19 Season.
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canadasballetjorgen.ca | 9