Review: Processions (The National Ballet of Canada)

The National Ballet of Canada goes Gaga—not Lady Gaga, but the Israeli-born movement language created by Ohad Naharin. In Processions, choreographic duo Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber bring this improvisation-based approach to the company for the first time, exploring themes of procession as a universal human ritual. Performed in a black-and-white visual world with live onstage cello and soprano accompaniment, this world premiere work pushes the company into new territory.

Gaga technique emphasizes sensation, freedom, and presence over habit and fixed form, an approach that feels worlds away from classical ballet. Both Smith and Schraiber are former dancers with Batsheva Dance Company, where Gaga was born, and they now serve as Artists-in-Residence at the L.A. Dance Project. Together, they are also founding members of the American Modern Opera Company, and the married couple brings this wealth of experience to our national company for its season opener. 

Visually, Processions takes on a cinematic quality. Scenes unfold in long, deliberate stretches of time, the black-and-white palette emphasizing contrast and restraint. It’s less about narrative or overt emotion and more about ritual and a slow pull of movement through space. The dancers, thirty-two in total, are costumed by Dana Osborne: the men in formal suits, the women in black 1930s-style evening gowns. 

Onstage with them are cellist Coleman Itzkoff and soprano Rachel Wilson, whose live performances anchor the work’s energy and are showstoppers in their own right. The cello’s resonance and Wilson’s haunting voice often become the piece’s emotional core, especially since little emotion comes from the dancers themselves. In the second act, a hearse rolls onto the stage, a literal and symbolic vehicle of passage. It becomes a focal point for the ensemble, alternately climbed on, leaned against, and danced around, a physical reminder of mortality amid the motion.

The first act is a slow burn, almost meditative in its pacing. Across six pieces of music, silence fills the gaps, broken only by the sound of slow, deliberate walks and the occasional echo of coughs from the audience (it is that time of year, after all). The full cast alternates between the men’s and women’s groups, with principal artists blended into the crowd more than we’re used to seeing. It’s interesting to spot familiar faces like Christopher Gerty and Genevieve Penn Nabity moving among the ranks rather than leading from the front. From the corps, Connor Hamilton stands out throughout, performing with raw, beautiful emotion and a grounded physicality that consistently draws the eye, a beautiful performance.

In the first act, I loved a men’s chair sequence as it is full of rhythm and precision. It becomes more physical with knee slides, russian drops, and sharp jumps up from the ground, including a playful “floppy fish” moment where the men leap straight into the air and give a quick wiggle before landing back on two feet. 

The second act shifts in tone. After the restraint of the first, it feels more alive, more visceral. The women take over, barefoot, hair down, and freer in their movement. It’s strange at first to see the men remain in shoes while the women move barefoot, creating an uneven physicality between them, but it adds to the sense of formality gradually breaking apart.

At about ninety minutes, the work runs with one intermission, though it might have flowed more effectively as a single continuous piece. The second act feels stronger, where the formality starts to crack and the movement becomes more raw and human. That’s where the piece finally breathes, shedding its ceremonial frame for something looser and more affecting. Still, for a work that touches on such dark and weighty ideas, death, ritual, and collective passage, it’s surprisingly restrained emotionally. At times, that distance makes the theme of procession feel a little overdone.

Processions marks a bold step for the National Ballet of Canada. It’s encouraging to see new works being funded and supported by the company, and their willingness to take creative risks, especially as a season opener. Smith and Schraiber’s approach may not suit everyone’s taste, but it undeniably expands the company’s range and opens new pathways for collaboration. The production continues at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts until November 8.

Processions, presented by the National Ballet of Canada at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (145 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5H 4G1), is playing until November 8th, 2025. For tickets, please click here.

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• Photo 1: Connor Hamilton in Procession. Photo by Karolina Kuras. Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada.
• Photo 2: Coleman Itzkoff and Connor Hamilton in Procession. Photo by Bruce Zinger. Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada.
• Photo 3: Shaakir Muhammad, Christopher Gerty and Matthieu Pagès with Artists of the Ballet in Procession. Photo by Karolina Kuras. Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada.

Written by Deanne Kearney | DeanneKearney.com @deannekearney