A night of commemorating Truth and Reconciliation through ballet is coming to the Port Theatre in Nanaimo, B.C.
On April 4 and 5 the Port Theatre will host Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation at 7:30 p.m.
The ballet is the first major artistic project to come out of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The show, choreographed by Mark Godden, honours the survivors of the residential school system while examining the pains and atrocities of Canada’s past.
According to a press release by the Port Theatre, performance art is an engaging tool to both access difficult memories and to help us understand the past.
“I think stories, I think novels, I think film, I think dance, I think painting, all of this allows Canadians to absorb not just the pain and the anger but the beauty as well,” says award- winning Métis novelist, and writer of Going Home Star, Joseph Boyden.
A pre-show chat will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the theatre before the performances.
Royal Winnipeg Ballet artistic director, André Lewis and Shelagh Rogers, CBC Radio host and TRC Honorary Witness will explore the making of Going Home Star and the importance of this ballet in the context of Truth and Reconciliation.
“The story is so difficult to fully convey in words… I believe this ballet is a wonderful way to tell it,” said Rogers.
Tickets for adults are $60 or $54 for members. Call 250-754-8550 or visit www.porttheatre.com for tickets.
