Celebrating 10 Years of Pointe Magazine
“It set me on a roll,” says National Ballet of Canada principal Heather Ogden, recalling the thrill of being featured in Pointe’s February/March 2002 issue. It was such an honor to be recognized among other dancers I admired.” Then an NBC corps member, Ogden recently had made her debut as Juliet. Now 27, she has performed a wide range of lead roles, from classical to contemporary, abstract to demandingly dramatic. A particularly special experience was dancing Dulcinea with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet in its revival of Balanchine’s Don Quixote at the Kennedy Center in 2005—and with NBC in Toronto in 2007. “I’ve had a lot to grow with,” she notes. Audiences have taken to Ogden’s unaffected charm and the sheer physical daring of her movement—she never holds back. “I’ve worked hard for all this,” says the modest, soft-spoken Ogden, “but I still feel very blessed.” —Michael Crabb