Alberta Ballet Presents "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy", the Sarah McLachlan Ballet, Los Angeles

When artistic director Jean Grand-Maître joined the Alberta Ballet in 2002, he effectively brought a spotlight back to the already storied institution—Canada's second largest ballet company. His idea: "portrait ballets," intimate glimpses inside the canons of artists including Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, and Elton John. By choreographing dances specifically for these artists' seminal tracks, Grand-Maître breathes new life into them and adds a new dimension of understanding to works that many already believe they know. And for his ingenuity, Grand-Maître was rewarded, earning the role of Director of Choreography for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and a coffee mug that says "World's Greatest Artistic Director."