An en pointe knife fight and audience participation aren’t what most people expect at a ballet performance.
But Ballet Victoria isn’t your ordinary dance troupe. Under the guidance of artistic director Paul Destrooper, the company is reinventing the ancient art form.
From the fiery and passionate Carmen to music by Leonard Cohen and k.d. lang, Ballet Victoria will present an innovative blend of classic, contemporary and modern dance at the Sid Williams Theatre on March 15.
“The production is suitable for people who have never seen ballet before, yet will also appeal to experienced viewers who will appreciate the technical precision and dramatic ability of the dancers,” says Destrooper. “My goal is to create an emotional connection with the audience, to keep them engaged. No daydreaming allowed.”
As for audience participation, no one’s going to be invited onstage. But Destrooper is asking people to collaborate in a Tweet and Dance improvisation. People can tweet a noun and action on their cell phones and the words will be displayed on a screen. The dancers will execute short, improvised sequences of movement using these directions to music chosen randomly from Destrooper’s iTune library.
“No one has done this before,” notes Destrooper. “It’s a real switch from people being told to turn off their cell phones at the theatre. I encourage everyone to come up with creative and provocative Tweets — just remember they must be G-rated.”
To take part in the Tweet and Dance, sign up ahead of time at twitter.com/balletvictoria.
Founded in 2002, Ballet Victoria has developed into a first-class professional arts organization that has received accolades in national and international media. Destrooper, who became artistic director in 2007, has choreographed more than 25 works and three full-length ballets which have been performed in Canada, the U.S.A. and Japan.
His choreography focuses on ballet as an “art of light,” which has dancers perform classical ballet lines with more contemporary movement.
“I don’t just want them to do a movement,” he explains. “I want them to do one that matches the musicality of the music. The arms, legs and palms must always catch the light, not break it.”
“A lot of contemporary ballet likes to show the work and exhaustion of the dancers,” he adds. “I like to go the other way — to make a fast movement look easy — to transform the movement into a liquid fluidity that conveys emotion to the audience.”
The program opens with excerpts from Swan Lake showcasing the White Swan pas de deux with Prince Siegfried. There will also be a new work by Shawn Housell, as well as a piece by Royal Winnipeg Ballet choreographer Bruce Monk to three songs of Leonard Cohen’s. The show includes a solo dance performed to Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.
The second half of the performance features Carmen. While the operatic version romanticizes the beautiful gypsy, Destrooper chose to align her character more closely with the book.
“Carmen is a complete sociopath with no redeeming qualities whatsoever,” he says. “She is a hurricane of sensuality; she plays with men then abandons them. She’s beautiful but vicious. The only person she cares about is herself.”
Destrooper admits that choreographing the piece was challenging. “There is only one act, so the performers have to develop their characters quickly,” he explains. “And there is a lot of action and a lot of strong dance en pointe. The performers really had to refine their acting abilities.”
Tickets, at $40, $35 for members and $10 for students and children, may be purchased at the theatre, online at www.sidwilliamstheatreare.com or by calling 250-338-2430.
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Paul Destrooper is donating his time to teach a ballet workshop to the Comox Valley and Campbell River ballet dance students to help them further develop their kraft. This was set up by the Sid Williams Theatre and is going to happen March 14 at Gemini Dance Studio while Ballet Victoria is in Courtenay rehearsing for Carmen.