The Life and Times of Evelyn Hart

Known worldwide for her passionate performances, Prima Ballerina Evelyn Hart is one of Canada’s most inspiring and honoured artists. Winner of the Governor General’s Award for Performing Arts and a Companion of the Order of Canada, she has danced her way into the hearts and minds of countless audiences around the globe. Her career has spanned an astonishing 30 years on stage, 25 of them as the leading ballerina of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Internationally renowned as one of the great interpreters of classical roles like Giselle and Swan Lake, Ms. Hart’s unique artistry has been celebrated by audiences and critics alike.

This intimate portrait of a life entirely dedicated to dance brings you backstage, into the dressing room and rehearsal studios, and onstage in performance, exploring what it means to devote every waking moment to the pursuit of perfection in art. Driven, intense but with an ever-present sense of humour, Ms. Hart opens her life to our camera.

Filmed over two years by director Betsy Carson, The Life and Times of Evelyn Hart reveals the struggles and triumphs that mark Ms. Hart’s extraordinary journey from talented teenager to international star.

“…. If she dances Juliet, in ten seconds she has you convinced that she would really die for her partner. To me there is one word to describe Evelyn Hart and that word is: emotion.”
— Website chat room posting

“One of the most transcendent moments of my entire career was seeing her dance ‘Giselle’ in Vancouver. If I talk about great Giselles, I say, there were three or four. Like Markova, Makarova and Evelyn Hart too.”
— Clement Crisp, Critic (Dec 2001)