Ballet BC closes its 2014-15 season with a program of two extraordinary World Premieres in RITE at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, May 7-9, 2015. This program in two parts is inspired by The Rite of Spring, the ballet and orchestral concert work that premiered in 1913 and is widely considered one of the most influential, and revolutionary, works to shape 20th century art with its bold venturing. These interdisciplinary World Premieres offer new perspectives on design, music and dance.

Choreographer Emily Molnar, Ballet BC’s Artistic Director, collaborates with Omer Arbel, an internationally renowned Vancouver-based designer and Creative Director of Bocci, and recent recipient of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Allied Arts Medal for 2015, alongside Jeremy Schmidt, a member of the band Black Mountain and “Vancouver’s godfather of contemporary space rock”. Molnar’s choreography, combined with Arbel’s set design and Schmidt’s original score, create a hallucinatory, otherworldly homage toThe Rite of Spring. Molnar’s vision to challenge traditional choreographic thinking, together with Arbel’s innovative sense of space and Schmidt’s cosmic exploration of sound, will offer a new way to perceive and discover the unconscious.

The dynamic work of Spanish choreographer Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, featuring set design by Luis Crespo, is a full-company reimaging of The Rite of Spring set to Igor Stravinsky’s complete orchestral score, with a 21st century perspective that explores “…universal awakening.” As Sansano says, “rather than telling a story I am more interested in dance as an expansion of feeling and emotion…an expression of something that is universal and personal at the same time.” Former Artistic Director of the Luna Negra Dance Theater, Sansano has created work for Compañia Nacional de Danza, Hamburg Ballet, Budapest Dance Theatre and the Netherlands Dance Theater, among others. He recently created Lost and Seek, which had its World Premiere with Ballet BC in April 2014.

Molnar describes RITE as an opportunity to provide “a collaborative platform for artists of different disciplines to come together.” She says, “RITE will be a riveting evening that offers a new perspective on dance, music and design through an investigation of the spirit embodied in the experimentation and innovation of a significant period of history that modernized music and ballet. In researching The Rite of Spring as a starting point for this evening, it has been fascinating to draw inspiration from a work of such historic importance and impact.”

RITE runs for three performances at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, May 7-9, 2015 with shows nightly at 8:00pm. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-2787 (855-985-ARTS) or online at ticketmaster.ca and range in price from $30 to $80 (including GST and service charges).