Karen Kain and the National Ballet of Canada

Jacqueline Cardinal, Laurent Lapierre

Jacqueline Cardinal is a Research Associate with the Pierre Péladeau Chair of Leadership at HEC Montréal. She holds a MA from Harvard University, a diploma in Administrative Sciences from HEC Montréal, a Bac. ès Arts from the Université de Montréal and a degree in translation from McGill University. A biographer, writer and certified translator, she has produced over 20 case studies and regularly contributes feature articles on leadership to daily newspapers and refereed journals. She is currently working on a project with the Pierre Péladeau Chair of Leadership to produce biographies of leaders who have left a mark on their era and their community. In 2006 she co-published, with Laurent Lapierre, two biographies, Noblesse oblige: Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien et Nan-b de Gaspé Beaubien and Jacques Duchesneau sur le qui-vive. L’audace dans l’action.
Laurent Lapierre holds the Pierre Péladeau Chair of Leadership at HEC Montréal. He teaches courses on leadership, management of arts enterprises and cultural industries. His research interests include leadership and the influence of managers’ personalities on their management style and the role of management behaviour in an organization’s performance. He has served as editor of the journal Gestion: Revue internationale de gestion. He is a board member and an executive committee member of the Canada Council for the Arts.

ABSTRACT 
Karen Kain is a living legend in English Canada. When she walks down the street in Toronto, she turns heads. People recognize her delicate silhouette and fall under the charm of her serene smile. Little girls attending performances of the National Ballet of Canada, of which Kain is currently Artistic Director, dream of catching a glimpse of her, securing her autograph, hearing her voice or touching her dress. As a dancer, Kain has had the opportunity to work with several of the National Ballet’s Artistic Directors, from Celia Franca to Reid Anderson, by way of Erik Bruhn and Valerie Wilder. A keen observer of management styles, she noticed over the years that her instincts always served her well. Kain had concluded that no matter what decisions or visions the Artistic Director put forth for the company, the outcome was “nearly always” what she had expected. In her new role as Artistic Director, Kain vows to remain true to herself and follow her instincts in performing her new management duties.
KEYWORDS
Ballet, arts management, leadership, management, career
RÉSUMÉ
Au Canada anglais, Karen Kain est une légende vivante. Lorsqu’elle se promène dans les rues de Toronto, les gens se retournent sur son passage. Ils reconnaissent sa frêle silhouette et tombent volontiers sous le charme de son sourire serein. Les fillettes qui assistent aux spectacles du Ballet national du Canada, dont elle est dorénavant la directrice artistique, rêvent de l’entrevoir, d’obtenir d’elle un autographe, d’entendre sa voix et, qui sait, de toucher sa robe. Comme danseuse, Karen Kain a connu plusieurs directeurs artistiques au Ballet national du Canada. Fine observatrice des différents styles de gestion, elle a eu longuement l’occasion de constater que son instinct l’avait toujours bien servie. Depuis Celia Franca jusqu’à Reid Anderson, en passant par Erik Bruhn et Valerie Wilder, elle en est arrivée à la conclusion que, quelles que soient les décisions prises ou les visions mises de l’avant, les résultats obtenus par la compagnie correspondaient « presque toujours », nuance-t-elle, à ce qu’elle avait pressenti. Maintenant que son rôle a changé, Karen Kain prend le parti d’être fidèle à elle-même et de se fier à son instinct dans ses nouvelles fonctions de direction.
MOTS CLÉS 
Ballet, gestion des arts, leadership, management, carrière
RESUMEN 
En el Canadá de habla inglesa Karen Kain es leyenda viva; en las calles de Toronto la gente se vuelve al verla pasar al reconocer su fina silueta y cae bajo el encanto de su sonrisa. Las niñas que asisten a los espectáculos del Ballet Nacional de Canadá, del cual ella es directora, sueñan con verla, obtener un autógrafo, escuchar su voz y, por qué no, tocar su traje. En su época de bailarina Karen Klein conoció varios directores artísticos en el Ballet Nacional de Canadá. Excelente observadora de los diferentes estilos de gestión, tuvo numerosas oportunidades de ver que su instinto no la engañaba. Su experiencia con Celia Franca, Reid Anderson, pasando por Eric Bruhn y Valerie Wilder, la llevó a la conclusión de que sean cuales sean las decisiones o las visiones que cada uno presentaba, los resultados que lograba la compañía correspondían “casi siempre”, precisa ella, a lo que había intuido. Ahora que cambió de papel, Karen Klein opta por ser fiel a si misma en sus nuevos cargos de dirección y por seguir dejándose guiar por su intuición.
PALABRAS CLAVE 
Ballet, gestión de las artes, liderazgo, administración, carrera