Ballet British Columbia

Marie · **Posted:** Sat Feb 03, 2001 3:36 pm

Emily Monar steals the show as Puck in the Ballet B.C. production of the Faerie Queen.From the Ottawa Citizen, 03/02/01: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>A vision of ballet as a vital art form-- Ballet B.C. has won rave reviews for its version of the Faerie Queen, which will be performed at the NAC on Tuesday, Shannon Rupp writes.VANCOUVER - John Alleyne is in a hurry. The artistic director of Ballet British Columbia comes loping into the studio late, and he's anxious to get to the rehearsal of The Faerie Queen, his newest ballet, which will be performed at the National Arts Centre Tuesday. With his mind on the Eastern Canadian tour, he's forgotten he's supposed to do yet another interview about this work that blends the traditional trappings of a classical ballet -- snippets of Henry Purcell's 17th century "semi-opera" The Fairy Queen and the plot of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream -- with his own contemporary vocabulary. Although he'd much rather make dance than talk about it, Alleyne quickly whips off his black baseball cap, and agrees to discuss the ballet over his morning coffee, bagel, and cigarette. Given the rave reviews the company earned for Faerie Queen -- the Vancouver Sun praised its "unparalleled newness and beauty" when it premiered in November -- only a fool would turn down another chance to talk about a hit. And Alleyne, 41, has a well-deserved reputation as one of the savviest directors in the business. He took the fledgling Ballet British Columbia from the brink of bankruptcy in 1991, to its present status as an innovative company that boasts one of the most exciting repertoires in North America.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><a dead link[This message has been edited by Marie (edited November 05, 2001).]

Marie · **Posted:** Tue Feb 06, 2001 5:47 pm

Schachte as Hermia and Woffinden as Demetrius in the Ballet British Columbia production of The Faerie Queen. From the Vancouver Sun, 06/02/01: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Ballet BC takes Faerie Queen to Ottawa for start of tourBallet British Columbia is in Ottawa today to kick off a month-long Canadian tour. The company's single performance of The Faerie Queen, an avant-garde retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream, has created a stir in the dance-savvy capital. This evening's performance in the 2,200-seat opera house of the National Arts Centre is sold out. Ballet BC's executive director Kevin Meyers was elated at reports from Ottawa that American presenters and agents had confirmed they will be attending the performance. "We have a number of very influential Canadian and American presenters coming to see us perform," Meyers said Monday, before leaving to join the company in Ottawa. "Their ability to assist us in developing more ambitious touring plans in the coming months will be extremely important. I think the show in Ottawa is going to be quite a do." From Ottawa, the tour moves to St. Catharines, Ont.; Wolfville, N.S.; Stephenville, Labrador City, Grand Falls and St. John's, Nfld.; Saint John and Moncton, N.B.; and Quebec City, ending with a stop south of the border, in Albany, N.Y.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> dead link [This message has been edited by Marie (edited November 05, 2001).]

Marie · **Posted:** Sat Feb 10, 2001 2:37 pm

From the Ottawa Citizen, 08/02/01: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Dance review: Faerie Queen a bit solemn Dance version a no-frills take on famous fairy taleBallet B.C.'s The Faerie Queen, a spare and somewhat solemn version of A Midsummer Night's Dream performed Feb. 6 at the National Arts Centre, opens with a formidable, almost Amazonian female Puck and closes with her, too. What transpires in between is still, the day after, something of a mystery: a success, certainly, as dance; somewhat less so as drama.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> dead link [This message has been edited by Marie (edited November 05, 2001).]

Marie · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2001 11:32 am

Michael Scott - The Vancover Sun, 05/10/01: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Ballet B.C. ends stirring season with showcase of female energyThe program's three headliners are all women: Margie Gillis, perennial hair goddess of Canadian modern dance; Evelyn Hart, Canada's great romantic ballet heroine, and Emily Molnar, Ballet B.C.'s own avenging angel.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>[This message has been edited by Marie (edited May 12, 2001).]

Marie · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2001 11:35 am

Margie Gillis, Emily Molnar and Evelyn Hart perform in Ballet BC & Friends.Vancouver Courier, 05/10/01: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Girl powerBallet maniacs won’t want to miss Ballet BC’s upcoming event at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre May 10-12 when Canada’s top flight dancers appear on one stage.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>more... [This message has been edited by Marie (edited May 10, 2001).]

Azlan · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2001 4:12 pm

It looks like the BBC is continuing their trend of cutting edge works. When I saw them last, they performed a William Forsythe piece (the one with the dancer reading text from behind a window, the non-moving dancer and a small tree) that had most of the audience scratching their heads.

Guest · **Posted:** Sat May 12, 2001 7:28 am

Michael Scott - Vancouver Sun, 05/12/01: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Dance turns longing into motionThe talent of Ballet B.C. meshes wonderfully with Quebec choreographer Dominique Dumais' The Weight of Absence, which translates a troubled heart into gorgeous gravity-defying movementAnd, oh, what movement Dumais creates to trouble our hearts. This is about bodies dancing in the fullest sense of the word, often airborne, and every part of the body engaged and striving outwards. Movement ripples up and through the dancers, a kind of fluttering and furling, like knots beings shaken out of a ribbon. Shoulders swivel, and arms fly skyward with the same propulsiveness that legs use to push the earth away. The result is a burst of energy, almost free of gravity, winking through the darkness like a pulsar.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> dead link [This message has been edited by Marie (edited November 05, 2001).]

Azlan · **Posted:** Sun May 13, 2001 8:07 am

Ah, but, Dirk, how did the audience react?

Azlan · **Posted:** Sun May 13, 2001 9:10 am

Dirk, I understand what you mean about audience sophistication. Here in the SF Bay Area, we see a whole range. Check out the review of Smuin by Rachel Howard in this thread: <a href=../../../ubb/Forum4/HTML/000767.html target=_blank>Smuin Ballets/SF - 'Dancin' with Gershwin'</a>She starts out by making note of the typical Smuin audience. I bet you don't have this type of breed in Vancouver.

Marie · **Posted:** Wed May 23, 2001 7:23 am

Lindsay Nielsen, The Peak, 05/22/01: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Ballet BC's eclectic program a delight to the eyesBallet BC's most recent achievement proved to be an eclectic evening of dance with guest artists Margie Gillis and Evelyn Hart performing with the 15-year-old company.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>more...

Marie · **Posted:** Thu Oct 11, 2001 5:34 am

The Globe & Mail, 10.10.01: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>More shows postponed in wake of U.S. attacksPerformances of The Faerie Queen by Ballet British Columbia scheduled for Toronto and Brantford, Ont. These are now being rescheduled to the spring or fall of 2001.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>more...[This message has been edited by Marie (edited October 11, 2001).]

Marie · **Posted:** Mon Nov 05, 2001 8:23 am

<img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/images/ballet-bc_faerie-queen.jpg" alt="" />

Nanaimo News Bulletin, 10.29.01:

Quote:

New life breathed into Faerie Queen

. . .expect imaginative sets, gorgeous costumes and spectacular lighting – all to accompany Ballet British Columbia’s The Faerie Queen.

[dead link]

[ 10-24-2002, 06:56: Message edited by: Marie ]

trina · **Posted:** Tue Nov 06, 2001 7:15 pm

To Dirk or any of our other BC, Canada friends. I was in lovely Vancouver last weekend and noticed a neat poster for the upcoming (this weekend?)fall season of Ballet BC. There will apparently be a premiere of a new "contemporary" version of Petrouchka. By a woman choreographer (French Canadian, I believe) whose name escapes me....Dominique something, I believe. Anyone know anything about this? Sadly, I missed out on this, as we were there the weekend before the premiere. First I miss Twyla in Seattle, then Ballet BC...waaaaaaaaaaaaahhh![This message has been edited by trina (edited November 06, 2001).]

trina · **Posted:** Tue Nov 06, 2001 7:15 pm

There were some other repertory; I'm not clear if this Petrouchka is a full length, story ballet. But there was other rep listed on the poster, one piece by John Alleyne, among others. [This message has been edited by trina (edited November 06, 2001).]

Marie · **Posted:** Wed Nov 07, 2001 6:03 am

D. DumaisDominique Dumias is the choreographer, it's a world premiere. I haven't heard anything else about this ballet. Here's a bio on Dumais by Katherine Cornell: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Damsel Dumais Is In No Distress Hardly in a hole, Canadian choreographer Dominique Dumais says she fell into her role. Though she has created pieces for ballet, modern and jazz companies including Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Toronto Dance Theatre, the National Ballet of Canada and the Alberta Ballet, Dumais has no preference of genre. . .<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> more...(Dumais was born in the Lac St. Jean region of Quebec, which is where my partner, who is a composer is from. There seems to be a lot of creativity there, must be something in the water)


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