Stir Magazine's 2026 Fall Arts Guide features Emerging Artist Stan Tonin, whose journey to Ballet BC opened up an entire world of dance
Stan Tonin’s first exposure to Ballet BC opened his eyes to a new world of contemporary movement. But as a first-year student in Arts Umbrella’s professional dance program, he felt that it was out of reach.
“I remember just being in awe of everyone,” recalls the Halifax-raised artist. “I didn’t grow up going to many dance performances—especially contemporary performances of that calibre. And I just remember really wanting to be a part of something like Ballet BC. It felt like this big thing—it felt unachievable.”
Tonin couldn’t have been more wrong. By second year, he and his classes were performing onstage with the company in Shahar Binyamini’s large-scale BOLERO X. By his third year, he had made it into Ballet BC Annex, the company’s junior ensemble. Fast-forward to this season, and the AU alumnus with the signature ’stache is enjoying his second year as one of Ballet BC’s hand-picked Emerging Artists.
Ballet BC Emerging Artist Stan Tonin in BOLERO X by Shahar Binyamini. Photo by Millissa Martin.
“It felt like a whole new world was opening up for me that I had no idea existed.” – Stan Tonin
It’s been a long journey to Vancouver from Canada’s Atlantic coast. In Halifax, the gifted artist threw himself into competitive dance at seven, after auditioning at a local studio where his older sister trained.
“I was doing a big range there: contemporary ballet, hip-hop, jazz, musical theatre. I just loved the expression of it, and being on a competitive team was fun,” Tonin says.
Before his Grade 12 year, he headed west for Arts Umbrella’s International Summer Dance Intensive. “It felt like a whole new world was opening up for me that I had no idea existed,” says Tonin. He knew immediately where he wanted to train after high school.
Last season at Ballet BC was full of highlights, including a tour that took him to Paris for the first time and the full-circle moment of performing BOLERO X alongside the next generation of Arts Umbrella students.
Among the most rewarding experiences as he prepares for this season has been working with Indigenous Ballet BC artists in residence Margaret Grenier and Starr Muranko, whose new creation debuts March 6, 2027, as part of Ballet BC’s big 40th celebrations.
“I’m very excited to share that experience with the Vancouver audience,” Tonin relates. “I think that there’s a deep sense of importance in this process, and there’s something so honest and true about it. It’s very different from anything else that the company has shared in the past.”
Building a career on the West Coast has been a huge move for this East Coaster, whose family makes the trek across the country for his Ballet BC shows. And whenever he wants to reconnect to the Maritimes in spirit, he just heads to Vancouver’s shoreline. “That makes me feel at home, being close to the water,” he says. “It reminds me of home growing up near the ocean.
Stir Magazine's 2026 Fall Arts Guide.
Find print editions of Stir’s Fall Arts Guides at JJ Bean locations and arts venues throughout Vancouver, and catch Stan on stage at Bodies & Voices November 5/6/7 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Info + tickets
