National Ballet Principal Dancer Jillian Vanstone will retire next year after a 22-year career with the company.

Her appearance in the premier of After the Rain next March will be her farewell performance.

In a statement, outgoing artistic director Karen Kain says “watching Jillian’s growth as an artist has been a true pleasure.”

Vanstone excels in both classical and contemporary neo-classical pieces.

Her most memorable roles include  Princess Aurora in Rudolf Nureyev’s The Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and the title roles in Giselle and Manon. Her contemporary repertoire includes roles such as Stella in the Canadian premiere of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Vanstone was just 13  when she moved to Toronto to study at the  National Ballet School, and joined the national ballet in 1999. She’s from Nanaimo, B.C.