Dance Victoria Footnotes 54 (Spring 2017)

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ISSUE 54 • SPRING 2017 • Alonzo King LINES Ballet + Les Grands Ballets Canadiens + 2017/18 Season + more…

Dance at the Royal

Alonzo King LINES Ballet Featuring Sand

March 10 + 11 • Fri + Sat • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes (incl. 20-minute intermission) Presenting Sponsors

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal Ohad Naharin’s Minus One

April 7 + 8 • Fri + Sat • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Running Time: 85 minutes (Note: There is no intermission for this performance)

Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancer Shuaib Elhassan. Photo © RJ Muna

Presenting Sponsors

Introducing the 2017/18 Season Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Returns to the Royal Theatre!

, Videos + s o phot fo more in eb w on the

2 Footnotes • Issue 54 • Spring 2017 • Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary Season

Dance Victoria Board: President

Susan Howard

Vice President René Peloquin Treasurer

Regan McGrath

Secretary

Nikki Sieben

Directors

Mariann Burka Kristen Kitchen Kari McLay Lynda Raino

Staff: Executive Producer

Stephen White

General Manager

Bernard Sauvé

Operations Manager

Shireen McNeilage

Marketing Manager

Tracy Smith

Production Manager

Holly Vivian

Graphic Design

Rayola Creative

Advertising Sales

Bonnie Light

Trips Coordinator

Bill Hamar

If you’d like to volunteer for Dance Victoria please call 250-595-1829 Studios and Office: 111 – 2750 Quadra Street Victoria, BC V8T 4E8 250-595-1829 DanceVictoria.com for trailers, tickets and more information Footnotes is written by Stephen White and Tracy Smith.

Dance Seen “I don’t know nuthin’ ‘bout birthin’ babies”

BY STEPHEN WHITE

BUTTERFLY MCQUEEN MAY HAVE UTTERED these famous words in the classic movie Gone With the Wind, but I swear I live them every year. Developing a whole new season is a bit like birthin’ babies, or at least, that’s how it feels. I am very fortunate that I have an excellent mid-wife (or should that be midperson?) in Bernard Sauvé, Dance Victoria’s General Manager.

Bernard comes from a life in dance and we share a similar appreciation and aesthetic. We program together.

To be totally honest, developing a dance season has a longer gestation period than a baby requires. I’d say it’s more akin to an elephant’s experience.

First up, about 18 months out, we negotiate with the opera and the symphony to secure weekend dates in the Royal Theatre. With these in hand, we start casting around — talking to agents, attending festivals and showcases, speaking to colleagues, contacting companies …

“Any chance you might be on or near the west coast in February 2019? Please? Please, PLEASE?” Then there is the blending and balancing of the season — a little contemporary, a touch of ballet, diverse voices — challenging works that are also satisfying. Add to this our guarantee that we bring the “World’s Best Dance.”

It’s a tall order.

“There are days in the deep There are days in the deep autumn when dusk begins to autumn when…it just seems gather at 3:30 in the afternoon and the air grows chilly, so bleak.” when I stop to consider where we are in our planning cycle compared to where we should be, it just seems so bleak. When another fantastic company drops off the table because Seattle has decided against presenting them, or there is no dance organization in Vancouver with which to partner. On these gloomy, frosty days I may say to Bernard, (an edge of desperation in my voice), “I don’t know what the hell we’re going to do…”

Bernard, inhales deeply, he hesitates, thinking before answering. And then he says, “Me neither.

It’s bad!” It’s about that time that I think to myself, “Why did I ever quit my job at Pagliacci’s?”

But like Ms. McQueen, no matter how you feel about birthin’ babies, the advent of the season announcement is unavoidable and there’s no way you can stop it. The baby’s comin’. It’s a force of nature! And more often than not, (thankfully) you discover what you need to get the job done.

It’s instinctive. Solutions and great opportunities present themselves.

I am happy (and relieved) to say they presented in a big way for 2017/18, and Ms. McQueen you’d be very proud of the baby we birthed at Dance Victoria. Like every proud parent, we’re calling it the best ever — it’s intelligent, agile and beautiful. FN

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Jacqueline Green and Jamar Roberts. Photo © Andrew Eccles

Now in its 20th Season, Dance Victoria, a non-profit charitable society, brings the World’s Best Dance to the Royal Theatre and supports the development of new dance for the international stage from its studios in Quadra Village.

DanceVictoria.com

DanceVictoria.com • 3

2017/18 The World’s Best Dance LIGHTS TO BLACK. Drum roll please. Crash of cymbals, cue the balloon drop …TA DA! Our 21st season: Breathtaking!

In November 2017, we kick off with the gorgeous Aspen Santa Fe Ballet in a program of mixed repertoire that includes pieces by Spain’s Cayetano Soto and Alejandro Cerrudo, and Finland’s Jorma Elo. This company of 11 classically trained dancers has technique and artistry to burn.

In early January, at the McPherson Playhouse, we’re proud to share a special presentation for one night only: Dancers of Damelahamid’s Flicker. Vancouver’s Westender newspaper called this magical piece “Part live-action, shadow dance, powwow, coastal dance, contemporary indigenous dance, multi-media projections and west coast graphic design…” It’s stunning.

ODC/Dance returns to Victoria from San Francisco with a powerful program that includes Dead Reckoning exploring the anxiety, indifference and panic brought on by a world transformed and threatened by climate change. Renowned former Kronos Quartet cellist Joan Jeanrenaud composed the soundtrack and the work is beautifully realized.

Company Wayne McGregor brings 10 incredible dancers in March to perform Atomos. Britain’s McGregor is one of the world’s foremost contemporary choreographers. Atomos evokes an otherworldly sensation and (wait for it….) you’ll be provided with 3D glasses for a completely unique sensory experience!

Ballet Hispánico concludes our season with an eclectic evening of new works by three Latina choreographers that includes a fiery homage to flamenco and a deeply personal work entitled Catorce Dieciséis, by Mexico’s Tania Pérez-Salas set to a rich score of classical music and opera.

Alberta Ballet’s magical Nutcracker returns in early December, a holiday tradition that continues to create new memories every year.

Subscribers enjoy discounts and best seats when they add this to their season package.

BUT OUR BIGGEST NEWS is the return of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for ONE NIGHT ONLY on May 1, 2018. Only Dance Victoria subscribers can buy Ailey before sales are opened to the general public in mid-November!

We’re very excited to present an eclectic program of the World’s Best Dance. You don’t want to miss it!

Stephen White, Executive Producer

Pre-Show Chats Presented by

Join us in the lobby of the Royal Theatre at 6:50 pm before Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal’s Friday and Saturday performances — a lively conversation about the evenings’ works hosted by Dr. Allana Lindgren, dance historian and Chair of the Theatre Department, University of Victoria.

Subscription Renewals Renew your subscription for Dance Victoria’s 2017/18 Season by 5:00pm, Saturday, March 25, if you want to retain or upgrade your current seats. Phone 250-386-6121 or visit the McPherson or Royal Box Office, Monday through Saturday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. (The Royal closes for lunch from 1:30 to 2 pm each day.) After March 25, your seats will be released and available to the general public.

If you did not receive your renewal form in the mail or at Alonzo King LINES Ballet (March 10 and 11), give us a call at the office at 250-595-1829. We’ll make sure you have all the information you need to renew.

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Announcing Dance Victoria’s 2017/18 Season

2017/18 Dance at the Royal Series ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET

CONTEMPORARY BALLET

November 17 + 18, 2017 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre 1st Flash Jorma Elo Silent Ghost Alejandro Cerrudo Huma Rojo Cayetano Soto “A happy tale of two cities. Virtuoso partnering in a repertoire rich in allusions and emotions.

A lively program worth watching.” J A C K A N D E R S O N , N E W Y O R K T I M E S

Now in its 20th year, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s repertoire resonates with energy, layering American athleticism on a base of European refinement. Featuring choreography by three leading dance-makers from Spain and Finland, this program showcases the technique and interpretive skills of the talented eleven-person ensemble.

ODC/DANCE COMPANY

MODERN

February 2 + 3, 2018 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre What we carry What we keep Brenda Way Dead Reckoning KT Nelson “An impressive company whose choreography is at once fluid and powerful, intricate and dynamic…not to be missed.” M E R L I V . G U E R R A , F J O R D R E V I E W

San Francisco’s ODC/Dance has stepped into the spotlight in recent years, touring extensively to impressive venues across the continent. This program of two works by the company’s co-artistic directors has substance and emotional texture combined with strong production values and even stronger dancers.

COMPANY WAYNE MCGREGOR

CONTEMPORARY

March 16 + 17, 2018 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Atomos Wayne McGregor “Simply extraordinary….McGregor’s choreographic curiosity hasn’t lost its power to thrill.” J U D I T H M A C K R E L L , T H E G U A R D I A N

Wayne McGregor CBE is one of the world’s leading contemporary choreographers; he is The Royal Ballet’s first Resident Choreographer and Company Wayne McGregor is Resident Company of Sadler’s Wells, London. Atomizing bodies, movement, film, sound and light into miniature shards of intense sensation, Atomos is performed in McGregor’s unique style — sculptural, rigorous, jarring and hauntingly beautiful.

BALLET HISPÁNICO

CONTEMPORARY

April 6 + 7, 2018 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Linea Recta Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Con Brazos Abiertos Michelle Manzaneles Catorce Dieciséis Tania Pérez- Salas “…real wow factor. Energetic, entertaining and always surprising, the company fuses the finest modern ballet with a fantastic Latino flair.” M A R I N A K E N N E D Y , B R O A D W A Y

WORLD

Three Latina choreographers from Colombia, Mexico and the US draw inspiration from flamenco, classical music and iconic Mexican symbols, bringing an eclectic program of contemporary dance to Victoria. * N O T E : T H I S P E R F O R M A N C E C O N T A I N S P A R T I A L N U D I T Y .

Aspen-Santa Fe Ballet – Company artists in 1st Flash. Photo © Rosalie O’Connor Photography. ODC/Dance – Company artists in Dead Reckoning. Photo © RJ Muna. Company Wayne McGregor – Company artists in Atomos. Photo © Ravi Deepres. Ballet Hispánico – Company artists in Linea Recta. Photo © Paula Lobo

Best seats. Best prices. The world’s best dance.

Alberta Ballet – The Company in The Nutcracker. Photo © Darren Makoivichuk. Dancers of Damelahamid – Jeanette Kotowich, Margaret Grenier, Raven Grenier in Flicker. Photo © Derek Dix Image & Design. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Jacqueline Green and Jamar Roberts. Photo © Andrew Eccles

Additional Special Presentations ALBERTA BALLET+ VICTORIA SYMPHONY

BALLET

December 1 + 2, 2017 • 7:30 pm December 2 + 3, 2017 • 2:00 pm Royal Theatre The Nutcracker Choreographed by Edmund Stripe | Composed by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky “There’s a magic and whimsy to it that bewitches the children in all of us.” G E O R G I A

STRAIGHT

Extravagant bejeweled sets and gorgeous costumes created by Emmy-Award winner Zack Brown create a ballet that looks like a wonderfully illustrated children’s book. Be transported back to 19th century Russia with the captivating magic of this beloved holiday classic.

DANCERS OF DAMELAHAMID

FIRST NATIONS CONTEMPORARY

Friday, January 19, 2018 • 7:30 pm • ONE NIGHT ONLY McPherson Playhouse Flicker Margaret Grenier Shortly after the potlatch ban was lifted in 1951, Ken and Margaret Harris founded Dancers of Damelahamid to preserve the Gitxsan peoples’ traditional songs and dances. Now, five decades later, the company is under the artistic direction of their daughter, Margaret Grenier, whose works redefine and characterize traditional practices to be accessible for new generations. Flicker incorporates multimedia technology in a story about a young man who discovers his potential.

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER CONTEMPORARY

Tuesday, May 1, 2018 • 8:00 pm • ONE NIGHT ONLY Royal Theatre Mixed Repertoire You don’t just see an Ailey performance, you feel it. Engage your emotions when Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns with contemporary works that touch on timely topics.

Only subscribers can buy Alvin Ailey before November 20, 2017!

SUBSCRIPTION PRICING Subscribers save up to $83 over regular prices.

It’s like seeing one show for free!

Add Dancers of Damelahamid / Alberta Ballet’s Nutcracker and pay subscriber prices. Only subscribers can buy Nutcracker before August 15.

Add Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for best seats!

HOW TO BUY In-person: Visit Royal or McPherson Box Offices, Monday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Phone: 250-386-6121 or toll free 1-888-717-6121 Online: DanceVictoria.com Prices include GST, credit card fees and ticket surcharges.

ADD NUTCRACKER @ SUBSCRIBER PRICING SUBSCRIBER PRICE

Loge Premium A B

299.00 269.00 249.00 192.00

ADULT

CHILD

95.75 84.50 77.75 64.00

84.50 75.50 69.50 57.00

MAIN FLOOR

BALCONY C B

B A B

B

PREMIUM

A

A C

B

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A

LOGE C

B

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STAGE

ADD DANCERS OF DAMELAHAMID @ SUBSCRIBER PRICING

A B

36.75 33.50

(MCPHERSON PLAYHOUSE)

ADD ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER (BEFORE IT SELLS OUT)!

Loge Premium A B C

199.00 179.00 159.00 99.00 75.00

MAIN FLOOR

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6 Footnotes • Issue 54 • Spring 2017 • Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary Season

An Interview with Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancer, Robb Beresford same time, to be true to our own ideas and feelings. In our work, we get to think of ourselves as more than the choreographer’s medium and ask: what is it that I want to say?

FN: Tell us what it is like to perform in the two works coming to Victoria: Shostakovich and Sand?

RB: I was lucky enough to be involved in the creation of these two works so there is something about performing them that feels more personal than dancing inherited repertoire. In a sense, the roles continue to get built with each performance, and as I was there for their beginnings, I’m fully invested. Both ballets are an opportunity to dance to some incredible, yet totally different music. Jason Moran and Charles Lloyd’s music for Sand generates a very poignant landscape to move through, while Shostakovich’s string quartets in Shostakovich invoke something daring in me.

FN: Where do you find inspiration?

Rob Beresford: At BV I had the chance to dance many of the roles from classical ballet that I’d measured myself against throughout my training, while at the same time identifying a passion for interpreting contemporary work and the creative process. I was beginning to understand what kind of artist I wanted to be and what kind of work I wanted to be doing. By the time the opportunity to dance with LINES came along, I’d been given a lot of time on stage, exposure to varied choreographic processes, and a sense of direction artistically.

FN: Why did you want to dance with Alonzo King LINES Ballet?

RB: I saw LINES for the first time when Dance Victoria brought the company to Victoria in 2012. The show made a massive impression on me. For one thing, the tabla playing of Zakir Hussein had me grooving in my seat, but I was also fascinated by how the dancers seemed to represent a single choreographic idea and, at the same time, their individualities. There was something magical about it all and I knew quickly that I wanted a closer look.

FN: What is it like being a dancer in LINES? How does King like to work with his dancers?

RB: Mr. King’s process strikes me as being as much about helping each dancer develop his/her voice as it is about making ballets. In the studio we are asked to learn choreography accurately and, at the

FN: What are you most looking forward to being back in Victoria?

RB: When I moved to Victoria in 2008, I quickly fell in love with life in the city and when it was time to go, saying goodbye to Trounce Alley, Cook Street Village, Dallas Road and the many, many people I’d come to love wasn’t easy. The chance to reconnect with these special people and places is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. FN

Help us Reach Our Goal WE’D LIKE TO THANK those of you that have supported Dance Victoria this season. We still have $20,000 left to raise before June 30 so that we can continue to bring the World’s Best Dance to Victoria. The low loonie (and Mr. Trump!) has had an impact as most international companies are paid in US dollars. Even with these challenges, we’re committed to bring you the world’s best. Can you help us cross the finish line? We truly appreciate the support. Feel free to give us a call at 250595-1829 if you want more information. Your donation will be acknowledged with a charitable tax receipt, in the Dance Victoria 2016/17 House Program, and in our hearts. Thank you.

Robb Beresford. Photo © Quinn B Wharton

Footnotes: Before joining Lines in 2013, you danced with Ballet Victoria. How did this experience provide you with a foundation, eventually leading you to audition for Alonzo King Lines Ballet?

RB: Music is my first source of inspiration. It was the reason I began dancing and the reason I dance still. I’m also very lucky to work with some incredibly talented and hard working people who show me on a daily basis how far and how deep we can go as artists. Observing my colleagues absorbed in their own artistic journeys is always a very powerful source of inspiration.

DanceVictoria.com • 7

Spring Raffle Proceeds from our raffle support the many artists whose projects are developed in our studios and then performed across the country and around the world. Tickets are now on sale. Call 250-595-1829 or order online at DanceVictoria.com.

The amazing prize packages include: • GRAND PRIZE: New York Dance Tour Spring 2018 5 nights in New York. Includes air, transfers, accommodation, daily breakfasts, events & tours (Value: $2,900)

Chrystal Dance Prize Winners In late November, the Dance Victoria Awards Committee reviewed several Chrystal Dance Prize (CDP) project proposals submitted by independent dance artists and selected two projects to support.

Meredith Kalaman, a 2015 CDP winner, received $16,000 to bring Femmes Fatales to the stage in Greater Vancouver and Berlin. She will be reunited with her team of two dancers and Berlin’s Gabi Beier in Spring 2017. The show will premiere at the Shadboldt Theatre in Burnaby and travel to the ada studio Berlin in August.

Vancouver dance artist, Arash Khakpour, will create a new duet with Swedish dance artist Emmalena Fredrickson in Victoria, Vancouver and Sweden. CDP is awarding close to $20,000 for this project. Khakpour was featured with his brother Aryo during Dance Days 2015 and 2017. FN

• PACKAGE 1: One-year membership at Victoria Athletic Club. Enjoy a rigorous workout or relax and socialize by the pool (Value: $1,000) • PACKAGE 2: Vancouver Get Away 2017 A night in Vancouver. Return Helijet flights, one night at the Listel Hotel, dinner at Forage, tickets to Ballet BC in November 2017 (Value: $1,579) • PACKAGE 3: “Beautiful You” Lifestyle Package Shopping spree at Tulipe Noire Lifestyle Boutique, basket of luxurious Beautycounter products, a professional hair services package by premiere hair salon Carreiro the Studio (Value: $1,650) Tickets are $10 each or a book of five for $40. With fewer than 2,000 printed, your odds are great, plus you’ll enjoy knowing you’re supporting Victoria’s vibrant dance community. The raffle will be drawn at Dance Victoria Studios at 2:00 pm on April 20, 2017.

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Arash Khakpour and Meredith Kalaman. Photo © Curtis Stodgell

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609 Dunedin St., Victoria BC V8T 2L7 250-590-2998 www.fastracprinting.com

8 Footnotes • Issue 54 • Spring 2017 • Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary Season

Dance Victoria Announces Inaugural Choreographic Lab and Writing Dance Lab July 17 through 29, 2017 Dance Victoria Studios

See Mr. Gaga for Free!

Exclusive Offer for Dance Victoria Subscribers Mr. Gaga Sunday, March 26 • 3:00 pm Cinecenta, Student Union Building, UVic

Still from Mr. Gaga. Photo © Gadi Dagon. Wen Wei Wang. Photo © Chris Randle

Dance Victoria is very happy to invite 100 of its subscribers to a free screening of the award-winning documentary Mr. Gaga. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens will be performing Naharin’s Minus One at the Royal on April 7 and 8. Artistic Director of the Batsheva Dance Company, Naharin is regarded as one of the most important choreographers in the world.

Meeting him at a critical turning point in his personal life, this spirited and insightful documentary will introduce you to a man with great artistic integrity and an extraordinary vision. Filmed over a period of eight years, director Tomer Heymann mixes intimate rehearsal footage with an extensive unseen archive and breathtaking dance sequences.

To receive your free tickets to the screening of Mr. Gaga, reply to rsvp@dancevictoria.com with the words “Going Gaga” in the subject line, or phone 250-595-1829. Please indicate if you would like one or two tickets.

Limit: two tickets per subscriber. Free tickets provided on a first-come firstserve basis.

Also at Cinecenta Dancer March 5 • 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm March 6 • 7:00 pm, 9:00 pm Cinecenta, Student Union Building, UVic Russian dancer Sergei Polunin took the dance world by storm and became the Royal Ballet’s youngest ever principal. At the peak of his success, aged 25, he walked away, driven to the brink of self-destruction by stardom — his talent more a burden than a gift.

Dance Victoria has engaged celebrated choreographer Wen Wei Wang to lead a two-week intensive for three choreographers and six dancers. All positions are paid.

Wen Wei will select dancers for a total company of six (three women and three men) from a series of auditions in Vancouver and Victoria.

A jury comprising Wen Wei, Dance Victoria’s Stephen White and Bernard Sauvé will select the three participating choreographers through an application process.

Each morning, Wen Wei will lead a 1.5 hour technique class, after which he will assign a task for the choreographers. The afternoons will be spent generating material to be critiqued by the group at the end of the day. If you’d like to learn more, contact Stephen White at producer@dancevictoria.com.

The lab will culminate with the presentation of the best works from the process for the public on Saturday, July 29 at Dance Victoria Studios.

Newcomers’ Dance Dance Victoria Studios is very pleased to welcome local dance instructor Joanne Cuffe who will be teaching a free weekly class for new Canadians.

Many have traditional dances that they are sharing with each other.