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Karen Kain joined the National Ballet of Canada at the young age of 11 and trained with the school for seven years. Within her dancing career, Kain has gained national and international recognition, and has danced in memorable ballets, such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. At the end of the 1997 dance season, Kain retired from dance, but she has continued her career in the arts by assuming the roles of Artistic Associate of the National Ballet of Canada and the Lifetime President of Toronto’s Dance Transition Resource Center, and by teaching dance. Kain's hard work and artistry have been acknowledged by her receipt of many prestigious awards including the Companion of the Order of Canada and the Order of Canada.

Working in pairs, students will research Karen Kain's major career accomplishments and awards from the time she joined the National Ballet of Canada at the age of 11 to beyond her retirement from dance in 1997 to the present day. They will present this research to the rest of the class using multi-media technology.

Students deliver their presentation to the rest of the class. Ask: What have you learned about this famous Canadian and how she might be portrayed in Canadian history books?