Joshua Beamish unveils new pointe-based company Ballet Vancouver
First show takes place in April 2026, featuring Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, Wen Wei Wang’s Swan, and more
Benjamin Freemantle and Betsy McBride. Photo by Jennifer Curry Wingrove for LK Studio
CANADIAN CHOREOGRAPHER JOSHUA BEAMISH has just announced the launch of his new company Ballet Vancouver, which will present classical, neoclassical, and narrative ballet en pointe.
Beamish noted in a release that while Vancouver is home to a rich contemporary-dance scene, the city does not have regular access to professional-level pointe performances. Ballet Vancouver will fill that gap by presenting a full local season of ballet productions each year, in addition to touring nationally and internationally, hosting outreach programs, and fostering the development of new choreography.
The company will stage its inaugural show from April 23 to 25, 2026, with a mixed program of four works at the Vancouver Playhouse. Among the pieces in store are Royal Ballet artistic associate Christopher Wheeldon’s emotional two-part ballet After the Rain and Vancouver choreographer Wen Wei Wang’s Swan, a modern Swan Lake reimagining. Beamish himself will premiere a new work made in collaboration with Gitxsan fashion designer Yolonda Skelton that intertwines ballet and Indigenous artistry. And Belgian-Colombian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa will present Redemption, a contemplative solo piece that tells the story of a fallen angel (it debuted online in 2021 at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival).
The program will star several talented artists, including American Ballet Theatre alumna Stephanie Petersen; former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Benjamin Freemantle (a born-and-raised Vancouverite); Julian Hunt, who has toured with Kidd Pivot; and Argentinian-born, New York City–based Jonatan Lujan, who has danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and Ballett Zürich, among other companies. More cast details will be released in January 2026, when tickets go on sale.
Beamish was born in Edmonton and raised in Kelowna. He moved to Vancouver in 2004, and founded his own company, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY, the following year, when he was just 17. He has operated it here successfully over the last two decades, even opening a New York chapter called Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY America.
MOVETHECOMPANY will honour its Canadian commitments until the end of 2026. Its New York chapter, meanwhile, will continue to produce works.
Ballet Vancouver will operate with the support of an artistic advisory committee made up of Wendy Whelan, Chan Hon Goh, Heather Ogden, Crystal Costa, Margaret Grenier, Paul Kay, Kit Holder, and Céline Gittens, all of whom are influential artists on the ballet scene. Cynthia Robinson, who is of Stó:lō ancestry, will serve as board president.
An intimate fundraising event called Ballet Vancouver: An Exclusive Preview & VIP Invitation will take place on November 20 at Q7, a studio space located on the corner of East 7th Avenue and Quebec Street. Guests will be treated to a sneak peek of the company’s April show with previews of Wheeldon’s After the Rain and Lopez Ochoa’s Redemption.
Ballet Vancouver’s first full season will take place in 2026-27. The company will announce those programming details in advance of its first show. 
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