Ballet BC begins its 2014–15 season with No. 29 – a program marking the company’s 29th season and 29th new creation under the artistic leadership of Emily Molnar. No. 29 features the World Premiere of White Act by Spanish-born choreographerFernando Hernando Magadan, the Ballet BC premiere of An Instant by Vancouver-born choreographer Lesley Telford and the reprisal of the explosive audience favourite A.U.R.A. by Italy’s Jacopo Godani.
“Dance has the power to transform a room, a person, a way of seeing things. With this program we will have commissioned 29 new works over the past five years by dance makers from around the world.” says Ballet BC Artistic Director Emily Molnar. “No. 29 is an evening that will showcase a dynamic and versatile range of dance while offering an engaging experience for audiences. It will grab you, excite you and challenge your ideas of ballet.”
Set to a dynamic electronic acoustic score by German duo 48nord, A.U.R.A. is a sleek and startling in its relentless intensity, showcasing Jacopo Godani’s explosive and kinetic style. “I have a small obsession,” he says, “to get dancers to take their bodies and brains farther.” In his unique world, the dancers “move with raw physical strength … the resulting tableaux [are] stunning.” The provocative nature of A.U.R.A., combined with its virtuosic physicality, proved highly successful with audiences and critics in Vancouver and abroad.
Fernando Hernando Magadan is a thrilling new voice in choreography and his new work, White Act is inspired by La Sylphide – one of the oldest surviving Romantic ballets. White Act “explores the idea of the unattainable and the dream of inaccessible ideas – our inherent temptation for the unknown, our intent to embody the supernatural through the human form, and our insatiable desire to find true love, sometimes with dramatic consequences” says Magadan. Ballet BC is the first ballet company in Canada to commission Magadan’s work.
Inspired by Wislawa Szymborska’s poem Could Have, Vancouver-born choreographer and dancer Lesley Telford investigates “… the moment you wake up when chance, circumstance, and unpredictability interrupt our planned lives. A critical moment may shift our direction in a split second.” Set to Weather by composer Michael Gordon, An Instant is beautifully poignant in its exploration of the fragile balance and illusion of life’s stability.
No. 29 plays the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at 8:00pm November 6-8, 2014. Tickets range from $30.00 to $80.00 (including service charges) and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-2787 (855-985-ARTS) or online at ticketmaster.ca.
