BALLET
KELOWNA
© Emily Cooper
Ballet Kelowna Company Dancers
« Through our signature programming, Ballet Kelowna is proud to bring full expression to Canada’s creative spirit and celebrate the talent and diversity of our country’s dance artists. »
©Laurent_Paillier
Founded in 2002, and under the leadership of Artistic Director and CEO (AD/CEO) Simone Orlando since 2014, Ballet Kelowna delivers compelling and inspiring performances to regional, national, and international audiences. The Company presents numerous styles of dance from Canada’s finest emerging and established choreographers, and embraces the precision and athleticism of ballet technique to create original new works that captivate and engage today’s diverse audiences.
Serving as the only professional dance company in BC’s Interior, Ballet Kelowna is committed to its role as a leader in the region through encouraging, promoting, and developing Canadian dancers and choreographers. The Company performs annually for over 12,000 audience members in Kelowna and on tour, while also providing unique dance training opportunities and outreach programs.
AD/CEO Simone Orlando is an award-winning choreographer and former dancer with Ballet BC and The National Ballet of Canada. Ms. Orlando is actively leading Ballet Kelowna in collaborations with other community organizations, to educate and cultivate new dance audiences, and to enhance the impact of performances and programs.
Photographer : Seger Nelson
Photographer : Seger Nelson
Photographer : Seger Nelson
Photographer : Seger Nelson
BOLERO
AND OTHER WORKS
MIXED PROGRAM-2021
CONTEMPORARY BALLET
taqəš
CHOREOGRAPHER: Cameron Fraser-Monroe
MUSIC: Jeremy Dutcher, Oquiton, Essuwonike, Ultestakon | Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa
LIGHTING DESIGN: James Proudfoot
COSTUMES: Cameron Fraser-Monroe
Disembark
CHOREOGRAPHER: Kirsten Wicklund
MUSIC: Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18: ll. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato performed by Juilliard String Quartet and original arrangement by Kirsten Wicklund after George Gershwin
LIGHTING DESIGN: James Proudfoot
COSTUME DESIGN: Krista Dowson and Kirsten Wicklund
Bolero
CHOREOGRAPHER: Guillaume Côté
MUSIC: Maurice Ravel, Bolero
COSTUME DESIGN: Yannick Larivée
LIGHTING DESIGN: James Proudfoot after Jeff Logue
DURATION : approximatively 75 minutes
CREW : 9 Dancers + 1 Artistic Director + 1 Rehearsal Director
+ 1 Technical Director + 1 Production-Stage Manager
SET-UP : 12 hours
STAGE DIMENSIONS : Width 35’ / Depth 25’ / Height 18'
(11m x 8m x 5.5m)
AUDIENCE SIZE : Small, medium and large venues
OUTREACH : Master class series in ballet or contemporary dance for students 12 years old and up.
Bolero and Other Works can be presented as a 60 minutes presentation for students.
The Bolero and Other Works program features a meticulous blend of contemporary and neo classical works by Canada’s leading dance makers. With the powerfully compelling taqəš by Cameron Fraser-Monroe, Kirsten Wicklund’s hauntingly beautiful Disembark, and Guillaume Côté’s riveting Bolero, this dynamic program promises to enthrall and delight audiences.
The program opens with taqəš, which means “to return something” in Ayajuthem, the language belonging to the Homalco, Klahoose, K’omoks and Tla’amin Nations. Visionary choreographer Cameron Fraser-Monroe brings his classical ballet training, knowledge of traditional Coast Salish, Grass, Hoop Dance, and experience as a contemporary dancer to this poignant piece. Set to several songs by Polaris Prize-winning composer and singer Jeremy Dutcher, taqəš follows the traditional story “Raven Returns the Water”, centred around Raven (P̓oho) and Frog (Walθ).
Next, Royal Ballet of Flanders dancer and rising choreographer Kirsten Wicklund applies a humanistic perspective to her relationship with classical vocabulary and form. Set to Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 1 in F Major and original music created by Wicklund, Disembark reflects on a world disrupted. The dramatic intensity of the work is further amplified through lighting created by Vancouver-based designer James Proudfoot and costumes by Toronto-based designer Krista Dowson.
Rounding out the program, National Ballet of Canada Choreographic Associate Guillaume Côté brings strength and fragility to a fascinating interpretation of the beloved Bolero by Maurice Ravel, one of music’s most famous and identifiable melodies. A “riveting tour de force” (Dance Magazine), Bolero (2012) features breath-taking lifts and virtuosic choreography.
« A riveting tour de force »
- Dance Magazine
Photo : Emily Cooper Dancers : Desiree Bortolussi & Valentin Chou
Photo : Emily Cooper Dancers : Desiree Bortolussi & Valentin Chou
Photo : Emily Cooper Dancers : Desiree Bortolussi & Valentin Chou
MACBETH-2022
CONTEMPORARY BALLET
CHOREOGRAPHER Alysa Pires
MUSIC Adam Sakiyama
VISUAL DESIGN Jane Everett
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DURATION : approximatively 90 minutes
CREW : 10 Dancers + 1 Artistic Director + 1 Rehearsal Director
+ 1 Technical Director + 1 Production-Stage Manager
SET-UP : 12 hours
STAGE DIMENSIONS : Width 40’ / Depth 35’ / Height 25’
(12.2m x 10.7m x 7.7m)
AUDIENCE SIZE : Small, medium and large venues
OUTREACH : Master class series in ballet or contemporary dance for students 12 years old and up.
Ballet Kelowna is proud to be the first Canadian ballet company in over forty years to commission a female Canadian choreographer to create a full-length work. In 2022, the Company will premiere Macbeth by Canadian dance luminary Alysa Pires. An original score of toil and trouble by Canadian composer Adam Sakiyama and stunning visuals by Okanagan artist Jane Everett set the scene for this exploration of psychological decay.
Pires’ adaptation of Macbeth will explore its themes of ambition, corruption, and gender through a contemporary lens. Instead of the King of medieval Scotland, Macbeth’s quest for power sees him become the leader of an autocratic government. Her version reimagines some key characters as women and investigates gender roles and expectations in a post #metoo era. Through athletic and evocative movement, this work blends the worlds of contemporary ballet and dance theatre.
« What’s done cannot be undone. »
- Macbeth
WHERE TO SEE
BALLET KELOWNA NEXT
May 11th 2022, MAMBO and Other Works, Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, QC
May 13th 2022, MAMBO and Other Works, Quai 5160 - Maison de la culture Verdun, Montreal, QC
May 15th 2022, MAMBO and Other Works, Salle Désilets, Montreal, QC
May 18th 2022, MAMBO and Other Works, Le Carré 150, Victoriaville, QC