BALLET VANCOUVER - AFTER THE RAIN & OTHER WORKS Vancouver’s new professional ballet company, Ballet Vancouver, presents its inaugural performance, After the Rain & Other Works, on stage April 23–25, 2026 at Vancouver Playhouse, featuring dancers from American Ballet Theatre alongside a line-up of some of Canada’s finest artists. The mixed program will feature the Vancouver premiere of After the Rain by The Royal Ballet Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, a two-part ballet known for its emotional depth and elegant simplicity, originally performed by New York City Ballet; the world premiere of a new creation choreographed by Ballet Vancouver Artistic Director Joshua Beamish, in collaboration with Indigenous artist and fashion designer Yolonda Skelton, which centres a harmonious, thoughtful integration of Indigenous design and ballet; the live Vancouver premiere of Redemption by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, a solo journey of a fallen angel that explores themes of solitude and contemplation, which received its digital premiere at the 2021 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival; and the Vancouver reprise of Wen Wei Wang’s Swan, a modern reimagining of the ballet classic Swan Lake performed en pointe. CASTING Casting includes: Patrick Frenette (a Vancouver-raised Soloist with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) and the first Canadian dancer to be promoted beyond the rank of Corps de Ballet in ABT history); Betsy McBride and SunMi Park (Soloists, ABT); Joseph Markey (ABT), Stephanie Petersen (formerly of ABT and The Australian Ballet), Vancouver born-and-raised Benjamin Freemantle (formerly Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet), Keilani Elizabeth Rose (Shoresy on Crave), Julian Hunt (Kidd Pivot), Tristan Ghostkeeper (The Lion King Toronto), Ariana Barr and Allison Lang (formerly of Ballet Edmonton), Juan Duarte (formerly of Ballet BC), Bryn Bridgen (a featured artist from Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week 2025) and Jonatan Lujan (Met Opera Ballet NYC, Ballet Argentino Julio Bocca, and Ballet Zurich). Photo of Patrick Frenette and Stephanie Petersen by David Cooper