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.

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.

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VIEW COMPLETE TECHNICAL RIDER

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VIEW COMPLETE SEASON BROCHURE

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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

MACBETH-2022
CONTEMPORARY BALLET

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. 

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 « What’s done cannot be undone. »

- Macbeth

WHERE TO SEE
BALLET KELOWNA NEXT

September 24th 2021

Mary Irwin Theatre, Rotary Center for the Arts, Kelowna, BC

Ballet Kelowna will be touring to 6 cities of the Atlantic Canada in February and March 2022, and to 4 venues in the province of Quebec in May 2022. Stay tuned for the details!