UN/A, Ballet BC’s final production of the 2013/14 season at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre from April 24-26, 2014, features three remarkable World Premieres by gifted international choreographers.
“Gioconda, Cayetano and Gustavo are three innovative choreographers, who promise exhilarating works that will captivate our audiences,” says Ballet BC’s Artistic Director Emily Molnar. “They all have had international success, creating and staging works for major dance companies around the world. We are thrilled to include these new works as part of Ballet BC’s repertoire.”
Montreal choreographer Gioconda Barbuto, winner of the Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award in 1996, returns to Ballet BC with the World Premiere of a full-company commission with music by Gabriel Prokofiev. The success of TOUCH in 2011 for the Company’s 25th Anniversary program showcased her choreographic style, characterized by explosive physicality paired with a sense of wit and theatricality. Her dances are in the repertoire of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Alberta Ballet and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, among others.
The Chicago Sun Times has called Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, a new choreographic voice from Spain, “…highly original, starkly expressionistic…emotionally fierce, sensual…riveting from start to finish.” A rising star in the international dance world, Sansano was Artistic Director of the Chicago-based Luna Negra Dance Theater and has been the recipient of many choreographic awards. He has shared his unique dance vision with Compañia Nacional de Danza, the Hamburg Ballet, Budapest Dance Theater and Netherlands Dance Theatre II. Ballet BC is delighted to be the first dance company in Canada to commission a work by Sansano.
Spanish-born, choreographer Cayetano Soto is another vibrant new voice in 21st century contemporary ballet with “an abundance of originality” according to Dance Europe. Describing his unique dance vocabulary, Soto says, “To make choreography you have to be like an architect. I think you have to have a very strong structure [and know] what you want to talk about … What I feel, more and more, is that whatever is happening in my pieces is related to me … and what is happening in the moment.” His work is in the repertoire of major companies around the world, including Royal Ballet of Flanders, Stuttgart Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and Ballet Theater Munich.
Combining classical integrity with a contemporary sensibility, Ballet BC is a company of 18 talented dancers from Canada and around the world that is committed to the ballet of today. Solidly grounded in the rigour and artistry of classical ballet, with an emphasis on innovation and the immediacy of the 21st century, the company presents a distinct and diverse repertoire of the most sought-after Canadian and international contemporary ballet choreography.
Tickets for UN/A can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-2787 (855-985-ARTS) or online at ticketmaster.ca and range in price from $22.25 to $70.00 (plus service charges).
