This May, Ballet BC, one of the world’s finest contemporary ballet ensembles, returns to Sadler’s Wells to present the UK and London premiere of a double bill by two exceptional choreographers – Canada’s Crystal Pite and Sweden’s Johan Inger – both have long associations with the Vancouver-based company.
Four-time Olivier award-winner Crystal Pite has reimagined her 2008 work Frontier for Ballet BC. Originally created for Nederlands Dans Theater, this new version has been created on a large scale for 24 dancers, including four dancers from the Rambert School in London.
Frontier is an enigmatic work portraying the invisible forces that move us, with mysterious, black-hooded shadow figures personifying our doubts and fear of the unknown. The “spine-tingling score” opens and closes with choral pieces by Eric Whitacre, bookending a meditation on human breath by Pite’s longtime collaborator, the Vancouver composer Owen Belton.
Pite says:
I liked the idea of unknown forces at work in our galaxy and in our universe and in our brains. How lovely or poetic is it that scientists even call it dark matter? I find that mystery very beautiful. As a creator, I find a pleasing parallel between what we don’t know about the universe and what we don’t know about consciousness. Creation for me is about venturing into unknown territory.
Johan Inger’s PASSING, commissioned by Ballet BC in 2023, takes audiences across a theatrical landscape of human emotion, embodied by a cast of 20 dancers. Bold and bright staging and costumes, elements of folk dance, hip hop and swing, are juxtaposed with the sense of loss and sadness which run through the piece. The “beautifully complex and captivating movement reveals human relationships in extreme times”, both for individuals and for social groups. PASSING is set to an original score by Amos Ben-Tal with selections from Erik Enocksson and Louis T. Hardin (aka Moondog).
Ballet BC’s artistic director, choreographer and former dancer, Medhi Walerski, says:
When I told our dancers ‘we are going to the UK and we’re going to open at Sadler’s Wells’ they were so excited. It’s a place that welcomes state-of-the-art companies so to be invited to perform there is pretty spectacular. I remember when I was touring the UK as a dancer the audiences were very enthusiastic. They have a deep knowledge of dance, they really appreciate it, and they have an opinion, it is refreshing to have feedback and hear people dare to say what they really think. With this tour, I can promise them they are going to see incredible dancers on stage and beautiful works by two of the greatest choreographers of our generation.
The Sadler’s Wells performances are the start of a seven-venue tour presented by Dance Consortium, a group of 22 large-scale venues whose mission is to engage people across the UK and Ireland with the very best international contemporary dance.
Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 May at 7.30pm
Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London
Tickets: +44 (0)20 7863 8000 / www.sadlerswells.com
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.