Jason Reilly partners National Ballet of Canada principal dancer Greta Hodgkinson in Romeo and Juliet. (David Cooper/National Ballet of Canada)

Many of Canada's best and brightest talents leave for opportunities elsewhere and remain outside the country for the rest of their careers. But dancer Jason Reilly is bucking the trend.

After 12 years with the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, Reilly is heading home to Toronto at the height of his abilities to join the National Ballet of Canada in August.

"It was time," the Stuttgart Ballet's star soloist told CBC Radio's cultural affairs program Q on Friday. "I knew that if I didn't do it now I'd never do it."

Reilly is currently in Toronto giving guest performances in the National Ballet's production of Romeo and Juliet at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. He took the role of Romeo on Wednesday and performs it again Saturday evening. Then he'll return to Stuttgart to finish the season.

He cites his family as the reason he decided to make the leap to Canada.

"Over the years," he said, "you miss birthdays, Christmases, the births of your nieces and nephews. You come home and your nieces and nephews are walking around, and have no idea who you are. It made me sad, and it's not something I want to do anymore."

The best part of his current visit, he added, was meeting his seven-week-old niece: "She's a beautiful, beautiful girl."

The pace of work at the National will be a little different than at the Stuttgart Ballet, Reilly said. The repertoires of the two companies are similar, but he thinks the pace in Germany is a little more intense.

"In Germany, we do 100 or more shows a year, as well as touring. Even if you're tired, you still have your job to do," he said. "The National tours a lot in Canada, where there's only a three-hour time change at most."

But the level of dance at the National is extremely high, he adds, evidenced by the fact that the company's principal dancers are offered the guest roles with companies around the world.

What he will miss about leaving Germany is its accessibility to other European centres: "An hour's flight, you're in Paris, Holland, a lot of great places for about $100."

'Retirement' plan

At the age of 29, Reilly already has an eye to his future. "Dancers don't last long," he said. "I figure I have maybe five or six years before my body says, 'Enough's enough.'"

And he has given thought to what he'll do when he hangs up his ballet slippers. "I want to open a bar," he said. "It's been a long-time dream — ever since I could get into bars. I think it would be a very cool thing to do."

He envisions his dream bar in Toronto. He said it will be a place where patrons feel comfortable, "whether they're dressed in a suit, jeans or shorts and a tank top. A place to just go and chill."

But retiring from dance is still a few years down the road. Right now, he relishes bringing his talents and passion to great ballet roles.

Romeo, for example, is a challenging role, he said. "He's just a kid in the first act, more mature in the second and ready to kill himself in the third. You have to go through a lifetime of changes in two hours. It's intense, it's cool."