| Prepare to get Up Close and Personal with some Eternal Love Stories at Alberta Ballet next season.
The company, which will be temporarily using Calgary’s Vertigo Playhouse and Edmonton’s Timms Centre for the Arts while the Jubilee Auditoria undergo renovations in 2004 and 2005, previously announced an "Up Close and Personal" theme to go with those smaller venues.
Since then, a new official theme has emerged for next season’s lineup: Eternal Love Stories. Given that the programming includes Dangerous Liaisons, Vigil of Angels and Carmen and Other Works, it’s an obvious choice. (Sorry kids, no nutcracking until December 2005.)
Artistic director Jean Grand-Maître is the choreographer for all three productions and will be reproducing two works he originally created for European ballets. October’s season opener is the North American première of Dangerous Liaisons, a ballet based on the much-filmed Choderlos de Laclos novel about erotic predators, which Grand-Maître created for the National Norwegian Ballet in Oslo.
Vigil of Angels will follow in February. This Grand-Maître ballet, inspired by the Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire (remade by Hollywood as City of Angels), had a successful world première at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala Opera House.
Carmen & Other Works concludes the season next March. Grand-Maître’s story ballet about the gypsy temptress has already become a little gemstone of achievement for the company under this artistic director.
Although Alberta Ballet has increased its number of performances due to the smaller venues, tickets are still going to be hard to come by next year. For more information, call 245-4549.
DANCERS’ STUDIO WEST
Alberta Ballet won’t be the only dance company occupying the Playhouse next season. Dancers’ Studio West will be using the space again as well for some of the shows in its 2004 - 2005 season.
The company’s lineup of contemporary, inter-disciplinary fare includes September’s community dance party Bark Bark Meow Meow, January’s Moving Pictures Festival and February’s always edgy Explosions. Recent creations by visiting companies will include Toronto Dance Theatre’s Sly Verb, an offering by Winnipeg’s TRIP Dance and Running Wild by Vancouver’s Holy Body Tattoo. InTranzDance, the collective made up of Calgary-based choreographers Laurie Montemurro, Jason Stroh and Nicole Tritter, will conclude DSW’s season in late April.
There will be official announcements of all of next season’s local dance programming as part of the festivities for International Dance Day on April 29. The event, co-ordinated by Building Community in Calgary Dance, includes a morning press conference, a parade at Olympic Plaza and an evening performance at Dancers’ Studio West at 8 p.m.
For more information on DSW’s season call 244-0950. For details on International Dance Day, go to www.calgaryinternationaldanceday.netfirms.com |
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