Dance Collection Danse Événement

Canada’s radiant Nesta Williams and the dynamic Russian Sviatoslav Toumine met in the 1930s when dancing with the Ballets Russes. The couple married and began raising a family in the 1940s, settling in Nesta’s hometown of Ottawa where they established the Ottawa Classical Ballet and its school. Dance Collection Danse is the proud home of their extensive archival, costume and backdrop collections. After a 5-year collaboration with Ryerson Theatre School to hang and photograph these exceptional hand-painted backdrops, DCD Gallery presents a new exhibit revealing photography and designs of the few remaining ballet backdrops in Canada from the 1940s and 1950s.