LEGENDS: Signature Programme 1

Tessa Virtue skated into the hearts of people around the world when she became the youngest ice dance champion in Olympic history at the 2010 games alongside her on-ice partner, Scott Moir. Eight years later in PyeongChang, the duo’s gold medal-winning skate drew approximately 5.7 million Canadian viewers — Super Bowl–level ratings for Canada — becoming a cultural highlight of the 2018 Games. The winner of three Olympic gold medals — and five Olympic medals in total — Tessa is the most decorated female figure skater in Olympic history.

Tessa announced her retirement from skating in 2019 and has since earned an MBA from the Smith School of Business and has graduated with a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Today, Tessa translates her experience as a world-class, high-performance athlete to the corporate world as an executive advisor with Deloitte, where she works closely with the firm's senior leaders and their clients.

In the media, Tessa has shown her range and versatility in feature coverage from outlets such as Strong Fitness Magazine, Best Health Magazine, and HELLO! Canada magazine. She has also been a two-time cover girl for Canada’s Real Style Magazine and has been featured in Vogue Japan. Tessa was also a guest analyst for CBC during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games and is a familiar presence in Canada’s fashion community and at red carpet events. In 2019, she was honoured with a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll made in her image as part of Mattel’s “Role Models” series, which honours women who are breaking boundaries and inspiring the next generation of girls.

Tessa is a fierce advocate for female empowerment, while also possessing a passion for mental health, wellness, fashion, and beauty. She is also a long-time member of the Special Olympics Canada Champions Network. Tessa was inducted into the Canada Walk of Fame in 2018, named to the Order of Canada in 2020, and received the Canadian Order of Sport Award, marking her induction into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. Skate Canada has also honoured Tessa, as part of their Elite Class of 2025.

Tessa lives in Toronto with her husband, Toronto Maple Leafs player Morgan Rielly, their baby boy, McCormick, and their pup, Zoë.

Alyssa Martin is a Toronto-based choreographer, and the Fall for Dance North 2026 Artist-in-Residence, working at the intersection of surrealism, comedy, and modern dance. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Rock Bottom Movement, where she creates genre-defying dance-theatre rooted in athleticism and absurdity. Her work uses comedy as a choreographic strategy and treats process as a site of shared authorship, curiosity, and risk.

As an independent choreographer, Martin has created new works for The National Ballet of Canada (Desperate Drama of Red, Sugar Water), Alberta Ballet (Petrushka), Toronto Dance Theatre (Bin Chicken), and the University of the Arts Zurich (Tickle Death). With Rock Bottom Movement, her recent works include Big Time Miss (Fall for Dance North, Holland Dance Festival), Be the Bird (dance : made in canada), Sex Dalmatian, and Sex Dalmatian’s Hot Holiday Spectacular created in collaboration with Citadel + Compagnie. 

Martin has been an artist in residence with The Banff Centre, Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal, Fredericton Playhouse, Toronto Metropolitan University  and Stratford Festival’s LAB. Her practice is transdisciplinary; spanning theatre, circus, film, musical theatre, and opera, and she has collaborated with The Coal Mine Theatre, Canadian Stage, The Stratford Festival, and many independent artists.

Her work has been recognized with multiple Dora Mavor Moore Awards across both Dance and Theatre, the Canadian Stage Award for Direction, the Jack McAllister Award for Alumni Achievement at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a nomination for the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize. Her creative process is grounded in humour, empathy, and an anti-patriarchal ethos that challenges convention while prioritizing collective responsibility and play.

Led by Artistic Director Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Hubbard Street has been one of the most original forces in contemporary dance for 49 years. It is the only dance company in the world with a Bob Fosse or Gwen Verdon work in its repertoire, thanks to a special partnership with The Verdon Fosse® Legacy. 

Fisher-Harrell is the company’s first alumna, woman, and person of color to lead the organization. She remembers, as a young performer in Hubbard Street’s company in the 1990s, asking Verdon if she could quietly watch rehearsal. “I had no business staying in the room — that piece is just for the guys,” Fisher-Harrell recalled, “but [Verdon] was open to all of those things; she was so fluid in that thinking, she saw how much I really liked the turns and the jumps. I remember just breathing the ether.” 

Bob Fosse is one of the most internationally recognized figures in the history of the performing arts for his groundbreaking, genre-defining work as a director, choreographer, performer, and writer. In 1973, he became the first director in history to win the Oscar, Tony, and Emmy awards in a single year for his spectacular triumphs with Cabaret on film, Pippin on Broadway, and Liza with a "Z" on television. On film, he served as director and choreographer for Sweet Charity, Cabaret, All That Jazz (also co-screenwriter), and Star 80 (also co-screenwriter), earning him an Academy Award. The Verdon Fosse Legacy®, founded by his daughter, Nicole Fosse, ensures Mr. Fosse’s enduring legacy will continue to help shape the entertainment landscape for years to come.

Gwen Verdon is “widely regarded as the best dancer ever to brighten the Broadway Stage” (The New York Times). Her most enduring professional partnership was with the man she would marry, Bob Fosse. Together, Ms. Verdon and Mr. Fosse ran up a string of iconic theatrical successes not rivaled by a director/choreographer and star before or since. After she earned her first of four Tony Awards in her breakout role as Claudine in Can-Can, her collaboration with Mr. Fosse began. She starred in Damn Yankees (Tony Award), New Girl in Town (Tony Award), Redhead (Tony Award), Sweet Charity (Tony nomination) and Chicago (Tony nomination).

Claire Heggen serves as the artistic director of Compagnie Claire Heggen - Théâtre du Mouvement, a company dedicated to research and creation. As a writer, actress, director, and educator, she cultivates interdisciplinary skills through diverse aesthetics. Most recently, she produced the show Ma P’tite Dame in 2025. The company's works have been showcased in over 60 countries, presenting a continually evolving aesthetic that explores the theatricality of movement, situated at the intersection of mime, physical theatre, and puppetry. She co-founded and co-directed Théâtre du Mouvement with Yves Marc from 1975 to 2017 and played a pivotal role in establishing GLAM (Geneva Theatre Arts and Movements). Heggen teaches at various international institutions in France and abroad and has mentored emerging artists in their creative endeavors for many years, irrespective of their aesthetic orientation. A Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, she was awarded the International Institute of Puppetry’s Prize for Education in 2015.

Sampradaya Dance Creations (SDC) is an award-winning Canadian dance company known for its culturally rooted, interdisciplinary work and socially resonant storytelling. Founded in 1990 by Lata Pada C.M., the company is a pioneering force in classical South Asian dance in Canada and globally, one that specializes in classical and contemporary Bharatanatyam. Now under the leadership of new Artistic Director Suma Suresh, SDC remains committed to artistic excellence, creating captivating solo and ensemble works that blend traditional Indian dance with innovative artistry.

With national tours and festival performances, SDC shares Bharatanatyam with diverse Canadian and international audiences - uniting cultures through this classical dance form.

Lata Pada is a celebrated dancer, choreographer, teacher, and cultural consultant recognized as one of Canada’s leading artists and arts advocates. She became the first South Asian artist to receive the Order of Canada in 2009 and was later honored with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India in 2011. She also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and was inducted into Mississauga’s inaugural Legends Row in 2013. Lata has redefined Bharatanatyam through innovative solos, ensemble works, and multidisciplinary productions that bridge tradition and contemporary expression.

Suma Suresh was raised in the Middle East and began training in Bharatanatyam at a young age under Sujatha Suresh. She continues to work as a performer, teacher, and choreographer and holds an MFA in Dance Choreography from York University, where she received the Susan Crocker and John Hunkin Scholarship in Fine Arts. In 2019, she received the MARTY Award for Dance from the Mississauga Arts Council. Her choreographic works blend Bharatanatyam with contemporary movement traditions.

Atri Nundy is a mid-career Bharatanatyam artist, educator, and choreographer who trained under Lata Pada at Sampradaya Dance Academy, and Leela Samson, Mavin Khoo, Priyadarshini Govind, and Seeta Patel—most recently participating in Patel’s Rite of Spring rehearsal process in London. Atri’s choreographic work spans classical and contemporary forms, with commissions from Anandam Dance Theatre and Toronto Dance Theatre. She has performed with KasheDance, Ronald Taylor Dance, and other Toronto-based companies.

One of the top international ballet companies, The National Ballet of Canada was founded in 1951 by Celia Franca. Today, the company is among the world’s finest, with 70 dancers and its own orchestra. The National Ballet has a history of pre-eminent Artistic Directors and in January 2022, welcomed new leader, Hope Muir. Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets as well as the development of Canadian choreographers.