Karen Kain

"When I grow up I am going to be a ballerina. I could go out every night and dance. I will be in Giselle. It will be so much fun being a ballerina."
-Karen Kain, age 8

Karen Kain, the world famous prima ballerina, was born in Hamilton on March 28, 1951. Kain is one of the greatest, most remembered and loved ballerina Canada has ever known. The following biography will cover how and why Kain began dance, how she hit the top, who she danced with, what awards she won and when she hung up her pointe shoes for good.

Winifred Kain, Karen’s mother, first signed her six-year-old daughter up for dance lessons in order to improve her posture and give her good discipline. According to CBC News Archives, Kain’s mother thought Karen had a slouching problem. At the age of eight, after seeing a production of Giselle with Celia Franca, Kain decided that she wanted to become a professional ballerina. At the age of eleven Kain left home to live in the National Ballet School in Toronto, run by Betty Oliphant, in order to continue her training. For seven years Karen worked hard under the command of Oliphant, an important dancing model in her career. Many times Karen’s parents considered pulling Karen out of dance because money was short. Oliphant assured them that Karen was very talented and with sincere dedication and extensive training, had the potential for a successful ballet career. Kain found it difficult to be away from her parents and sisters but she recognized the importance of training to her academic and dance career. In 1969 Oliphant suggested that Karen audition for The National Ballet of Canada under founder and then-director Celia Franca, Kain’s idol.  As a new member of the National Ballet Kain had to appear in every play, performing up to eight times a week as part of the corps de ballet.

After just one year with the National Ballet at the age of nineteen, Kain got her big break. Veronica Tennant the leading lady in Swan Lake was injured so Kain was asked to take her place. Karen was fortunate to be given the opportunity to dance with the famous Russian star Rudolph Nureyev who played the prince. They’re incredible Black Swan pas de deux inspired Kain to continue in this aspect of dance. A pas de deux is a duet in which ballet steps are performed together. It usually consists of an entrée, adagio, and a coda. There is usually a solo segment in the middle for each dancer, which is performed during the slower part of the music. In 1971 Kain danced with Canadian dancer Frank Augustyn (another graduate of the National Ballet School) in Intermezzo. This ballet was the start of a wonderful relationship between the two dancers. Kain and Augustan danced together in many unforgettable ballets such as Coppélia, Le Corsaire, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, La Fille mal gardée, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. In 1973 they won first prize for best pas de deux at the Moscow International Ballet Competition. Kain and Augustyn were christened the "Gold-Dust Twins" by critic John Turner due to their superb performance at the contest. These two magnificent dancers were a couple outside of ballet for eight years as well. Near the end of their relationship, Augustyn claimed that their relationship was proving to be just too much. They’d work together, dine together, sleep together … nothing new came from the outside. During this time Karen Kain had become a very well known name across Canada. Apart from frequently touring Canada, Kain completed television versions of the famous ballets Giselle in 1976 and La Fille mal gardée in 1979. Karen Kain is known in the world of ballet as being amazingly dedicated to the art. During her career she frequently overbooked herself because she constantly wanted to satisfy her audience. For the next twenty years Karen continued dancing throughout the world. Kain is motivated by her desire to carry out the message of ballet to everyone from all backgrounds and all nationalities. Kain’s dancing career was an incredible, amazing and respected one.

Karen Kain retired from dancing after nearly thirty-eight wonderful years of ballet dance. Kain retired from the role of the Swan Queen in 1994. She retired from the National Ballet in January of 1996, but her actual retirement wasn't until the end of the 1997 season. After dancing in Swan Lake for 25 years, the role almost belonged to Karen Kain. That’s why on the day Kain announced her retirement, it was difficult for the ballerina to hold back tears. Karen Kain will always be greatly missed in the world of ballet and looked up to by so many of the young ballerinas of today.

Where, one might wonder is Karen Kain today? Is she still among us? Does she teach ballet at a dance academy? After 26 years as a primary dancer, Kain toured Canada one last time in 1997 with the National Ballet of Canada. She is now the Artistic Associate at the National Ballet of Canada and the "President for Life" of the Dancer Transition Center. “This center has a mandate to provide dancers who have become members during their careers with the financial, legal, personal and career-counseling assistance they need when the moment comes to withdraw from the stage." (Kain, p. 269) On September 16, 2004, Karen Kain was selected to be the chair of the Canada Council for the Arts. This position suits Kain perfectly thanks to her years of devotion to promoting the Canadian artistic scene. Less than a year later on July 1, 2005, Karen Kain became artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada where she had spent most of her earliest career as a ballerina. Having already served seven years as the company's artistic associate she looked forward to the challenges of this new title.

Karen Kain will always be one of the most remarkable classical ballerinas Canada has ever seen and will live in the hearts of Canadians for generations to come. She was amazingly dedicated, and had an amazing passion for the art of dance. Karen Kain has influenced future generations if young dancers all over the world. Canadians everywhere will always remember her amazing pas de deux and other ballets.