Karen Kain guest judges on So You Think You Can Dance Canada

From a media release:

Canada’s Prima Ballerina Karen Kain to be Guest Judge on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA, Sept. 15 and 16 on CTV

• Dan Karaty from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE also returns to the judging panel
• Tonight: Jean Marc and wife France Mousseau co-choreograph Afro-Brazil Top 16 group number

CTV announced today that Karen Kain, world-renowned Canadian Ballerina and Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, will bring her artistry and expertise to the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA judging panel for the first time on Tuesday, September 15 at 8 p.m. ET and Wednesday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on CTV (go to ctv.ca to confirm local broadcast times). Kain joins judges Jean Marc Genereux and Tré Armstrong along with guest judge Dan Karaty in judging the Top 14 dancers.

Tonight, Wednesday, September 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET on CTV, the competitors open the Top 16 Results episode with a spicy Afro-Brazil group number co-choreographed by judge Jean Marc Genereux and his wife and dance partner in life, France Mousseau, before one guy and one girl are eliminated from the competition.

On Sunday, September 13, the Performance and Results episodes will air at a special time on MuchMusic beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. Beginning September 20, the episodes will air back-to-back Sundays at 6 p.m. ET on MuchMusic (go to ctv.ca and muchmusic.com to confirm local broadcast times).

Karen Kain Bio – Guest Judge:

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Karen Kain is considered one of the leading classical ballerinas of her time and is also one of Canada’s foremost arts advocates, serving as spokesperson for Canadian culture and as the Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada. After graduating from Canada’s National Ballet School in 1969, Kain joined the National Ballet of Canada where she soon rose to the rank of Principal Dancer. During her time with the company, Kain gained international recognition when she was awarded the Silver Medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition in 1973. Kain went on to dance a wide range of classical and modern roles throughout her career with companies such as Roland Petit’s Ballet de Marseilles, The Bolshoi Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, London Festival Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and the Eliot Feld Company. After retiring from dance in 1997 Kain assumed the position of Artist-in-Residence with the National Ballet. Her role was expanded in 1999 to that of Artistic Associate and in 2005 she was appointed Artistic Director of the company.

Kain has received many awards in recognition of her long-standing illustrious career and her unwavering commitment to Canada’s artistic community. She is a Companion of the Order of Canada, the first Canadian recipient of the Cartier Lifetime Achievement Award and was named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the government of France. In 2002, she was honoured with a Governor General’s Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement and from 2004 to 2008 was Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Dan Karaty Bio – Guest Judge:

New York’s Dan Karaty is one of the hottest entertainers working today. In addition to creating award-winning choreography and acting in films like Music & Lyrics with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant, Karaty choreographs and guest judges on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE around the world, and appears as a celebrity contestant on LAUNCH MY LINE. During college at NYU, Karaty spent his time teaching at the popular Tremaine Dance Conventions where he met friend and collaborator Wade Robson. During his junior year, Karaty made his Broadway debut in the smash hit Footloose and soon thereafter began dancing with Britney Spears. After graduating, Karaty made the move to Hollywood where he and Robson continued to collaborate on high-profile projects like Britney Spears’ first Pepsi commercial and the *NSYNC world tour.

Branching out on his own, Karaty choreographed Jessica Simpson’s “Irresistible” and “Little Bit” music videos and serving as Artistic Director for her 2001 World Tour. He also worked with Kylie Minogue on many of her television appearances, as well as a long list of cutting edge artists like Justin Timberlake and Usher. Karaty’s experience, combined with his gift for comedy, allowed him to move into the film industry where he choreographed on Malibu’s Most Wanted with Jamie Kennedy and Did You Hear About The Morgans with Sarah Jessica Parker.

Highlights from each week’s SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA episodes are available on demand on the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca. For exclusive footage and clips, information on dancers, judges and choreographers along with image galleries, videos, forums, blogs from the judges and more, visit dance.CTV.ca.