Press Release: UK's Dance Consortium to present Canada's Ballet British Columbia in 2018

[Jan McNulty]

Dance Consortium presents

Ballet British Columbia 

Canada’s leading contemporary dance company 

 

The Vancouver-based company’s very first UK Tour 

 

Three works by three of the world’s most celebrated female choreographers

 

16+ a room by Ballet BC’s artistic director Emily Molnar; Solo Echo by Olivier award-winning Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Crystal Pite; Bill by Tel Aviv-based Sharon Eyal 

 

http://www.danceconsortium.com/touring/ballet-british-columbia/

 

Media release: Monday 9 October 2017 - Dance Consortium, a group of 19 large-scale venues with a shared passion for bringing the best international contemporary dance to the UK, announces details of its next tour for spring 2018. 

 

Ballet British Columbia, Canada’s leading contemporary dance company, kicks off its UK engagement at Sadler’s Wells in London on Tuesday 6 March. The tour heads to Brighton, Newcastle, Birmingham and Salford Quays and concludes in Bradford on Saturday 24 March. 

Founded in 1986, Ballet British Columbia has been under the artistic directorship of Emily Molnar since 2009. Molnar was recently appointed to the Order of Canada for her artistic leadership of the company and its contribution to advancing contemporary dance in Canada. The company’s only other UK engagement was two performances during International Dance Festival Birmingham 2016. 

Ballet British Columbia and its 18-strong dancer-workforce returns to the UK with the same evening of dance that wowed the festival audience in 2016. During the 2018 spring tour, the company makes its London debut as part of the six-venue engagement that presents work by three of the world’s most celebrated female choreographers: 16+ a room by Emily Molnar; Solo Echo by the globally renowned choreographer Crystal Pite; and Bill by Tel Aviv-based Sharon Eyal.  

Molnar’s 16+ a room is inspired by the work of Virginia Woolf, Jeannette Winterson and Emily Dickinson. Sparked with explosive, fast-paced choreography that pushes the dancers to their athletic and technical limits, 16+ a room displays Molnar’s unique choreographic language through a complex study of time, transition and stillness.

16+ a room received its world premiere for Ballet British Columbia in October 2013. Music is arranged and composed by Dirk P. Haubrich. Lighting design is by Jordan Tuinman with lighting direction by James Proudfoot and costumes by Kate Burrows. 

 

Vancouver-born Crystal Pite is a former dancer with Ballet British Columbia. Pite made her choreographic debut with the company in 1990 with Between the Bliss and Me. The success of the work allowed Pite to create additional pieces for Ballet British Columbia and since then she has created over 40 works for some of the world’s top dance companies. 

Inspired by two sonatas for cello and piano by Brahms and the poem ‘Lines for Winter’ by Mark Strand, Pite’s Solo Echo portrays a man coming to terms with himself at the end of his life as the choreographer explores recurring themes of acceptance and loss. 

Solo Echo received its world premiere in February 2012 (Nederlands Dans Theater) and its Canadian premiere in November 2015 (Ballet British Columbia). Lighting design is by Tom Visser, set design by Jay Gower Taylor and costume designs by Crystal Pite and Joke Visser. 

A Sadler’s Wells’ Associate Artist, Pite has won a number of prestigious awards including two Oliviers for Polaris in 2015 and Betroffenheit in 2017.

The final piece of the evening is Bill by Tel Aviv-based choreographer Sharon Eyal. Dancers showcase their extraordinary skills in synchronised ensemble sections and solos in the work created by Eyal with her long-time collaborators Gai Behar and Ori Lichtik.

Bill received its world premiere in May 2010 (Batsheva Dance Company) and its Canadian premiere in May 2016 (Ballet British Columbia). Original music and soundtrack design is by Ori Lichtik, lighting design is by Omer Sheizaf and costume design by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar. 

Eyal was born in Jerusalem and has enjoyed a long-standing affiliation with the Batsheva Dance Company. Eyal launched L-E-V with Gai Behar in 2013. Eyal is the Guest Artistic Director for the National Youth Dance Company and her work for the company will premiere at Sadler’s Wells in April 2018. 

Dance Consortium receives investment as a national portfolio organisation of Arts Council England. Ballet British Columbia is supported by Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council and Y.P Heung Foundation. 

-ENDS- 

Notes:
Dance Consortium presents Ballet British Columbia - UK TOUR 2018 #balletbc18

 

Tuesday 6 & Wednesday 7 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE 6th NOVEMBER) 
Sadler’s Wells, LONDON
Tickets: 020 7863 8000 // www.sadlerswells.com 

 

Friday 9 March at 7.30pm 
Brighton Dome, BRIGHTON 
Tickets: 01273 709709 // www.brightondome.org      

 

Tuesday 13 & Wednesday 14 March at 7.30pm (ON SALE 10th NOVEMBER)
Theatre Royal, NEWCASTLE 
Tickets: 08448 112121 // www.theatreroyal.co.uk 

 

Friday 16 & Saturday 17 March at 7.30pm 
Birmingham Hippodrome, BIRMINGHAM
Tickets: 0844 338 5000 // www.birminghamhippodrome.com 

 

Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 March at 7.30pm 
The Lowry, SALFORD QUAYS 
Tickets: 0843 208 6000 // www.thelowry.com 

 

Friday 23 & Saturday 24 March at 7.30pm 
Alhambra Theatre, BRADFORD 
Tickets: 01274 432000 // www.bradford-theatres.co.uk 

 

Running time: 120 minutes (including interval) 

A Post-Show Q&A follows the opening performance in each venue 

 

Ballet British Columbia - Founded in 1986, Ballet British Columbia (Ballet BC) has been under the leadership of Artistic Director Emily Molnar since 2009. Ballet BC is an internationally acclaimed collaborative and creation-based contemporary ballet company that is a leader and resource in the creation, production and education of contemporary dance in Canada. Bold and innovative, the Company’s distinctive style and approach has made a unique and valuable national contribution to the development of dance.

Ballet BC’s dancers are a group of open-minded and deep-thinking artists, each unique for their dynamic movement while sharing an intuitive passion for dance. Ballet BC is committed to its role as a leader in the community through dancer training opportunities, community and audience outreach, and professional development activities.

The Company presents a diverse repertoire of Canadian and international work from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and is a hotbed for the creation and performance of new works. Since 2009, the Company has developed a repertoire of more than 40 new works by acclaimed Canadian and international choreographers including William Forsythe, Itzik Galili, Ohad Naharin, Jorma Elo, Cayetano Soto, Crystal Pite, Johan Inger, Walter Matteini, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Jacopo Godani, José Navas, Emily Molnar, Nicolo Fonte, Lesley Telford, Wen Wei Wang, Medhi Walerski, Serge Bennathan, Emanuel Gat, Fernando Hernando Magadan, Kevin O’Day, Shawn Hounsell, Gioconda Barbuto, Simone Orlando, Company 605, Robert Glumbek and Aszure Barton among others.

Under the artistic direction of Emily Molnar, former member of The National Ballet of Canada, Ballet BC and Ballett Frankfurt, the Company actively fosters collaborations that support artists, choreographers and audiences alike, furthering the boundaries of contemporary dance. We embrace excellence in the practice of contemporary ballet, with its wide diversity of technique and style, honouring its roots and components. In our view, contemporary ballet is the ballet of today.
Ballet BC acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

Ballet BC gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Province of British Columbia through funding provided by the BC Arts Council.
Ballet BC extends sincere thanks to the Y.P. Heung Foundation for its commitment to Ballet BC’s Apprenticeship and Apprentice Touring Programs.
    

Dance Consortium is a group of 19 large scale UK venues with a shared passion for engaging people with the best contemporary dance from across the world.  Since its formation in 2000 Dance Consortium has presented 41 tours by 22 different companies from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Israel and the USA. Their performances and education activities have been experienced by hundreds of thousands of people across all parts of the UK. Dance Consortium receives investment as a national portfolio organisation of Arts Council England. 

 

Dance Consortium members: Grand Opera House Belfast; Birmingham Hippodrome; Alhambra Theatre Bradford; Brighton Dome; Marlowe Theatre Canterbury; Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff; Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; Festival Theatre Edinburgh; Curve Theatre Leicester; Sadler’s Wells London; Milton Keynes Theatre; Theatre Royal Newcastle; Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham with Dance 4; Theatre Royal Plymouth; The Lowry Salford; The Mayflower, Southampton; New Victoria Theatre, Woking; Hull, New Theatre; Norwich Theatre Royal. 

 

http://www.danceconsortium.com // @danceconsortium // https://www.facebook.com/DanceConsortium