Anatomy of Grief is a ballet that journeys through the tides of loss, seen through a South-Asian lens and shaped by the rituals of mourning. Across four seasonal movements, six dancers embody the shifting landscapes of grief—denial, anger, despair, and acceptance—interweaving intimacy, tension, and release. A central couple carries the heart of the story, while the surrounding dancers echo and amplify the emotional currents, creating a living tapestry of sorrow and solace. Blending classical ballet with contemporary movement, the work seeks to transform grief into a visceral, shared experience, offering a meditation on the passage of time, the power of ritual, and the quiet emergence of peace.
(2026) *In creation
Performers | Sylvia Berman, Alexander Ellison, Bailey Madill
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod in collaboration with artists
Music | Bing & Ruth, cktrl
Photos | Steve Berruyer
Swans is a radical reimagining of the classic ballet, recast entirely with male swans and led by two male protagonists. This work queers the romantic and gender dynamics of the original, disrupting ballet’s deeply rooted heteronormative traditions. By placing queer love and male vulnerability at its core, the piece reclaims a space in classical dance where those stories have long been excluded or coded. This reconfiguration is not simply about representation; it is about liberation—of movement, identity, and narrative. Swans invites us to imagine what ballet can become when its boundaries are broken open.
(2025)
Performers | Noah Broadway, Daniel Da Silva, Thiago dos Santos, Eric Hall, Norika Isomura, Nicole Prefontaine, Adrian Ramirez, Marcio Teixeira, Stephen Jackman-Torkoff
Premiere | May 2025, Toronto ON
Director | Lisa Karen Cox
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Playwright | Sadie Epstein-Fine
Rehearsal Director | Sarahi Cardenas
Music | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Lighting | Theodore Belc
Sound Design | Jacob Lin
Costume Design | Tanya White
Ballet Integrity Consultant | Tanya Evidente
Stage manager | Laura Baxter
Photos | Drew Berry
Mended Vespers is a personal reflection on my coming out as a South Asian male. The piece navigates the quiet tension between tradition and truth, and the emotional labor of becoming visible. Through movement, I explore shame, softness, and the act of mending—of returning to myself with honesty and care.
(2025)
Company | Asian American Ballet Project
Premiere | June 21st, 2025, Boston MA
Photography | Oliva Moon
Music | Pablo Saurez
Costumes | Eleve Dancewear
Lighting | Reina Makimura
Sugar Plum is a hybrid dance-theatre piece. The story follows Connor and Olivia, two Gr. 12 students rehearsing for their dance school’s annual production of The Nutcracker. Both dream of being cast as The Sugar Plum Fairy, but Connor gets the part and Olivia is cast as The Nutcracker Prince. The show follows them through the rehearsal period as they both reckon with the roles they’ve been given, who they are as dancers, and who they want to be as people. Their story is told by the Corps de Ballet. The Corps are the 14-year-old dancers of the past, present and future who have never fit the mold.
Performers | Sam Sutherland, Eilish Shin-Culhane, Raechele Lovell. Jordan Faye, Nicole Prefontaine, Abby Silvera
Premiere | 2025
Photos | Eden Graham
Directors | Lisa Karen Cox, Sadie Epstein-Fine
Playwright | Sadie Epstein-Fine
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Rehearsal Director | Sarahi Cardenas
Music | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Teiya Kasahara, Steph Raposo
Lighting | Andre du Toit
"Gait" by director/choreographer Kunal Ranchod explores the trajectory of a racialized, queer, man as he comes to terms with the act of disguising himself.
This work was created in collaboration with the dancers and inspired by a round table discussion with racialized, 2SLGBTQ+ public servants.
(2022)
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod in collaboration with Toronto History Museums
Premiere | June 1st, 2022
Director | Kunal Ranchod
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Dancers | Adrián Ramírez & Alexi Skinner
Choreographic collaborators | Adrián Ramírez & Alexi Skinner
Cinematographer | Andrew Williamson
Editor | Andrew Williamson
Run time | 3 min 15 sec
Composer | This is my line
from FILAMENT, album by Eighth Blackbird
Cedille Records CDR 90000 157
An Ode to Kiran & Pradeep features three ballets: Blue Curve of the Earth, Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Within the Golden Raga. The evening explores the various facets of Kunal Ranchod’s parents’ impactful journey to calling Canada home. All three ballets are inspired by and interlaced with anecdotes that painted Kunal’s childhood; stories involving love and cultural identity, the lifelong attachment to one’s birthplace and finally, the journey of a refugee.
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Dancers | Guyonn Auriau, Claudia Colonna, Meimi Hasegawa, Nick Jones, Sarah-Maude Laliberté, Samaël Maurice, Santiago Merchan, Sakura Ota, Hugo Pimentel, Frédérique Rosso
Premiere | April 7th, 2023
Photos | Steven Berruyer, Damian Siqueiros, David Wong
Music | Tina Davidson, Richard Reed Parry, Nico Muhly, John Adams, Michael Nyman, Anoushka Shankar
Costumes | Eleve, Sahra Maira, Kunal Ranchod, Caroline Rivard
Lighting | Noah Feaver
“Nine Yards” is a dance film that explores the colonial past of the Indian sari blouse. In many parts of ancient India, the sari was a single piece of fabric that was wrapped around a naked body. The sari was draped in hundreds of styles over hundreds of years in the various parts of the Indian subcontinent. Women would wear saris bare-breasted due to their immense adaptiveness and suitability to the land’s climate, and were deemed normal, practical and non-sexualized.
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod in collaboration with Toronto History Museums
Mentor | Ashley McKenzie-Barnes
Premiere | June 23rd, 2023
Director | Kunal Ranchod
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Dancer | Nyda Kwasowsky
Choreographic collaborators | Nyda Kwasowsky
Cinematographer | Andrew Williamson
Editor | Andrew Williamson
Composer | To love
from FILAMENT, album by Eighth Blackbird
Cedille Records CDR 90000 157
Why is humankind fascinated with the unknown? “Below” began as an exploration into my fascination with the unexplored depths of the ocean. Growing up, I was always captivated by the vastness and wonderment that is the ocean. Standing on the shore looking across the horizon line the ocean often felt calm, peaceful and full of beauty; once submerged however, that very same ocean felt chaotic, ominous and even dangerous. How one entity can embody such vastly different qualities amazes and inspires me. Much like the ocean, we as humans are entities that embody qualities that are vast and immeasurable. Our surface facade is often simply a veil covering the mysteries and truths residing deep within our core.
“Below” was made in collaboration with the dancers.
(2022)
Company | Dance at the Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
Premiere | November 22nd, 2022
Photos | Jeremy Mimnagh
Music | Eric Whitacre, Ezio Bosso, Vincenzo Lamagna, Martin Mitterstieler
Costumes | Claudia Matas
Lighting | Noah Feaver
Set | Margaret Steinbach
Projections | Shaan Tahir Mehdi
The work explores the intricate musicality of Tina Davidson’s work whilst examining the sensations of two oceans meeting. Inspired by Ranchod’s visit to Cape Point, South Africa, the work delves into finding the calm in the chaos, the spiral of a wave and the constant of two equal forces.
Movement 1 of Blue Curve of the Earth was originally commissioned as part of The National Ballet of Canada’s CreativAction Micro-Commissions
(2021)
Company | The National Ballet of Canada
Premiere | TBA
Photography | Kunal Ranchod
Music | Tina Davidson, Hilary Hahn
“Breadth” is Ranchod’s response to the tumultuous journey the pandemic has brought upon all of us. The pandemic has been long enduring and difficult for many people; however, this work specifically explores the trajectory of dancers.
“Breadth” is broken into 3 movements. The first movement explores how many of us dancers felt throughout first half of the pandemic. Through repetition, regimented patterning and precise unison, the first movement relays feelings of being stuck, dazed and hopeless. The 2nd movement is tender, delicate and vulnerable. It shifts into the idea of seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, finding a sense of hope and supporting each-other throughout the process. The 3rd and final movement is free, skyward, celebratory and full of breadth. This final movement expresses the jubilance we dancers felt the first day we returned to performing in front of live audience.
(2022)
Company | Ballet Ouest de Montréal
Premiere | June 12, 2022
Music | Hania Rani, Max Richter, Dobrawa Czocher
Costumes | Caroline Rivard
Lighting | Kunal Ranchod, Claude Caron
Within the Golden Raga, is a work that plays with the intricate rhythms, patterns and structures of Indian classical music juxtaposed to the shape and line of classical ballet. This work dually plays with the idea of connection to people and place as the work is an amalgamation of my Indian heritage and Canadian upbringing. Lastly, the theme of love is vividly expressed within two of the pas-de-deux seen in the work. However, the love expressed here is not of a romantic nature, but rather a spiritual one.
Movements 1 & 2 of Within the Golden Raga were originally commissioned as part of The National Ballet of Canada’s CreativAction Micro-Commissions
Movements 3, 4 & 5 of Within the Golden Raga were originally commissioned by Ballet Kelowna
Research and exploration residency courtesy of Danse a la Carte
(2021)
Company | Ballet Kelowna
Premiere | February 14th, 2021
Photography | Kenny Tai, Dave Mai
Music | Anoushka Shankar
Costumes | Lynette Schlichting
Lighting | Patrick Smith, Linzi Voth
“Mues”: Renouvellement partiel ou total de la peau, des poils ou des plumes d'un animal sous l'influence de la croissance, de l'âge et des conditions du milieu.
Mues is an initiative of the Maison de la culture Marie-Uguay of the Sud-Ouest borough in collaboration with the Festival Quartiers Danses.
(2021)
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Premiere | Spring 2021
Director | Kunal Ranchod
Director of movement | Kunal Ranchod
Dancer | Jee Lam
Choreographic collaborator | Jee Lam
Composer | Francis Lehoux
Cinematographer | Kes Tagney
Editor | Kes Tagney
Run time | 2 min 30 sec
“Falling Inside" is a structured improvisation, performed as a part of the The 18th edition of the Festival Quartiers Danses.
If only there could be something equivalent to rain falling inside
Then the whole of the room would take on shape and dimension
I should also say, this is an experience of beauty
Instead of being isolated, cutoff, preoccupied internally
You are presented with a world, you are are related to a world, you are addressed by a world
Why should this experience, strike one as being beautiful?
Cognition is beautiful, it’s beautiful to know.
(2020)
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Premiere | September 16th, 2020
Dancers & Collaborators | Claire Campbell, Marilyne Cyr, Thom Dobronyi, Mariya Kyrychenko, Jee Lam, Hugo Pimentel
Director | Kunal Ranchod
Outside eye | Nicolas Patry
Composer | Nils Fram
Photos | Romaine Lorraine
“Threads" is a sensual and transcendent tale of true love amid a labyrinth of unrequited love.
Threads is a co-production with the Festival Quartiers Danses. The 18th edition of the Festival Quartiers Danses takes place September 11th-20th, 2020. Threads will premier on September 16th, 2020.
(2020)
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Premiere | September 16th, 2020
Dancers | Lauren Buchardt, Thom Dobronyi, Jordan Faye
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Directors | Kunal Ranchod, Kes Tagney
Composer | Francis Lehoux
Cinematographer | Kes Tagney
Camera assistant | Cory Renolds
Sound design | Gordon Alan
Run time | 4 min 15 sec
Après la marée is a solo work inspired by the changing of the tide.
Dancer | Gabrielle Chevalier
Premiere | 2024
Photos | Maxime Côté
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Rehearsal Director | Andrea Boardman
Music | Munir Hossn & Ganavya
Lighting | Jean-Huges Rochette
A tragic, romantic pas-de-deux about a boy with a weak heart.
Residency courtesy of École supérieure de ballet du Québec
(2019)
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Photography | Kunal Ranchod
Music | Ludovico Einaudi
Dancers | Lauren Buchardt, Thom Dobronyi
A group work inspired by the various facets of rain and how it affects our awareness, physicality and emotional state.
Residency courtesy of Danse a la Carte, grant courtesy of Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
(2019)
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Photography | Sasha Onyshchenko, Kunal Ranchod, David Wong
Film | Bobby Leon
Music | Hilary Hahn
Dancers | Daniel Alwell, Lauren Buchardt, Pierre-Emile Lemieux-Venne, Elizabeth Gagnon, Sarah-Maude Laliberte, Audrey-Anne Marsolais, Philip Sergeychuk, Elljay Timm
Flora & Zephyr is our most classical work and is set to Vivaldi’s classic The Four Seasons, more specifically Summer. Created with images of a Russian summer in mind, the work explores classical movement with a folk quality.
Show | Mixed Program: 4 seasonal duets, Flora & Zephyr, Tom
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Lightning Design| Adam Jules
Stage Management | Adam Jules
Dancers | Lauren Buchardt, Gabrielle Chenard, Kennedy Henry, Mariya Kyrychenko, Pier Loup Lacour
A neo-classical pas-de-deux that explores the theme of lust.
Show | Carte Blanche - Danse a la Carte
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Photography | Kunal Ranchod, Sasha Onyshchenko
Music | Joby Talbot
Dancers | Etienne Gagnon-Delorme, Mariya Kyrychenko
4 Seasonal Duets are a series of pas de deux that explore various facets of relationships, each set during a different season. Winter explores unrequited love, Autumn explores a purely physical relationship, Spring explores the excitement of young love and Summer explores the notion of love at first site.
Show | Mixed Program: 4 seasonal duets | Flora & Zephyr |Tom
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Lightning Design | Adam Jules
Stage Management | Adam Jules
Dancers | Gabrielle Chenard, Pascal Gaudreault, Kennedy Henry, Mariya Kyrychenko,Pier-Loup Lacour, Saskya Pauzé-Bégin, Philip Sergeychuk
TOM is a full length contemporary work danced by a cast of 7 females. In creating the work, Ranchod began with the idea of voyuerism as a source of inspiration. Once in creation though, the work began to take on the theme of control. Through two distinct worlds, the notion of control is explored in both the broad and specific sense.
Show | Mixed Program: 4 seasonal duets | Flora & Zephyr |Tom
Company | Compagnie Kunal Ranchod
Lightning Design | Adam Jules
Stage Management | Adam Jules
Music | Stephan Bee, Charlie Prince
Dancers | Lauren Buchardt, Christine Daigle, Kennedy Henry, Mariya Kyrychenko, Béatrice Langué-Dubé, Raquel Lanziner, Saskya Pauzé-Bégin,
Presque is a pas de deux that explores the intricacies of young love.
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Show | Project Aprentti Choreograph
Company | Ecole superieure de ballet du Quebec
Music | Greg Haines
Dancers | Pier Loup Lacour, Saskya Pauze-Begin
Asha: Comfortably numb is a full evening work danced by a cast of 22 dancers. The work delves into the mistreatment of widows in india. “A widow should be long suffering until death, self-restrained and chaste. A virtuous woman who remains chaste when her husband has died goes to heaven. A woman who is unfaithful to her husband is reborn in the womb of a jackal.” From the Laws of Manu (Hindu sacred texts).
Show | New Voices Festival 2013
Company | Ryerson Theatre School
Lightning Design | Adam Jules
Stage Management | Heather Bowser
Costume Design | Talore Peterson
Rigging | Paolo Collantes and Michael Wagner
Music | Greg Haines
Dancers | Adrienne Lipson, Alex Bleim, Alicia Nero, Angeal Beauchesne, Caryn Chappell, Cassandra Bowerman, Corrado Cerruto, Krista Deady, Laura Wright, Mary-Dora Bloch-Hansen, Monica Sorbara, Olivia Herman, Rabecca Sadowski, Samantha Grist, Samantha Raymond, Sarah Amaral, Shelby Thoms, Sierra Chin Sawdy, Sylvie Moquin, Taylor Hunt
Siren is a full length neo-classical work danced by 9 females and 1 male. The work explores the Greek myth of The Sirens. The Sirens were dangerous yet beautiful creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Show | ChoreoPlan 2013
Company | Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet
Music | Hildur Gudnadottir
Dancers | Kristine Butler, Carl Backman, Loraine Conti, Elizabeth Cumbo, Caroline Dougherty, Julian Duque, Justine Essis Gildea, Chloe McArdle, Aleksandra Nikolic, Marielena Quintantar, Kyrstina Wendelken
Orpheus is a fashion film directed by Christian Frias created for designer Paria Lambina's 2012 fashion line. The film premiered at Toronto Fashion Week 2012.
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Director | Christian Frias
Designer | Paria Lambina
Show | Toronto Fashion Week
Dancers | Charlene Gibbons
Anna is a neo-classical work for 3 females and 1 male. The work is structured episodically and explores the mentality of a murderer.
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Show | City Connect 2012
Company | Cadence Bridges Ballet
Music | Clif Martinez
Dancers | Kate Houston, Tess O’Hara, Anna Pogulyaeva, Mateo Galindo Torres
Flocking with Philip was an installation work, created for the 2012 Luminato Festival. The work was set to Philip Glass' Mad Rush. The work was created on 9 windsocks.
Choreographer | Kunal Ranchod
Festival | Luminato 2012
Lighting Design | Kunal Ranchod
Technician | Paul Court
Music | Philip Glass
Dancers | Windsocks designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects in association with artist Mitchell F. Chan
