Editing Veronica Tennant

{{Short description|Canadian producer, director, and filmmaker}}
{{Infobox person
|name        = Veronica Tennant
|image       = 
|alt         = 
|caption     = 
|birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1946|01|15}} 
|birth_place = London, England, UK
|death_date  = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|death_place = 
|occupation  = Former principal ballet dancer; filmmaker; producer; director
|awards      = [[Order of Canada]]<br>[[Governor General's Performing Arts Award]]<br>[[Canada's Walk of Fame]]
}}

{{Archival records|title=Veronica Tennant fonds}}

'''Veronica Tennant''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|CC|FRSC}} (born January 15, 1946) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] producer, director, and filmmaker and a former principal dancer of the [[National Ballet of Canada]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/t-magazine/neue-galerie-frick-jewish-museum-met-flowers.html#:~:text=The%20Metropolitan%20Museum%20of%20Art&text=An%20ephemeral%20addition%20to%20an,funded%20fresh%20flowers%20in%20perpetuity.|title = Four Museums' Most Ephemeral Artworks: The Flowers in the Lobby|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 25 March 2016|last1 = Herriman|first1 = Kat}}</ref> She was born in [[London, England]] and moved to [[Canada]] with her parents and sister in 1955. Dancing from the age of four, by the age of 18, she became the youngest person ever to enter the National Ballet of Canada.

She made her debut as Juliet in the principal role in ''[[Romeo and Juliet (ballet)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' with partner Earl Kraul on a choreography by [[John Cranko]].<ref>''Encyclopedia of Theatre Dance in Canada. Encyclopédie de la danse théâtrale au Canada''. Susan Macpherson editor, Arts inter-Media Canada/Dance Collection Danse, Toronto, 2000. p. 575.</ref> She gave her last performance dancing Juliet again in the same ballet in February 1989.<ref>''Dictionnaire de la danse''. Sous la direction de Philippe LeMoal, Larousse, 2008. p. 423. James Neufeld. ''Passion to Dance. The National Ballet of Canada''. Dundurn, Toronto, 2011. p. 284.</ref> Her official farewell gala in November 1989 includes dance excerpts from ''[[Giselle]]'', ''Washington Square'', ''Canciones'', ''Masada'', ''[[Onegin (Cranko)|Onegin]]'' as well as a final pas de deux that she never performed before from Cranko's ''[[The Taming of the Shrew (ballet)|The Taming of the Shrew]]''.<ref>James Neufeld. ''Passion to Dance. The National Ballet of Canada''. Dundurn, Toronto, 2011. p. 284.</ref>

James Neufeld wrote in his book ''Passion to Dance. The National Ballet of Canada'' "Veronica Tennant has built a major career and impressive artistic reputation almost entirely within the National Ballet of Canada. One of the company's best-loved ballerinas, she was also a figure of national prominence on the Canadian cultural scene, an eloquent spokesperson for the importance of cultural values in the life of the nation".<ref>James Neufeld. ''Passion to Dance. The National Ballet of Canada''. Dundurn, Toronto, 2011. p. 284.</ref> By 1976, she was a star at the National Ballet and touring across North America, Europe and Japan with [[Mikhail Baryshnikov]], [[Rudolf Nureyev]], and [[Anthony Dowell]], among others, as prima [[ballerina]]. During her career from 1964 to 1989, she performed in many ballets by legendary choreographers; Sir [[Frederick Ashton]], [[Roland Petit]], [[Jiri Kylian]], [[John Neumeier]], and championed Canadian choreographers such as [[James Kudelka]], Ann Ditchburn and Constantin Patsalas. Among her performances she appeared in ''[[Giselle]]'', ''[[La Sylphide]]'', ''[[Napoli (ballet)|Napoli]]'', ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]'', ''[[La Fille mal gardée]]'', ''[[Onegin (Cranko)|Onegin]]'', ''[[The Dream (ballet)|The Dream]]'', ''A Party'', ''Washington Square'', ''Hedda, Mad Shadows'', ''Parranda Criolla'', ''[[Kraanerg]]'', ''The Newcomers'', ''Whispers of Darkness'' and ''Realm'' in which she mostly interprets the leading roles.<ref>''Encyclopedia of Theatre Dance in Canada. Encyclopédie de la danse théâtrale au Canada''. Susan Macpherson editor, Arts inter-Media Canada/Dance Collection Danse, Toronto, 2000. pp.575-576.</ref>

She wrote two children books: the first, ''On stage, Please : A Story'' illustrated by [[Rita Briansky]] (published in 1977)<ref>Tennant, Veronica, and Rita Briansky. ''On Stage, Please : A Story''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1977. https://bac-lac.on.worldcat.org/oclc/7045930</ref> and the second, ''The Nutcracker'' illustrated by the former figure skater [[Toller Cranston]] (published in 1985)<ref>Tennant, Veronica, Toller Cranston, and E. T. A Hoffmann. ''The Nutcracker''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1985. https://bac-lac.on.worldcat.org/oclc/16063355</ref> based on the story of [[E.T.A. Hoffmann]].

As a producer, director and filmmaker, her films and documentaries related to dance were broadcast on channels like CBC, CTV and Bravo. Among them ''Salute to Dancers for Life/Danser pour la Vie'' (1994–95), ''Margie Gillis: Wild Hearts in Strange Times'' (1996); ''Karen Kain: Dancing in the Moment'' (1998); ''Northern Light - Visions and Dreams'' (2003); ''a pairing of SwanS'' (2004) and ''Celia Franca: Tour de Force'' (2006). Several of her productions have been awarded with [[Gemini Awards]] given by the [[Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television]].<ref>[http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=206310&lang=eng Veronica Tennant fonds (R10917)], [[Library and Archives Canada]]. See also Veronica Tennant web site. [https://www.veronicatennant.com/producerdirectorfilmmaker/ Producer/Director/Filmmaker] on [https://www.veronicatennant.com veronicatennant.com]. Consulted: November 10, 2020.</ref>

Tennant is often invited as guest speaker, host and narrator as well as an actor. She performed in the leading role of Leonard Bernstein's ''On the Town'' at the [[Shaw Festival]] in 1992, and in the title role in ''The Piano Man's Daughter'' with [[Timothy Findley]], [[Sylvia Tyson]] and [[Joe Sealy]] in a 22 performance national tour under the direction of [[Paul Thompson (playwright)|Paul Thompson]] in 1997.<ref>[http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=206310&lang=eng Veronica Tennant fonds (R10917)], [[Library and Archives Canada]]. See also Veronica Tennant web site. [https://www.veronicatennant.com/speakerperformerhost/ Speaker/Performer/Host] on [https://www.veronicatennant.com veronicatennant.com]. Consulted: November 10, 2020.</ref>

Tennant is also involved in her community contributing on various artistic boards (Toronto Arts Awards Foundation, Glenn Gould Foundation, Dancer Transition Resource Centre) and charitable events. She has been honorary chair of [[UNICEF]] since 1992.<ref>[http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=206310&lang=eng Veronica Tennant fonds (10917)], [[Library and Archives Canada]]. ''Encyclopedia of Theatre Dance in Canada. Encyclopédie de la danse théâtrale au Canada''. Susan Macpherson editor, Arts inter-Media Canada/Dance Collection Danse, Toronto, 2000. pp576.</ref> In 2015, she conceived and directed ''NIÁGARA: A Pan-American Story'', a multidisciplinary project for the [[2015 Pan American Games]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Commission Fund - PANAMANIA - TORONTO 2015|url=http://www.toronto2015.org/panamania/commission-fund|access-date=May 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512200441/http://www.toronto2015.org/panamania/commission-fund|archive-date=May 12, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==Awards==
Veronica Tennant has been awarded honorary doctorates from [[Brock University]], [[York University]], [[Simon Fraser University]], [[McGill University]] and the [[University of Toronto]]. She serves often as keynote speaker. She has received several awards, including the Toronto Arts Award and the Arts and Letters Award from The Canadian Club of New York City.

In 1975, she was made an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]] and was promoted to Companion in 2003. In 2001, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.<ref>[http://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductees/01_veronica_tennant.xml.htm Canada's Walk of Fame] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061030074306/http://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductees/01_veronica_tennant.xml.htm |date=October 30, 2006 }}</ref> In 2006, she was made a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Canada]]. In 2004, Tennant received the [[Governor General's Performing Arts Award]] for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Veronica Tennant biography|url=http://ggpaa.ca/award-recipients/2004/tennant-veronica.aspx|publisher=Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation|access-date=February 6, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.rsc.ca/files/media/newfellows/new_fellows_2006_citations.pdf Rsc Src] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718191706/http://www.rsc.ca/files/media/newfellows/new_fellows_2006_citations.pdf|date=July 18, 2011}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.veronicatennant.com Official website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060327062447/http://www.canadacouncil.ca/NR/rdonlyres/0C055441-B25E-4E87-BDA5-8FBA1C6FD3E5/0/RomVT23150.JPG Veronica Tennant as Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060623035821/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007916 Veronica Tennant entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia]
*[http://www.cbc.ca/lifeandtimes/tennant.html Life and Times bio for CBC]
*[http://www.niagarapoem.com NIÁGARA: A Pan-American Story]
*[http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=206310&lang=eng Veronica Tennant fonds (R10917)] at [[Library and Archives Canada]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennant, Veronica}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Canadian ballerinas]]
[[Category:Canadian female dancers]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:English emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Dancers from London]]
[[Category:Prima ballerinas]]
[[Category:National Ballet of Canada dancers]]
[[Category:Governor General's Award winners]]