Documentary

Films

Shows

Short Films

Short-Form Series

The immersive series follows Karen Kain and a diverse group of dancers from rehearsals to the backstage chaos of the highest-stakes opening night in the National Ballet of Canada's 70-year history.

Documentary | 4 parts

Swan Song

An orphan girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina gets a chance to audition for the celebrated school of the Paris Opera Ballet.  Voices of Elle Fanning, Dane DeHaan, Maddie Ziegler, and Carly Rae Jepsen.

Animation | 89 min

Ballerina

Live from Canada's capital, a two hour concert celebration featuring Canadian stars including Jann Arden, Aysanabee, Preston Pablo, Tegan and Sara, Jojo Mason, Madison Violet, and many others.

Concerts and performances | 89 min

Canada Day: A Playlist to Celebrate (2023)

Gender non-conforming dancer Vinay believes you don’t have to be restricted by gender. He tackles it with friends and family and tries to put on an event to change his life forever.

Documentary | 44 min

Bend It Like Bollywood

FUTURE FUTURES by BC-based Company 605 and Director Brian Johnson taps into the Sci-Fi genre to explore a digital evolution of the future human through a series of short experimental dance films.

Drama | 1 season

Future Futures

Visually arresting and breathtakingly intimate, Crystal Pite: Angels’ Atlas combines elements of cinema verite with high-octane dance sequences to reveal the singular vision of world-renowned choreographer Crystal Pite. Culminating in a cinematically immersive live performance of her acclaimed ballet Angels’ Atlas, the film follows Pite and a group of dancers at the National Ballet of Canada, as they remount the ambitious ballet after a two-year shutdown due to COVID-19.

Documentary | 52 min

Crystal Pite: Angels' Atlas

After surviving a fire that resulted in the amputation of his arms, a young actor named Prince must come to terms with being “differently-abled.” After a break from the stage, Prince is now returning to acting. Through his powerful and honest performances, he finds healing in his art, which allows him to form deep connections with his audience and the world around him.

Biography | 16 min

Prince's Tale

White Lie depicts the life of a popular undergrad faking cancer who struggles to maintain her secret.

Drama | 96 min

White Lie

In this series, 10 stars of the ballroom scene pair up with 10 queer and trans filmmakers to battle each other in five categories: Face, Runway, Bizarre, Vogue and Sex Siren.

Reality | 1 season

CBX: Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza

Hundreds of years in the future, in the last living colony on earth, a city called New Babyl, twenty-four teenage candidates are chosen to take part in an annual musical competition known as The Exemplar. For all of them it's a chance to write their names in the history books, but for Aliyah, the independent and adventurous daughter to a city government official, it’s the beginning of an incredible adventure.

Utopia Falls

Experience the excitement of CBC’s returning hit BATTLE OF THE BLADES live and in-person. World-class athletes from Canada’s favourite sports — figure skating and hockey — pair up in a live, high-stakes figure skating competition for the charity of their choice.

Reality | 2 seasons

Battle of the Blades

Eight of Canada's top choreographers share their astonishing moves - and the incredible stories behind why they dance.

Documentary | 3 seasons

The Move

This entertaining and revealing documentary goes behind the scenes of a famous International ballet company, Les Trockadero de Monte Carlo. This internationally acclaimed company travels around the world but stands alone: all the ballerinas are men!

Documentary | 90 min

Rebels on Pointe

High school students today have to balance heavy workloads at school with increasing pressure to succeed. Fourth Period Burnout pools the creative energies of three youth - Juliette (16), Daniel (18) and Theresa (15) - and their mentor, Madison Thomas, to create a short documentary about their day-to-day experiences with stress and burnout. Juliette dances five days a week while working towards becoming an actor and pushing herself to do well in school. Daniel is a high school senior with a goal of going into film studies. He's a bit nervous about university. Theresa is a first-generation Canadian whose parents immigrated from the Philippines. She feels the pressure to do well in school, but also loves the arts and just hanging out with her friends. The idea for the documentary took shape when director Madison Thomas started teaching in an after-school program for creative teens in Winnipeg. “When one student shared her weekly school, homework, extra-curricular and part-time work schedule with me, I was floored by how much was being expected of this 16 year-old,” says Thomas. Fourth Period Burnout features the collaborative voice of the students alongside artistic recreations of the situations that hint at the emotional and psychological states of youth heading towards a burnout from being overworked at school. Through their work, the voices of the teen creators encourage other youth to practise self-care and not put so much pressure on themselves. With behind-the-scenes footage documenting the writing process and the narrative components that the students bring to life, the documentary explores how high school students are overworked and some of the ways they can manage their stress.

Documentary | 15 min

Fourth Period Burnout

In a dark Toronto music venue, The Holy Gasp plays an encore. The song, A Daily Affirmation, riles the young crowd into dancing, stomping and shouting out the empowering lyrics: “My whole life is great and I can do anything good!” Benjamin Hackman, the band’s frontman, wrote this song about a different time in his life; at this point, he sings it by rote. The truth of Benjamin today is darker. His father passed away recently, his therapist died suddenly and he and his wife are in the middle of a divorce. With nowhere else to go, Benjamin moves to an artist residency on Toronto Island and sets out to compose and record a new concept album: The Love Songs of Oedipus Rex. Throughout his process, we encounter the personalities and pressures of recording an album with 26 parts for 18 musicians in 11 days. We delve into the lyrical poetry of the songs themselves, revealing insights and questions about love, family, loss and mental health. The Love Songs of Oedipus Rex is the story of a man in emotional free fall.

Biography | 21 min

The Love Songs of Oedipus Rex

Following her sister's death from drug addiction, a high school student is forced to leave her private school to return to her old crime-filled neighborhood, where she re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of step dancing.

Drama | 89 min

How She Move

When small-town girl Vickie is accepted into the prestigious National Ballet School and selected to play the role of Clara in the Company's holiday production of The Nutcracker, things look like they couldn't get any better. As it turns out, they can't - because that's when Vickie finds out about the mysterious Curse of Clara. Thankfully, she's got a good friend, the 1972 Summit Series, and an imaginary mentor (in the form of Phil Esposito) to keep her "on pointe." Writer/producer Vickie Fagan also wrote the autobiographical short story upon which this animated special is based.

Animation | 22 min

The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale

Watch popular shows like Schitt's Creek, Luther, Kim's Convenience, plus Films and Live TV on any device

Filters and sorts

All "Dance" content