Ballet BC announces artistic director Medhi Walerski to step down in June 2027
Having steered the company toward full houses and extensive touring, French-born dance artist will leave after 40th-anniversary season
Ballet BC artistic director Medhi Walerski. Photo by Marcus Eriksson
BALLET BC HAS just announced that its artistic director Medhi Walerski will leave his role as of June 30, 2027, following the company’s big 40th-anniversary season.
Walerski has led the company since July 2020 after the departure of Emily Molnar to Nederlands Dans Theater, guiding it past pandemic shutdowns into an era of extensive international touring and energized packed houses—including this fall’s season opener.
Ballet BC’s board of directors has said it will initiate an official search for the recruitment of the organization’s next leader in summer 2026.
In the statement today, Ballet BC board chair Bob Armstrong said Walerski’s artistic vision had brought it to a new level of creative excellence. “By attracting and fostering distinctly talented dancers and choreographers, the company has earned invitations to perform on leading stages around the world, further strengthening its global reputation,” he said. “It’s a virtuous circle that has vaulted the company into a unique and remarkable place.”
Walerski, who was born in France and danced for companies including the Paris Opera Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater, said it was time to “step into a new chapter”, pursue new creative projects, and reconnect with family. “Ballet BC has been my chosen artistic home and a community I have cherished with pride,” he said in the statement today. “I am profoundly grateful to the exceptional team that has inspired me, challenged me, and helped shape the company into what it is today.”
Walerski has led Ballet BC on a national and international touring schedule that has taken it to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, London’s Sadler’s Wells, New York City Center, the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, and Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
Walerski has championed choreographers including Imre and Marne van Opstal, Out Innerspace Dance Theatre’s Tiffany Tregarthen and David Raymond, Pierre Pontvianne, Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, Sofia Nappi, Roy Assaf, Andrea Peña, Shahar Binyamini, Micaela Taylor, and Fernando Hernando Magadan, while continuing to foster programming by such iconic names as William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Jiří Kylián, and Vancouver’s own Crystal Pite.
He also oversaw the company’s move from the Scotiabank Dance Centre into its stand-alone, expanded space on Granville Island in 2023.
Walerski has launched initiatives including Take Form, a program led by the dancers that has encouraged many of them to develop their own choreography, and Ballet BC Annex, the company’s junior program supporting pre-professional dancers. He also helped secure a sizeable donation to establish the company’s first 52-week year-round contracts for dancers over a 10-year period.
Today Ballet BC is also crediting the dance artist with helping to expand the company’s digital presence and strong new visual, centred around collaborations with creatives and platforms such as Marcus Eriksson, Lyle XOX, Dance Masterclass, ARTE TV, and NOWNESS. In-school workshops grew, and professional dance programming reached small communities across the province through the Annex program.
Amid all this, Walerski has created three world premieres—seven in total since starting as a guest choreographer for the company in 2010, including his eclectic, wildly popular Petite Cérémonie and the critically acclaimed narrative ballet Romeo + Juliet.
Ballet BC’s next show, INFINITY, takes the Queen Elizabeth Theatre stage in February 2026. Before that, the troupe tours extensively through Germany and Luxembourg in January. 
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