Celebrating 20th season of dance
Ballet Kelowna’s 20th season will highlight the company’s efforts to provide opportunities for the next generation of Canadian choreographers and dance artists.
Simone Orlando, Ballet Kelowna’s artistic director and CEO, said there have been triumphs and hurdles since the company’s first performance on Nov. 2, 2003.
“But we have remained devoted to our mandate to encourage, promote, and develop Canadian dance artists,” said Orlando.
“The organization has commissioned 60 works by 24 contemporary choreographers and employed 68 dancers, the majority of whom began their professional careers with Ballet Kelowna. For the 2022/23 season, we continue to build on our 20-year history of creating art right here in our community through unveiling four world premieres and showcasing several works created during the pandemic.”
It’s the only professional dance company in B.C.’s Interior.
Ballet Kelowna announced the appointment of Cameron Fraser-Monroe as its first artist in residence and will feature his work throughout the season.
A member of the Tla’amin First Nation, as well as being of Ukrainian and Scottish descent, Fraser-Monroe began his dance training in Vernon. A graduate of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, he has danced professionally with numerous companies, including Red Sky Performance, Dancers of Damelahamid, and Atlantic Ballet Theatre. As a choreographer, FraserMonroe has received commissions from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Summer Dance Collective, and both PULSE and Indigenous Day Live on ATPN, among others.
“I am honoured to join Ballet Kelowna as their first artist in residence,” said Fraser-Monroe. “Ballet Kelowna’s commitment to providing space for empowered Indigenous storytelling is unprecedented, and I look forward to crafting narratives for stage in a longer format.”
The season starts with the Pop-Up Series: Dance by the Lake from Aug. 24-27 at Kelowna’s City Park Jubilee Grandstands. The event offers free dance classes, demonstrations, and open viewing of company class and rehearsal. It culminates with an evening performance on Aug. 27 as part of the Kelowna Made Festival.
With Aspirations, Nov. 4, 5 at the Kelowna Community Theatre, Ballet Kelowna will present a lineup of works. Fraser-Monroe brings his classical ballet training, knowledge of traditional Coast Salish, Grass, and Hoop Dance, and experience as a contemporary dancer to taqəš (tawKESH), which means “to return something” in Ayajuthem, the language belonging to the Homalco, Klahoose, K’omoks and Tla’amin Nations. Set to several songs by Polaris Prize-winning composer and singer Jeremy Dutcher, taqəš follows the traditional story “Raven Returns the Water,” centred around ῤoho (raven) and walθ (frog).
National Ballet of Canada choreographic associate Guillaume Côté brings strength and fragility to a fascinating interpretation of the beloved “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel, one of music’s most famous and identifiable melodies. Bolero features breath-taking lifts and virtuosic choreography. Following the success of his debut work Celestial Mechanics, award-winning choreographer Robert Stephen returns to create a classically-based ensemble piece infused with contemporary influences.
The second mixed program, Reflections, Feb. 17 and 18, 2023, is a powerful mix of thought-provoking pieces. The program opens with the world premiere of ʔɛmaxʷiygə (ehmaxweega) by Fraser-Monroe, a work that explores the world-sense behind this Ayajuthem word, which means “there is no goodbye, only until we meet again.”
Fraser-Monroe’s new quartet portrays a family’s journey of love and optimism following the passing of a loved one. Multifaceted artist and award-winning choreographer Esie Mensah is committed to guiding artists through understanding depth and intention through narrative, encouraging a critical decolonization of the mind to unlock new possibilities. This will be Mensah’s first creation for Ballet Kelowna. John Alleyne’s Split House Geometric, a vigorous, precision-perfect work set to Arvo Pärt’s Fratres was first created for The National Ballet of Canada. Poetic moments of pure contemporary ballet are juxtaposed with staccato movements with bodies creating geometric shapes to brilliant effect. Seiji Suzuki’s Stolen Tide is an entreaty to cherish every moment spent with family, friends, and partners. Highlighting the importance of social connection, the fast-paced opening movement is a live study of the impact of a traumatic event, while conflict and discord give way to compassion and empathy in the touching and eloquent second movement.
The season culminates with Transformations, May 5 and 6, 2023. With a focus on embodied sensation, Kirsten Wicklund applies a humanistic perspective to her relationship with classical vocabulary and form in Disembark, a layered study of contrasts. Reflecting on a world disrupted, the dramatic intensity of Disembark is further amplified by cinematic lighting, which creates an otherworldly atmosphere to highlight Wicklund’s expansive movement.
Cameron Fraser-Monroe’s final work of the season explores the dichotomy between “Cowboys and Indians” in this full-evening satirical romp to the Wild West with music by iskwē and Tom Wilson. While these caricatures have been portrayed on pages, stages, and in films, they are often penned from a colonial perspective. Fraser-Monroe’s intuitive take on the swashbuckling strut of the Cowboy informs this intellectual unpacking of a one-sided lens and flips the script to ask, what happens when an Indian directs the Cowboys through their history?
Season subscriptions are now available and can be purchased online at theatre.kelowna.ca, by phone at 250-469-8940, or in person at the Kelowna Community Theatre. There are also single tickets available at different prices. Single tickets go on sale Sept. 12.