Toronto's Jason Reilly is leaving the Stuttgart Ballet after 12 years and returning home to dance with the National Ballet of Canada. (Andreas Langen)

A Toronto-born dancer who has spent more than a decade with Germany's Stuttgart Ballet is coming home, the National Ballet of Canada announced on Tuesday.

Jason Reilly will join the company as a principal dancer beginning with the 2009-2010 season, artistic director Karen Kain said in a statement.

Kain added that she has been a fan of Reilly's "wonderful talent" since his days as a student training at Canada's National Ballet School in Toronto, and "over the years, have had great pleasure following his career and successes in Europe, as well as having him come to dazzle our audience in a number of guesting engagements."

After graduating from the National Ballet School in 1997, Reilly joined the Stuttgart Ballet's corps de ballet. Over the years, he rose in the ranks, eventually becoming a principal dancer in 2003.

Before he officially joins the company, Reilly will once again perform as a guest artist with the National Ballet in March, for the troupe's production of Romeo and Juliet.