Back in 2024, Silent Screen wowed Toronto audiences with its Canadian debut. Now, two years later, the mesmerizing ballet from choreographic duo Sol León and Paul Lightfoot will return to the National Ballet in a double bill with Crystal Pite’s Emergence. 

Merging dance, theatre, and film, Silent Screen immerses the National Ballet’s dancers in an abstract silent film, projected on shifting screens that expand and contract to mimic the motion of a camera lens. Set to the hypnotic music of Philip Glass, the piece offers a moving meditation on the human experience.

For National Ballet Second Soloist Erica Lall, Silent Screen has a special significance. It was the first work she performed after moving to Toronto to join the company, and she gets to perform with First Soloist Shaakir Muhammad, whom she trained with and has known for more than a decade. “It holds a really special place in my heart,” she says. “It’s such a moving piece.”


Silent Screen differs from narrative ballets in that the plot is abstract, offering plenty of opportunity for audiences to interpret their own story from the performance. Lall tells us that the ballet touches on a range of human emotions and experiences, and that there is a section for “every mood of life.” She had a chance to sit back and watch the show unfold from an audience perspective for the first time this year, and tells us she was incredibly moved by the experience. 

“I was crying and laughing. There’s just so many emotions that I went through watching it, and I think the audience will have that same reaction,” Lall says. 

With so much emotion to convey, every detail matters, from your hands to your toes to your eyes. “One of the things that Sol wanted me specifically to focus on was my eye focus. So instead of being fully engaged with everything I see, it’s more a dreamier, ghost-like [gaze].”

León and Lightfoot have been celebrated for their choreography for more than three decades. Lall describes working with the acclaimed duo as one of her career highlights. “It was just such a dream to have the opportunity to work with them,” she says. “They’re just geniuses, honestly.”

Originally from Cypress, Texas, and previously part of American Ballet Theatre, Lall was drawn to the National Ballet due to the company’s diverse repertoire and her ties to Canada. 

“I love Canada. I have history here. I have a lot of family here…it just drew me in, and when I came and auditioned, it kind of already felt like home.”

Since joining the company two years ago, in addition to Silent Screen, she’s taken on roles in Anna Karenina, Giselle (one of her favourite ballets), and has performed more Nutcracker shows than she ever has before. 

Lall is also the co-founder of Opportunitix, a non-profit she started with her mother that provides tickets for ballets, operas, plays, and other performances to students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to attend. 

“I am just so 100% on providing support and allowing people to see themselves on stage…I didn’t necessarily have that myself, and I think it makes a huge difference when you can actually feel or see yourself up there,” Lall says.

Aside from eventually bringing her non-profit to Canada, Lall tells us she’s constantly striving towards her dream of becoming a principal dancer. 

“The work is never done in this career, and that’s kind of why I love it,” Lall says. “I truly am a bunhead. I am obsessed with ballet, I love the art form, and I love how we tell stories.” 

Silent Screen will be on stage from November 13-20, in a double bill alongside Crystal Pite’s Emergence. Also part of the National Ballet’s 75th anniversary season, audiences can look forward to the beloved holiday tradition of The Nutcracker, running from December 5– 31.