Simone Orlando, Ballet Kelowna’s Artistic Director and CEO, announced the Company’s 2015/16 Season, which promises to deliver an electrifying year of dance to the Okanagan.
Highlights of the season include five world premieres by renowned Canadian choreographers Matjash Mrozewski, Heather Myers, Joshua Beamish, Simone Orlando, and Robert Binet, a special guest appearance by artists from The National Ballet of Canada (NBoC), and an add-on performance of Going Home Star—Truth and Reconciliation presented by Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB).
“I am thrilled to present a diverse range of programming with ballets and new works designed to inspire and engage our Kelowna audiences,” said Orlando. “In addition to welcoming more of Canada’s leading choreographers and finest dancers to Kelowna, we are honoured to collaborate with Continuum Contemporary Music to present a full evening of live dance and music for our season finale performances.”
The 2015/16 season will begin by capturing the magic and wonder of the holiday season with The Nutcracker, Dec. 11-13, 2015. Presented by The Canadian School of Ballet, and featuring the artistry of Ballet Kelowna’s company of dancers, this magical adventure will captivate audiences of all ages, transporting them on an unforgettable journey. Set to Tchaikovsky’s memorable score, Kelowna’s striking dancers will bring E.T.A. Hoffmann’s heart-warming story to new heights with sparkling costumes, lavish sets, and beautifully choreographed scenes.
Ballet Kelowna will then present its newest medley of vibrant dance in Boundless, Feb. 5-6, 2016, a mixed repertory programme bursting with the themes of youth and love.
Internationally renowned choreographer and former National Ballet of Canada dancer Matjash Mrozewski, will partner with lauded Canadian composer Owen Belton to create a potent new work that will tackle an issue relevant to today’s youth.
Ballet Kelowna will partner with the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club and UBC Okanagan, to bring local youth into the creative process of the piece. Glas, by multiple award-winning choreographer Gabrielle Lamb, is an expertly crafted work inspired by the relentless river flow. In Studies of Cash, choreographed by Simone Orlando, the company will pay tribute to country legend Johnny Cash with dance set to a heartrending mix of Cash recordings. Kelowna’s-own Joshua Beamish will transport audiences to Renaissance Verona with his fresh, classical interpretation of the balcony pas-de-deux between Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Up next, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet returns to Kelowna with its highly acclaimed production, Going Home Star—Truth and Reconciliation, March 29-30, 2016, a deeply moving ballet that represents the many stories, both told and untold, by survivors of the Indian residential school system. Going Home Star—Truth and Reconciliation is choreographed by Mark Godden (Angels In The Architecture, Dracula), in collaboration with acclaimed author Joseph Boyden (The Orenda, Three Day Road), associate producer Tina Keeper and with the guidance of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and members of the Aboriginal community. Ballet Kelowna subscribers will enjoy a subscriber-only discount on tickets to the ballet, which the CBC calls “the most important dance [ever] mounted by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.”
“We are extremely proud and honoured to be able to present Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation in Kelowna,” shares André Lewis, Artistic Director of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet. “This production was a labour of love and passion for the Company and we were fortunate enough to work with some of Canada’s greatest creative talents. We hope this work would be able to initiate dialogues and to gain recognition of this part of our nation’s history.”
The season will close with the unveiling of a collaboration between Ballet Kelowna and Toronto’s Continuum Contemporary Music. Renaissance, April 29-30, 2016, is a mixed programme inspired by early music, and will feature three world premieres and include a special guest appearance by rising stars from The National Ballet of Canada.
Continuum Contemporary Music has been a vital part of the contemporary cultural scene in Canada and abroad for 31 years, and will accompany each of the pieces in Renaissance.
The program will include world premieres by Simone Orlando and Heather Myers.
James Kudelka’s Byrd Music, back by popular demand, will highlight the choreographer’s mastery of innovation and the athleticism and emotion of the company of artists. Acclaimed Canadian choreographer John Alleyne’s neo-classical quartet Split House Geometric is a vigorous, precision-perfect work with poetic moments of contemporary ballet juxtaposed with sharp, staccato movements. Guest artists Hannah Fischer and Ethan Watts from The National Ballet of Canada will perform a new duet by NBoC’s Choreographic Associate, Robert Binet.
The 2015/16 Season will also see the return of Launch—a special, one-hour informal showing, presented by Ballet Kelowna on Oct. 28, 2015 at the Mary Irwin Theatre in the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna. Launch will preview new work from Ballet Kelowna’s 2015/16 Season and provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the Company’s daily training and rehearsals, as well as the choreographic process.
Hosted by AD/CEO Simone Orlando, Launch invites both new and long-time Company supporters to interact with the dancers during a live creative process.
“We want to share how we create new movement,” says Orlando. “The audience will witness a new piece come together right before their eyes.”
Ballet Kelowna’s 2015/16 Season
THE NUTCRACKER
Presented by The Canadian School of Ballet with Ballet Kelowna
Staging by Carley Bailey and Regeanna Stubel with additional new choreography by Simone Orlando
Music: Pyotr IIyich Tchaikovsky
December 11, 2015 @ 7:30 PM
December 12, 2015 @ 2:00PM
December 12, 2015 @ 7:30PM
December 13, 2015 @ 2:00PM
December 13, 2015 @ 7:30PM
BOUNDLESS
Featuring Ballet Kelowna
Choreography: Matjash Mrozewski, Gabrielle Lamb, Simone Orlando and Joshua Beamish
Music: Owen Belton, Andrew Bird, Johnny Cash and Sergei Prokofiev
Friday, February 5, 2016 @ 7:30 PM
Saturday, February 6, 2016 @ 7:30 PM
Two World Premieres and Two Company Premieres
RENAISSANCE
Featuring Ballet Kelowna and Continuum Contemporary Music with special guest artists from The National Ballet of Canada
Choreography: Simone Orlando, Heather Myers, James Kudelka, John Alleyne and Robert Binet
Music: Jocelyn Morlock, Michael Oesterle, Rodney Sharman and Arvo Pärt
Friday, April 29, 2016 @ 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 30, 2016 @ 7:30 PM
Three World Premieres and a Company Premiere
Add-On Performance:
Going Home Star—Truth and Reconciliation
Presented by Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Choreography: Mark Godden
Composer: Christos Hatzis
Featuring the music of: Tanya Tagaq, Steve Wood and The Northern Cree Singers, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Tuesday, March 29, 2016 @ 7:30 PM
Wednesday, March 30, 2016 @ 7:30 PM
SEASON TICKETS GO ON SALE SEPT. 1, and can be purchased online at balletkelowna.ca, by phone at 250.862.2867 or in person at Kelowna Tickets in Orchard Park Shopping Centre, 2271 Harvey Avenue.
