- Founder and co-artistic director of the Toronto Opera Atelier
Picture by Bruce Zinger
Swiss-Canadian dancer Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg was born in Zurich and came to Toronto as a child when her father became director of surgical research at the Hospital for Sick Children. After high school, Jeannette studied dance at Toronto’s Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University), where she met her husband Marshall Pynkoski.
Since then Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg has performed internationally in classical ballet, modern dance and national/historical dance. Her training took place at The Royal Academy of Dancing in London, England and in Copenhagen, Denmark.
As a young dancer Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg relocated to Paris, France in order to undertake in-depth studies of Baroque dance from original source material. During this period she danced at the Moulin Rouge to subsidize her studies. The study of historical dance styles was supplemented by attendance for four consecutive summers at the International Early Dance Seminar in Baltimore, Maryland. Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg received a Chalmers Performing Arts Training Award to continue her studies of the historic Danish style with Sandra Caverly.
Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, with Marshall Pynkoski, are the founding directors of Opera Atelier, now a respected opera and dance company on the world stage. In her role as choreographer and dancer, Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg has created a body of work unique in its historical authenticity and detail, and has introduced modern audiences to the beauty of 17th and 18th century dance forms.
Highlights of Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg’s career include choreographing and dancing in all of Opera Atelier’s productions in Toronto, New York, Cleveland, the BBC Proms in London, England, the Royal Opera House at Versailles, France, the Houston Grand Opera, and on tour in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Japan and Korea. She played the lead in Rhombus Media’s production of Manuel De Falla’s “Master Peter’s Puppet Show”. Also for Rhombus, Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg choreographed the dance ensembles for the Artists of Atelier Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet and the Scapino Ballet of Rotterdam, and starred opposite Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in “The Sorceress.” Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg acted as principal guest instructor at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles from 1993 to 1996. She has revived important historical dance works by Handel, Mozart, Lully and Rameau, in collaboration with world-class conductors including Andrew Parrott, Marc Minkowski and Hervé Niquet.
Picture by Bruce Zinger Artists of Atelier
Measha Brueggergoasman & artists of Atelier Ballet
About Opera Atelier
Opera Atelier was founded in 1985 and holds a unique place in the North American theatre community, producing opera, ballet and drama from the 17th and 18th centuries. These productions draw upon the aesthetics and ideals of the period, featuring soloists of international acclaim, period ballet, original instruments, elaborate stage decor, exquisite costumes and an imaginative energy that sets Opera Atelier apart.
Opera Atelier is not in the business of “reconstruction”, rather, each production is a new creative effort and takes its own place in history. Opera Atelier strives to create productions that would have been recognized and respected in their own time while providing a thrilling theatrical experience for modern audiences.
Under the direction of founders Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Opera Atelier has been acclaimed throughout Canada, in Houston, Cleveland, New York, Stuttgart, Halle, Bremen, London (BBC Proms), Paris, Montreux, Citta di Castello, Singapore, throughout Japan and, most recently, in Seoul, Korea.
Click here to access the Opera Atelier’s website
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