Back from Beijing, Ballet Kelowna balances international travel with Okanagan performances
Ballet Kelowna kicked off the season in early September with a whirlwind trip to Beijing to perform excerpts of Canadiana Suite at the China International Performing Arts Expo. Now back in Kelowna, the Company prepares for an exciting 2018/19 season which draws inspiration from the vibrancy, mood, and power of nature. Ballet Kelowna’s three productions, Autumn, Winter, and Spring, will feature five world premieres by female choreographers, two company premieres, and two audience favourites. Signature works by Canada’s finest emerging and established choreographers will transport audiences on a visual journey exploring the dynamic spirit of the seasons.
After performances in Toronto at the Fall for Dance North Festival and a tour of BC in October, Ballet Kelowna’s Okanagan performance season begins with the mixed program Autumn, November 15 at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre and November 16 + 17 at the Kelowna Community Theatre. Ballet Kelowna’s newest collection of dance is inspired by the splendours of fall and brings back two outstanding choreographers to Kelowna.
Following the success of A Streetcar Named Desire, the Company debuts another work by renowned choreographer John Alleyne called Schubert. Described as an “ethereal piece with an ambience of light and flowing movement” (Ross Michael Pink, Review Vancouver), the work celebrates the life of a dancer in three scenes: youth, beauty, and wisdom.
Also on the program, the company premiere of In Between, a work originally created for the National Ballet of Canada by Alysa Pires and hailed by The Globe and Mail as “a polished, cohesive, and energetic ballet.”
Fresh off its Beijing and Toronto premieres, the Autumn program closes with MAMBO, another work by Alysa Pires commissioned by Ballet Kelowna in 2017. Using Latin swing and jazz standards by greats like Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Sarah Vaughan, Perry Como, and more, MAMBO celebrates the joy of life. Sweet, silly, sensual, and sassy, MAMBO utilizes familiar music to invite its audience into a world of pure delight.
Ballet Kelowna’s 2018/19 season offers a wide array of subscription and single ticket options, with three pricing levels of seats in the Kelowna Community Theatre.
For the second half of the concert, internationally acclaimed Russian-American pianist Olga Kern joins the quartet for the spectacular Shostakovich Piano Quintet.
The Chamber Music Kelowna Society is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to presenting worldclass chamber music to audiences in Kelowna and the surrounding area. All the concerts take place at the Mary Irwin Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please visit chambermusickelowna.ca. Subscriptions, single tickets and student options are available at the Rotary Centre for the Arts box office (421 Cawston Ave), rotarycentreforthearts.com or 250-717-5304.