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m By Kathryn Kates E: Special to the Oakville Beaver ‘Dancer Christopher Kiss back where he belongs His love of ballet began at the age of three, when his mother, Christine, enrolled him at the Oakville School of Dance. "Mom figured that I would get more exercise dancing than at a hockey practice. Years later, she was blown away when I announced I was going pro," explained Kiss. When Kiss was six, his parents took him and his brother, Steve, to see the ballet, Giselle, at the In 1991, Oakville born dancer, Christopher Kiss, leapt at the chance to join the corps de ballet of the prestigious National Ballet of Canada. Give our Oakville and Milton Area mobile mortgage representative a ring, and he will serve your home financing needs when and where it‘s best for you. That‘s right. Our rep is available seven days a week to meet you on your own turf â€" at your home or office, at a new home site, or at your agent‘s location. And mortgage applications are normally arranged within 24 hours at the Royal Bank branch of your choice. Ask about our expanded options to customize the Now you can get the bank to More Canadians choose Royal Bank for home mortgages come to you. "‘Trademark of Royal Bank of Canada. ®Registered tradeâ€"mark of Royal Bank of Canada At the age of 11, Kiss left the comfort of his Oakville home to join the National Ballet School in downtown Toronto as a student in residence. He graduated in 1984 and was honored with the Peter Dwyer Scholarship and a Canada Council Grant. This allowed him to travel around Europe checking out various ballet companies. He was not looking for a job, when the Dutch National Ballet offered him a position in their corps de ballet for the 1985â€"86 season. He was torn. Kiss dearly wanted to join O‘Keefe Centre, starring the great Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev. He was hooked, sitting wideâ€"eyed and mesmerized; Nureyev became his idol. home financing best for you: * _6 months to 25â€"year terms * _ New DoubleUp® and Skipâ€"APayment® options * _ 5% down for firstâ€"time home buyers * _ Fiveâ€"Year RateCapper®" Mortgage When only the best mortgage service will do, phone our rep directly at (905) 301â€"2907. "Brun encouraged me to go to Holland and invited me to come back the next year to audition for the National," says Kiss. Devastated by this news, Kiss decided to quit dancing. He came back to Oakville to work in the restaurant business, landing jobs at Swiss Chalet, Monahan‘s Pub, and Trattoria II Timone. In 1989, he moved back to the National Ballet of Canada. He spoke with then, artistic director, Erik Brun. Unfortunately, Brun passed away. When Kiss returned home, the NBC was restructuring itself and under a selfâ€"imposed hiring freeze. (See‘ ‘page 15) Oakville‘s Christopher Kiss of the National Ballet‘s Corp. The Oakville Museum offers another schedule of Walking Tours of Old Oakville with guide Dick Marshall, running between May and October. Tours will be held on Sundays May 22nd, July 17th, August 21st, September 18th and October 16th. Each tour leaves from the Oakville Museum, 8 Navy St., at 2 p.m. and is approximately two hours long. Walking tours of old Oakville (Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann)