Ballet Edmonton in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre
February 26, 2023
Ballet Edmonton presents a mixed repertoire program [at the National Arts Centre] of four exquisite works by three outstanding choreographic voices. Two works by celebrated choreographer and Artistic Director Wen Wei Wang – Persistence of Memory and Swan – are joined by Valei-me, by emerging creator Diego Ramalho, and a stunning new creation by Canadian Dorotea Saykaly.
Persistence of Memory by Wen Wei Wang
“As the pandemic stretched to the whole world, billions of people were separated from each other, isolated in their own spaces. Art has kept us connected; it shortened the distance between us and provided comfort, encouragement, and hope.” – Wen Wei Wang
Persistence of Memory was created amid the 2020 pandemic when access to family, friends or audiences were not possible. The piece speaks to the need for human contact and love, inspired by the distances and constraints that have become part of all our lives these past few years.
BLACK MOON by Dorotea Saykaly
Montreal-born Saykaly received the honour of being the first recipient of the Emily Molnar Emerging Choreographer Award in 2019. This brought her to the creation of Relic for Ballet BC which opened in May 2022. For her NAC debut as a choreographer, Dorotea Saykaly will present a World Premiere on our biggest stage. Although described as cinematic, her work is always inspired by her amazement towards human fragility, beauty and complexity. Marveling at the generosity of dancers and the crucial elements they bring to a choreography, Saykaly creates with her dancer’s heart and intuition.
Swan by Wen Wei Wang
“Swan, choreographed by Wen Wei Wang, proved itself as a stunning, flawless endeavour that had its audience breathless by the time the curtain closed…” – Lord of Dogwood – Review
Swan is a remount of the choreographer’s masterful piece, which first debuted with Ballet BC in 2016. Inspired by the iconic characters in Swan Lake, this breathtaking work highlights Wang’s capacity to move dancers in ways that exemplify the poise and grace of the balletic dancer while expanding the vocabulary of movement to tell a familiar story through a new lens.
Valei-me by Diego Ramalho
“I want the audience to be free to bring their own ideas about what I am saying and imagine their own sense of place and belonging” – Diego Ramalho
Valei-me contemplates how we are influenced by where we first “belonged.” The work explores how music lives in the nervous system and reflects an unconscious sense of identity connected to place. Brazilian music drives the narrative structure of this work.
