Visionary educator and leader Mavis Staines is one of the foremost champions of ballet's evolution, recognized around the world for her courage, integrity and inclusivity in seizing every opportunity to make dance more inclusive and the wide benefits it confers—to individuals, communities and to society—accessible to all. Over 35 years as Artistic Director of Canada's National Ballet School (NBS), her leadership modelled ambitious ways of taking the art form into a future that embraces and values the full diversity of society, inspiring manifold partners to unite—with hallmark ambition and bright optimism—in the shared goal of ensuring that dance and dancers respect the art form's long and deep heritage by building new, contemporary and inclusive traditions relevant to the 21st century. 
 
Born in Quebec's Eastern Townships, Staines received her ballet training at Canada's National Ballet School. Upon graduation from NBS, she danced as a first soloist with the National Ballet of Canada and the Dutch National Ballet until an accident cut short her performance career. She subsequently enrolled in NBS' Teaching Training Program, joining NBS' Artistic Faculty in 1982. She was appointed Artistic Director in 1989. 
 
From early in her leadership career, Staines boldly pursued holistic transformations that led to systemic changes in NBS' training practices-changes that emphasized dancers' humanity, holistic wellbeing, profound intelligence, and Olympic-level athleticism. Her efforts at NBS sparked an international conversation about ballet training, with a focus on progressive approaches in pedagogy, mind-body awareness, and nurturing the whole dancer, that catalyzed evolution around the world. 
 
Mavis' approach as an educator always centered on creating an environment where young artists are empowered to find and use their unique voices, and where those voices are amplified in meaningful ways. In 2020, NBS students courageously asked Staines, in her privileged role as leader, what she was doing to address racism in ballet. The experience catalyzed Staines' profound personal reflection and resulting life imperative to advance and uphold equity in the art form. This imperative was imbued in NBS' Assemblée Internationale 2023 (Al23) festival – a unique, global gathering of pre-professional dancers and artistic directors that Staines first pioneered in 2009. Al23 explicitly centered on addressing anti-Black racist practices inherent in the ballet world, and on strengthening the art of ballet by recalibrating its practices with integrity and ongoing vigilance. 
 
Fueled by her own childhood experience with local dance programs that kindled her lifelong passion for ballet, Staines championed the national strategy and development of NBS' Community Dance programs with the fundamental understanding that, by making the life-changing benefits of dance accessible to all, dance can contribute to the health and well-being of communities. Her belief in the innovative use of technology, fostering multi-sectoral partnerships, and engaging in research and knowledge translation have propelled the programs to reach tens of thousands of people, across Canada and around the world, every year. 
 
Staines served as a juror for the Prix de Lausanne from 1993 to 1995 and was President of the Jury in 1998 and 1999. In 2001, she accepted the volunteer position of Artistic President Designate for the Prix de Lausanne and assumed the full responsibilities of Artistic President from 2002 to 2008. She is a recipient of the 2019 Governor General's Performing Arts Award (GGPAA), the 2021 Peter Herrndorf Arts Leadership Award, a Member of the Order of Canada, and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.  

After 35 years of visionary leadership, Staines retired as NBS’ Artistic Director in June 2024. As a personal and professional focus, Staines is committed to continuing the work on advancing equity and addressing anti-Black racism in ballet’s practices. She now serves as an NBS Global Ambassador, working in partnership with NBS on key initiatives that support the vision of the School, while also serving the art form of ballet as a whole.