After a 32-year career on stage with the National Ballet of Canada, principal dancer Sonia Rodriguez is set to retire at the end of this week.
Rodriguez, who has become the longest serving dancer for the company, told CTV's Your Morning it felt like the right time to take her final bow.
"It felt like I had accomplished everything I wanted to as a principal here in the company, and it just seemed like the right time to open new doors and try different things," she said.
Rodriguez joined the National Ballet of Canada in the 1989-1990 season, and became principal dancer in 2000.
She's performed in many esteemed roles, including as teenage Princess Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty," a part she returned to a second time at age 42, and as the Sugar Plum Fairy in "The Nutcracker."
The 49-year-old dancer has also spent decades performing in classics such as "Romeo and Juliet," "Swan Lake," "Giselle," as well as new works including "The Winter's Tale" and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
"It's been a great ride, I have to say. I would have never dreamed of having a career this long, especially coming into the company at 17. Looking back, it just seems surreal a little bit," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez will reprise her 2017 role as heroine Blanche DuBois from "A Streetcar Named Desire" for her last performances on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night.
Rodriguez said playing the character of DuBois has been a "dream role" for her.
"It's a very complex role. So as an artist, it's just really wonderful to tackle something like that. It's also a role that needs a lot of maturity. So I feel like it's just the perfect role when I'm deciding to say farewell," she explained.
Rodriguez added the performance is also a full length ballet, which requires most of the company's cast.
"[It] is so important to me to have everybody and all my colleagues and everybody that has been inspiring me all these years to be on stage and sharing that moment with me," she said.
Rodriguez credits her long career in ballet to the opportunities she's been afforded by the National Ballet of Canada, including trying different dance styles and working with a variety of renowned choreographers.
She added that she has never felt "stuck" as an artist with the company.
"I think having the opportunity of just feeling challenged day in and day out, having staff behind me that was supportive and believed in me, and staying open minded… all those are things that are really important to develop as an artist and keep growing," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the COVID-19 pandemic has been "a little bit of a dress rehearsal" for what her life may look like after retiring, including more time off from the "all consuming dedication that it takes to be a principal" to pursue other, smaller dance projects.
While she acknowledged the pandemic has been difficult for dancers, with having to adjust to dancing from one's home instead of on stage or in a studio with fellow colleagues, Rodriguez noted it has made dancers "very resilient."
"It made us realize that we can do so much more than we think we can without all that support around us. So in that sense, I think we all came out a little bit stronger," she said.
With a file from The Canadian Press
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