Acclaimed to be Canada’s most accomplished male dancer, Frank Augustyn was trained at the prestigious National Ballet School of Canada and was invited to join the National Ballet Company in 1970 promoted to principal in 1972.

In 1973, he and Karen Kain won a special award for the best pas de deux in the 2nd International Ballet competition in Moscow, dancing the extremely difficult role of the Blue Bird pas de deux from Sleeping Beauty, in a version whose technical demands astounded the Russian sponsors and adjudicators of the competition. That win catapulted them to instant international stardom. They became known as one of the most celebrated dance couples globally and enjoyed a fabled partnership during their performing years. Augustyn established himself as the premier danseur noble with the National Ballet of Canada and at the young age of twenty he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York where he appeared for numerous consecutive years touring with the National Ballet of Canada.

Throughout his illustrious career Augustyn danced all the major classical roles as well as significant roles in modern ballet repertoire. He danced in nearly every major city in the world with companies including, Boston Ballet, Royal Ballet, Turin Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Beijing Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and Kirov Ballet. He has worked with the most acclaimed choreographers and teachers including, Rudolf Nureyev, Erik Bruhn, Frederick Ashton, John Cranko, Hans Van Mannen, Maurice Béjart, Celia Franca, Papa Beriosoffa, Rudi von Danzig, Jose Limon, Kenneth McMillan and Glen Tetley.

He was a founding member of Ballet Revue (dancing his own piece, Personal Essay) and has appeared frequently on television for viewers around the world.

Frank Augustyn continues to be recognized for his outstanding contribution to dance and has been awarded with numerous awards of distinction including, Honourary Doctorate Degrees from York and McMaster in1979 and Trent University in 2003 where additionally he was the 2000-2001 Ashley Fellow. In 1979 he received Canada’s highest honour for lifetime outstanding achievement and named Officer, Order of Canada (O.C.) Since his retirement as a dancer, Frank Augustyn has been the artistic director of Ottawa Ballet and Le Gala des Étoiles, the international dance event held in various locales including Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, Athens, Thessaloniki, Jerusalem, and Japan. He has written, Footnotes Dancing the World’s Best Loved Ballets’ published in 2001 and named as one of the top ten children’s best books in 2003 by Canadian Hackamatack Choice Book’s and in 2000 Dancing From the Heart, A Memoir. He co-produced, co-wrote and hosted Footnotes, the Classic of Ballet seen on Bravo United States and Canada it has been aired in many countries around the world and translated into four languages. In 2000 Augustyn became the Director of the Dance Program at Adelphi University, New York and in 2007 appointed Chair of the Dance Department where he continues his work.

 

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