Alberta Ballet will present Canadian premiere of Edward Clug's Peer Gynt as part of its 60th anniversary season

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeLocal Arts Alberta Ballet will present Canadian premiere of Edward Clug's Peer Gynt as part of its 60th anniversary season Special gala performance in 2027 will celebrate six-decade-long history Author of the article: By Eric Volmers Published Sep 04, 2026 3 minute read Join the conversation Alberta Ballet principal dancer Aaron Anker in a promotional picture of Peer Gynt. Photo by Eluvia Acosta. Article content Alberta Ballet will be bringing in Romanian choreographer Edward Clug for its production of Peer Gynt, one of the highlights of the company’s 60th season. Article content The performance is to debut in Edmonton on Oct. 23 and 24 before moving to Calgary from Oct. 29 to 31. It will be the Canadian premiere of Clug’s 2015 interpretation of Henrik Ibsen’s epic about an arrogant peasant seeking his fortune. Article content Article content Article content The show’s had celebrated runs in companies around the world including the Vienna State Opera and The Polish National Ballet. It was performed last year in Milan at La Scala Ballet. Alberta Ballet artistic director Francesco Ventriglia, who went to La Scala Ballet School and joined the company in 1997, was at the performance. Article content Noon News Roundup Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content “As a choreographer, I admire Edward Clug very much,” says Ventriglia. “He is an extraordinary colleague. He is a genius. I’m a big fan of his work. When Edward presented Peer Gynt in La Scala, I went to the show of course and thought ‘this is a genius piece, this is a masterpiece.’ I thought this would be fantastic for our public. I need to bring this to Canada. So I called Edward and, on top of being a genius, he is an extraordinary person. I said ‘Edward, let’s do this.’ He immediately said yes.” Article content Clug began dancing at the age of 10 after enrolling in a dance academy to escape the repressive regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. He graduated from the National Ballet School in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 1991. His version of Peer Gynt in 2015 made him one of the world’s most acclaimed choreographers. Clug will oversee the performance in Alberta. Article content Article…