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Footnotes Danc e Vic toria’s subs criber newsletter

ISSUE • WINTER • BalletBoyz + Nutcracker + Studio News + more

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Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet + Victoria SymphonyNutcrackerDecember 5 + 6 • Fri + Sat • 7:30 pmDecember 6 + 7 • Sat + Sun • 2:00 pmRoyal TheatreRunning Time: 2 hours (incl. intermission)

BalletBoyz®

The TalentNovember 14 + 15 • Fri + Sat • 7:30 pmRoyal TheatreRunning Time: 1 hour 25 minutes (incl. intermission)

Dance at the Royal

Footnotes • Issue • Winter

Hard to believe that 15 years ago, at this time, I was putting togethermy first season of what was then called The Victoria Dance Series. I had just taken thereins from Douglas Durand, who had launched the series three years earlier. When I

fast forward to today, I have to say I am so thrilled by the way the community has embraced andsupported what we do at Dance Victoria. If you are new to our family this year, welcome. You’reamong friends.

The Dance at the Royal series is the gateway to Dance Victoria. It is the biggest thing we doeach year, but I encourage you to get to know us better through our other programs.

In January each year we partner with dance studios and teachers all over town to bring youDance Days—a ten-day event that features scores of free dance classes for the adult beginner andintermediate dancer in genres as different as ballet and belly-dance or Bollywood and ballroom.

We also cluster a series of performances around Dance Days: smaller-scale contemporaryworks, many of which have been developed at Dance Victoria Studios in Quadra Village, sup-ported by our residency program. In fact, February 5 through 7, at the Metro Studio Theatre(Quadra at Johnson) we are particularly excited to be presenting the World Premiere of a collab-oration between Vancouver’s Wen Wei Dance and the Beijing Modern Dance Company calledMade in China.

We encourage you to join us at our studios for Rough Cuts, informal studio showings of newdance works in progress where you meet and mingle with the artists creating the work. We’reproud to partner with BOUNCE Dance and Physical Theatre Cabarets featuring new short worksby local artists performed in three separate events at Dance Victoria Studios in the new year.

There is a whole world of dance at Dance Victoria, so please don’t be a stranger. Visit ourwebsite, sign up for e-news and stay in the loop. We don’t want you to miss a step! FN

Fifteen Years Ago

Dance Victoria brings the world’s bestdance to the Royal Theatre and fosters thedevelopment of new dance at its studios inQuadra Village.

Dance Victoria is a non-profit charitablesociety.

Dance Victoria Board:

President Paul McNair

Vice President Robert Milne

Secretary/ Regan McGrathTreasurer

Directors Mary DesprezDr. Allana LindgrenKari McLayLynda RainoJohn B. Shields

Staff:

Executive Stephen WhiteProducer

General Bernard SauvéManager

Operations Shireen McNeilageManager

Technical Holly VivianDirector

Production Cameron StewartConsultant

Graphic Rayola CreativeDesign

Advertising Bonnie LightSales

Publicity Ovation PR

Trips Bill HamarCoordinator

If you’d like to volunteer for Dance Victoriaplease call 250-595-1829

Studios and Office:111 – 2750 Quadra StreetVictoria, BC V8T 4E8250-595-1829DanceVictoria.com for trailers, tickets andmore information

Footnotes is written by Stephen White(unless otherwise noted) and proofed byAnne Moon..

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General Manager Bernard Sauvé

Bernard recently moved from Van-couver where for years he had beenSenior Partner and Part Owner ofEponymous Inc., a cluster manage-ment company he co-founded toassist artists and companies workingin Canadian dance. He acted as Gen-eral Manager, Touring Manager andCanadian Agent for a number ofsought-after companies such as Kidd

Pivot (Crystal Pite), Wen Wei Dance, The Holy Body Tattoo, LolaDance and many more. He also brings experience as Associate Pro-ducer of Dance House, a Vancouver dance presenter that programs anannual season at Vancouver Playhouse. In addition, Sauvé spent twoyears in Ottawa as a Program Officer in the Dance Section at theCanada Council for the Arts. Sauvé started his career as a professionaldancer with Ballet BC.

Operations Manager Shireen McNeilage

Shireen has happily returned to Vic-toria after an extended stay inSydney, Australia and is thrilled tobegin her journey with Dance Victo-ria. Many of her formative years werespent dancing and singing, and pro-fessionally she has worked in the artsfor 15+ years including an eight-yearengagement as Resident Stage Man-ager at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre.

Recently, Shireen has worked for Arts on Tour NSW (Australia) asTouring Manager, Sydney Festival as Crewing Coordinator, and RMTSas Assistant to the Producer on the Royal McPherson Centennial Festi-val. Shireen brings a suitably wide-ranging tool kit to the role ofOperations Manager. FN

DanceVictoria.com •

Pre-Show ChatsPresented by

Join us in the lobby at 6:50 pm for a chat about the evening’sperformance throughout the season.

RWB’s NutcrackerJoin us 45 minutes (1:15 pm for the matinees and 6:45 for theevenings) before the show for Nutcracker Story Time.Professional storyteller Jim Leard recounts the tale of Clara’smagical evening with zest and zeal.

Welcome (Back) to Dance Victoria!

Your patronage means a lot to us and we look forward tohaving you with us this year. Here are a few tips to helpmaximise your experience with Dance Victoria.

• Let us get your name right. If it is spelled incorrectly orsomething’s wrong with your address call us or send an emailto Shireen at info@dancevictoria.com and we’ll correct it rightaway.

• At any time during the year you can buy extra tickets to anyshow and get the subscriber price (20% off). Just tell the boxoffice you want the “Friend of Subscriber” price.

• Please don’t wear scented products at the theatre. Several ofour patrons are sensitive to perfumes or even allergic to thechemicals that are combined to make scents.

• No babes in arms in the theatre. Just like you, we love them, butthey are unpredictable little bundles.

Through the year we will be notifying our subscribers aboutspecial events at Dance Victoria Studios, such as Rough Cuts,dance cabarets, intimate performances of new works or updatesabout casting and pre-show chats for our Dance at the Royalseries. To minimize marketing costs and maximize the fees wepay artists, we’d like to tell you about them by email.

Take a moment to email us at info@dancevictoria.com and tell usthat you’d like to be included in updates. We will not trade or sellyour contact information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Pay Your AgeDance Victoria is very proud of its Pay Your Age program,open to anyone aged 12 to 29. We’re also grateful for thesupport from Il Terrazzo Ristorante

for this initiative. Do you have ayoung friend who would like toattend a Dance Victoriaperformance but simplycan’t afford to? Tell themthey can Pay Your Age.

Three weeks prior to eachperformance, Pay Your Age ticketsare made available. There are limitednumbers so the trick is to act fast. “Like” us onFacebook or follow our Twitter feed to learn when you can buyPay Your Age tickets at the box office.

Also — did you know we have $29 tickets available for mostshows this season?

There are some new faces in the office this year, so please, when yousee them in the lobby at the Royal, don’t be shy, say “Hi.”

Dance Victoria is brought to you by…

Footnotes • Issue • Winter

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Let’s be honest. The company’s name sounds commercial. The pro-motional images are overtly sexual. If you visit the BalletBoyz website,it’s very clear that the ten dancers are positioned as rock stars, speak-ing directly to the camera all tousled hair, bedroom eyes and fiveo’clock shadow. It seems like the marketing department has run amok.Where is the art?

But when you look at the history of the Boyz you begin to see a natu-ral evolution and you also learn that, despite all the commercialtrappings, there is art at the core of what they’re doing.

When the founders of BalletBoyz, Michael Nunn and William Tre-vitt, walked away from their positions as principal dancers at the RoyalBallet in 2001, a writer for the Guardian said they were “lippy, irrever-ent and brash. They trashed many of the clichés surrounding men intheir profession.” For starters they were a couple of straight guys danc-ing together. When they struck out on their own they hired leadingprofessionals to work with them and their fresh, muscular approach toballet became a phenomenon. They are credited with bringing a wholenew look to ballet. Both Nunn and Trevitt have been awarded theOrder of the British Empire.

At age 40, nearing the end of their dancing careers, Nunn and Tre-vitt performed one last time at the renowned American dance festival,Jacob’s Pillow (profiled in this issue) in rural Massachusetts. The Pil-low was established by 20th century modern dance pioneers Ruth St.Denis and Ted Shawn. Shawn bought the original farm in 1931 and overthe next decade established an all-male dance company whose mem-bers helped build many of the original facilities when not rehearsingand performing. Today, photos of those young brawny men from theoriginal company decorate the walls of the Ted Shawn Theater at the

Pillow. It was these images and Shawn’s history that inspired the nextgeneration of BalletBoyz.

Shortly after returning to the U.K. in 2010 Nunn and Trevitt heldopen auditions and hired their first company of men and “fast-tracked” their training, putting them through their paces in a sort ofballet boot camp. Once again, they commissioned works from leadingchoreographers and began to tour that work, winning accolades andawards. Their performance in Victoria will be the first time the com-pany has visited Canada.

And as for the name? In 1999, a British television station inter-viewed Nunn and Trevitt in an insider “video diary-style program”devoted to the male dancers’ experience at the Royal Ballet. The pro-gram was called Ballet Boyz and was wildly popular. Shortly afterleaving the Royal Ballet, the name stuck. Nunn and Trevitt were con-sistently referred to in the press as the Ballet Boyz, so they figured, whyfight it? “[At the time] we thought BalletBoyz sounded rubbish,” saysTrevitt.

BBoyz ChoreographersConnections to the Royal Ballet abound. The original BalletBoyztrained at the Royal Ballet School as did the two choreographerswhose works are on the program in Victoria.

Canadian-born Russell Maliphant joined the Sadler’s WellsRoyal Ballet (the ballet’s touring company, now the BirminghamRoyal Ballet) after finishing his training. He left the company in theearly 1990s to become an independent dancer. He studied anatomy,physiology and biomechanics and in 1996 established his own smallcompany where he continues to develop work outside the numerous

commissions he undertakes at theworld’s leading dance companies. Hispiece, Fallen, created for BalletBoyz in2013, won the prestigious Critics’ CircleNational Dance Award for Best New Cho-reography.

Liam Scarlett is the new hot propertyin the world of dance. He too trained atthe Royal Ballet School and danced in thecompany. In 2012, at the age of 26, hebecame the Royal Ballet’s first Artist inResidence. He has already choreo-graphed extensively for his homecompany but also has pieces in the reper-toire of Miami City Ballet, AmericanBallet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, theNorwegian National Ballet and more, forwhich he’s earned a fistful of awards. FN

BalletBoyz, Really?

DanceVictoria.com •

These days ballet companies treat Nutcracker, much like theatrecompanies approach Shakespeare, updating the story or setting theballet in a different time period. There’s the famously dark MatthewBourne (British choreographer) version set in an austere Dickensianorphanage wherein a wealthy couple descend on the home andselect a young Clara and Fritz to take home for Christmas. When theparty’s over, the kids are returned, much in the way unwanted giftsare taken back to the store on Boxing Day.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s version is wholly Canadian. Set in1913, just before the outbreak of war in Europe, this Clara lives in largehouse on the banks of the Red River. Her dream world includesRCMP officers, a snowy-pond hockey game and more. There’s even afriendly bear that makes an appearance at the Christmas party.

Of course, whatever angle a choreographer takes with the story,thankfully, very few mess with the timeless score by Tchaikovsky,which is played live, of course, by the Victoria Symphony.

Nutcracker EnsembleSponsored by

This year’s ensemble of local kids is being taught their steps byNanaimo-based Jennifer Quibell, a graduate of the National Ballet ofCanada’s three-year teacher’s training program. This is no small

order for Quibell, who is also training Nutcracker ensembles inNanaimo and Vancouver, dividing her time among the three citiesand keeping it all straight! Victoria’s cast includes 36 kids from ninedifferent local studios, who are being put through their paces atDance Victoria Studios.

Nutcracker KidsSupported by

Every year, we ask the community to help us send underprivilegedkids to the opening night of Nutcracker. A $60 contribution from youbuys two tickets that are then offered to families at Big Brothers BigSisters and (new this year) Women’s Transition House. The goodnews is that it’s not too late to donate.

For many of the kids, Nutcracker will be their first experience oflive performance and it’s doubly wonderful for them because theevent includes the orchestra. After the performance we take the kidsbackstage to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Nutcracker Prince andother dancers and they can stand centre stage and look out to theauditorium.

To donate, call us at 250-595-1829 or visit DanceVictoria.com andclick on “Support Us.”

The kids will love you for it! FN

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Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Nutcracker

Footnotes • Issue • Winter

It’s every dance lover’s dream—all dance, all the time, inone of North America’s most beautiful settings—but only insummer.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival offers an intense program of dance(500 artists, 52 dance companies, more than 200 free events) anddance education over 10 weeks, using two indoor theatres and anoutdoor gem of a stage, set against the backdrop of Massachusetts’Berkshire Hills. It’s the continent’s longest-running dance festival,and a US National Historic Landmark.

This year’s ticketed offerings ranged from Seattle’s Pacific North-west Ballet, which has danced in Victoria, to the edgy ReggieWilson/Fist & Heel Performance Group. At no charge—other thanthe blood lost to hungry mosquitoes—are performances on theInside/Out stage featuring student dancers or small experimentaltroupes. It’s glorious to eat a picnic while watching potential KarenKains find their legs.

Along with dance comes a free museum devoted to dance: Thisyear’s feature exhibit was of vintage dance movie posters, along witha treasure trove of books and dance videos. Want to know how AnnaPavlova died as a swan? You’ll find her feathery finale here.

There are dozens of free lectures (called Pillow Talks, of course)and tours—telling the story of how Ted Shawn (1891-1972) foundedJacob’s Pillow 81 years ago. Two years earlier Shawn (a Martha Gra-ham disciple) and his dancer wife, Ruth St. Denis, had bought arundown farm that had been called Jacob’s Ladder since colonialtimes. A rock in the centre of the 200 acre site was called Jacob’s Pil-

low, both references from Genesis.But don’t be daunted by the size of the site. There is ample park-

ing, with golf carts to ferry the not-so-spry and theatres just a hop,skip and jeté away from each other. Take bug spray and a picnic forthe unticketed Inside/Out experience. Or dine at the pub or theposher Pillow Café and Barre—reservations essential.

We enriched our visit by becoming a member. For $60 US we gotspecial entrée to receptions and a rehearsal and first crack at buyingtickets. The theatres are small and there are chances to mingle withthe dancers at warm-ups and post performance. How else would Ilearn that the mother of one Harlem Dance Theater artist came fromQuesnel, BC?

Should you want more cultural variety, the Boston SymphonyOrchestra spends its summer nearby at Tanglewood Festival, thereare historic sites galore and some significant art galleries. And it is 10minutes from a premium outlet mall!

If your timing is right you can catch the New York City Ballet orother visiting dance companies at the cavernous Saratoga Perform-ing Arts Center, a 90 minute drive from Jacob’s Pillow. Next door isthe National Museum of Dance.

The sad fact is you need a car. Accommodation is some miles fromthe site and there is no public transit. You fly into Boston or Albanyand rent a car there. FN

– Anne Moon

www.jacobspillow.org www.spac.org www.dancemuseum.org

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A Midsummer Dance Dream

DanceVictoria.com •

Night Moves is Movin’ on Up!Sponsored by

Dance Victoria’s cool program for the 25 to 45-year-old urban profes-sional is kicking it up a notch this season. Over the past two years,Dance Victoria has offered a discounted ticket to selected perform-ances and added a pop-up after-party at a funky location thatfeatures specialty cocktails, a DJ and, as guests of honour, thedancers from the evening’s performance.

In the spirit of go big or go home, this year we are offering a mas-sively reduced price on a four-show subscription package thatincludes the parties and other social events. Go to DanceVictoria.comor “like” the Night Moves Facebook Page to learn more.

Supported by and

Chrystal Dance Prize In April, 2015, Dance Victoria will award a $27,000 Chrystal DancePrize. The prize, western Canada’s largest dance award, is supportedby a generous bequest from Dr. Chrystal Kleiman (held at the Victo-ria Foundation). The Chrystal has been developed to supportprojects or studies by western Canadian dance artists (MB, SK, AB,YT, BC) who are working with an international artist or studying at anaccredited program outside Canada. Look for the proposal call andapplication online at DanceVictoria.com starting in early January.

New SponsorsDance Victoria welcomes four new sponsors to its growing family ofprivate sector support. Brown Henderson Melbye Family Law (BMHLawyers) are the presenting sponsors of RWB’s Nutcracker. CameronIzard Snell Professional Accountants (CIS Tax) are presenting spon-sors of Ballet West’s Triple Bill. Fashion retailer Tulipe Noire is thesponsor of our Post-Show receptions. Metrics Chartered Accountingis the sponsor of the Night Moves program. A big thank you to thesefolks and of course to our returning sponsors.

List Your Property with Dance Victoria is very happy about a program launched by DFH RealEstate in 2013. Ten per cent of the agent’s commission on any listingand/or sale that comes from a Dance Victoria patron is paid to DanceVictoria. Thus far, two sales have brought significant new revenue tous. So please, if you’re in the market to buy or sell, call DFH at 250-477-7291 and mention Dance Victoria. Visit the DFH table at all Dance atthe Royal series events for more information on the program.

Dance Victoria Hosted Tours Travel partner

Dance Victoria’s Trips Coordinator Bill Hamar puts together care-fully crafted cultural tours that have proven to be extremely popularwith our subscribers and their friends. The two-week tour toArgentina and Chile in April, 2015, sold out in 24 hours.

Two other tours are filling up fast: Our five-night Boston tour (early May) and 16-night tour to

Prague, Vienna and Budapest (late May/early June) have a few spotsleft. If you’re interested in learning more you can call Bill at 250-595-1803 or email William.Hamar@visiontravel.ca. The itineraries forthese two tours are available on DanceVictoria.com FN

Footnotes • Issue • Winter

Cherish: An IntimateEvening of DanceSaturday, January 24 • 8:00 pmONE NIGHT ONLYDance Victoria Studios (2750 Quadra Street)NOW ON SALE! Limited SeatingPhone 250-595-1829 • Tickets $65

Imagine, in the intimacy of Dance Victoria Studios, agroup of extremely talented artists performing a mixedprogram of solos, a duet and one trio. Victoria’scelebrated dancer Jung-Ah Chung in a choreography byVancouver’s Jennifer Mascall, an award-winning soloentitled Leftovers created and performed by Josh Martin(Vancouver’s 605 Collective), a duet from ConstanceCooke’s newest work Liminal, a new solo choreographedby Ballet BC’s artist-in-residence Dario Dinuzzi, and ahauntingly beautiful trio danced by three artists from SanFrancisco’s ODC Dance. Never again will theseexceptional artists from Victoria, Vancouver and SanFrancisco be assembled to perform together on a mixedbill program. Meet KT Nelson, Co-Artistic Director of ODCDance and mingle with the artists at a champagnereception to follow. Catering by Truffles. A charitable tax receipt will be provided for a portion of the ticket price. A fundraising event for Dance Victoria Society

Dance Victoria Studios seating risers purchased with support from the BC Arts Counciland the Greater Victoria Savings Credit Union Legacy Fund

Presents

Coming SoonDANCE VICTORIA DANCE DAYSPresented by

January 24 – February 1Nine days of free dance classes. Hard to walk away from.The complete guide to free classes, workshops, studioshowings and performances available online atDanceVictoria.com, January 10.

ODC/DANCE (San Francisco) Presented by

Triangulating EuclidWaving not Drowning (A Guide to Elegance)January 29 + 30 • Thursday + Friday • 7:30 pmRoyal TheatreExclusive Engagement! Canadian Premiere! Ten dancers intwo works that are wry, witty and utterly compelling.

WEN WEI DANCE + THE BEIJINGMODERN DANCE COMPANYMade in China WORLD PREMIEREFebruary 5 – 7 • Thursday – Saturday • 7:30 pmMetro Studio Theatre (Quadra at Johnson)Featuring dancers Wen Wei Wang (Vancouver) andGaoyan Jinzi (Beijing), the piece includes live music by QuiXia He (Silk Road Music Ensemble) and video installationby Sammy Chan. A deeply personal work, the fourperformers reflect on their common experiences growingup in China during Mao’s cultural revolution.

Tickets: $30. Phone the box office at 250-386-6121

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