Athletic Artistry: Ballet B.C.

Athletic Artistry: Ballet B.C.

By: Kaelynn Shinkaruk

Ballet B.C.

      Program 2 choreographers of Ballet B.C. embrace the athleticism and strength of each dancer to share their story with today’s audience. Rooted in classical dance technique, yet transforming physical strength into aesthetic movement, the audience was exposed to a contemporary ballet performance. According to Dance Consortium: International Dance Across the UK, companies who promote themselves as athletic artists, may find that they are able to entice new audiences. Wyon et al. (2011) found in their article “Time, Motion and Video Analysis of Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance Performance” that “classical ballet and contemporary dance performances are as significantly different in the underlying physical demands placed on their performers as the artistic aspects of the choreography” (851).  

Ballet B.C. Photo by Michael Slobodian

      Ballet B.C., a company that is known for it’s bold and distinctive style that emphasizes the physicality of their dancers, presented three pieces in one dynamic performance at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre stage in Vancouver.  Program 2 featured Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo’s avant garde movement of 1st Flash, Israeli choreographer Adi Salant’s sensory power of WHICH/ONE and Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite’s emotional punch of Solo Echo. Taking inspiration from classical ballet elements and infusing movement that exhibited physical power and strength, this production intrigued the audience. The Vancouver Arts Review commented that “It is a nicely balanced program, contrasting classical prowess with conceptual richness” (par 1).

      As quoted by Ballet B.C.’s Artistic Director, Emily Molnar’s, her vision is to “embrace excellence in the practice of contemporary ballet, with its wide diversity of technique and style, honouring its roots and components” (Ballet B.C. “Vision” par 4). Molnar was a soloist with the Ballet Frankfurt, under director William Forsythe, where she experimented with powerful robust movement, which laid the foundation for her direction within Ballet B.C. Dance Magazine editor, Wendy Perron, (2014) interviewed Helen Pickett, who stated that “it was about the fully investigated body, about physical prowess” (36). Molnar believes that  “contemporary means something that is of relevance today and that responds to the current state of society.” (Globe Dancer par 3). The Manitoban Newspaper (2009) found that the “athletic skill of contemporary dancers helps give athleticism a new definition and a new image” (par 1). It is clearly evident that contemporary dancers demonstrate athletic accomplishments and “it is this athletic versatility that gives contemporary dancing its intensity and allows it to make its connection with the audience” (par 7).

Ballet B.C. Photo by Michael Slobodian

Twenty-first century audiences yearn for athleticism and strength in the performances, which gives athleticism within dance a new image.. Emily Macel (2008) has found that dancers have more strength and toned muscles, which develop through cross training with Pilates, Yoga and Gyrotonics. According to Dance Consortium (2019) the physical ability of a dancer can easily be compared to an athlete, which was evident throughout each performance. “Ballet productions disappear, ballet masters die, new talents emerge in new locales and in changing cultural dynamics, dancers manage to absorb another technical dimension, and things turn in a different direction” (Noll Hammond 265).

      The choreographer behind the opening piece, 1^st Flash, was Jorma Elo, who astonished the audience with dancers that exhibited speed and athleticism. During the early years, Elo trained as a hockey goalie, prior to attending the Finnish National Ballet School for classical training. Within his career, he had the opportunity to collaborate with choreographer Forsythe, which brought out the physicality of Elo’s athletic ability within his dance movement. According to the Atlantic Ballet, “Elo's piece is highly physical, incorporating such unballetic moves as squats and hops in congruence with sweeping lifts” (par 2).

Ballet B.C. Photo by Michael Slobodian

The ominous, dark lighting, projected from the large rectangle that hung upstage right and the sepia spotlights, created silhouettes of the dancers that emphasized their muscular definition and strength. The piece was accompanied with a powerful musical backdrop, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D-Minor, which paralleled with the strong and powerful movement of the dancers. In an interview with The Georgia Straight, Elo shared that he “always liked the physical speed and the moving in space of hockey, the connecting and the shooting” (par 6). Within Elo’s piece, there was an emphasis on attack, and weight changes, which at times appeared to be chaotic and frantic, but pure strength and athleticism was displayed through duet lifts and deep arabesques. Forsythe’s thoughts about “the physical thrill of rapid shifts, as opposed to smooth transitions, and a 'fast twitch' body” (Forsythe & Kaiser 67) is something that Elo has grounded his work upon in 1^st Flash.  Bringing Elo to Vancouver, enabled him to choreograph an artistic masterpiece that displayed strong, athletic movement and equality of male and female partnering. This symbolism of equality speaks to the relevancy of current attitudes which support equal rights in society.

      Choreographer Adi Salent, launched her piece WHICH/ONE, for the first time in Canada with Ballet B.C.  Molnar chose Salent as one of the featured choreographers because she investigates “the primal nature we have as human beings” (Pincher Creek Echo, par 1). The  audience witnessed the bodies of the dancers performing distorted inorganic movements, that drew upon the strength and oppositional muscle memory of the dancer. Dancers had to use their physical strength to purposefully create movements that were in complete contrast to their training. Typically, dancers are trained to turn out at their hip flexors, but this piece demanded continual movement that required turn in from their hip flexors. Strong, powerful images were created through awkward shapes created by the dancers, in which they had maintain positions for extended periods of time.

Ballet B.C. Photo by Michael Slobodian

                                                

The audience were privileged to explore with the dancers their fearless dedication towards their unique physical and emotional strength. In an interview with The Pincher Creek Echo, Salent commented that  “It’s so nice to see how more and more people are appreciating the joy of movement. There are so many ways to experience all kinds of form & styles” (par 10).  Salent’s comment addresses the need for audiences to be able to experience multiple types of movement, so they can nurture their love for dance.  

      “Canadian choreographer and performer Crystal Pite is a former company member of Ballet British Columbia and William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt”. (Ballet B.C. “Crystal Pite” par 1).  Her piece, Solo Echo, was the final performance, which was inspired by Mark Strand’s poem, Lines for Winter. Pite’s work is known for being assembled “ with recklessness and rigour, balancing sharp exactitude with irreverence and risk”(Kidd Pivot Company par 1). The powerful image of seven dancers exhibited emotional conflict, which was demonstrated through the intensity of push and pull movement sequences between the dancers.

Ballet B.C. Photo by Wendy D.

Each movement demonstrated the physically demanding choreography that was required in the piece, which challenged their stamina and fortitude. Zoe Anderson from The Independent Newspaper in the United Kingdom observed that within Pite’s work, "dancers have both individuality and shared muscular strength”(par1). Throughout the piece, the audience witnessed the robust and agile movement of the dancers, whether it was an individual using their power to counterbalance themselves or exploring intricate patterns with a partner. At the onset, seven dancers created a movement canon, where they had to bear the weight of another dancer. This defining moment, allowed the audience to understand how the dancers depend on the strength of one anther throughout the piece, even through challenging times. This moment was etched in the minds of the audience because everyone understands the importance of having someone support you during difficult times. The movement was refined, powerful and aligned with the crescendo of Brahms’s E-minor cello sonata. Even though the dancers performed against a shimmering backdrop of falling snow, their vocabulary of movement exhibited athleticism through controlled and seamless contact with one another. At the conclusion of the performance, the dancers form a unified image with the flow of energy travelling from one another, until the final image, where one single body lies crumpled all alone.  This moment left the audience wondering why the power and strength of the dancer had slipped away into the fluffy white snow surrounding the dancer. Pite’s dancers exhibited a new paradigm of rigors, in which the dancers exhibited aesthetic athleticism within the performance.

      Molnar’s heart-filled zest for athleticism and strength was accomplished by the dancers through the choreography of Elo, Salent and Pite in Ballet B.C. Program 2.  Athletic artistry was delivered through the power of attack, precision and control of muscular movement by each dancer. Each piece, 1^st Flash, WHICH / ONE and Solo Echo conjured up a new perspective of attracting to today’s audience, who appreciated the physical tenacity and prowess of the dancers, along with relevance to who we are as individuals within the current society.

                                                              Ballet B.C. Solo Echo
                                          

Works Cited

Anderson, Zoe. “Ballet British Columbia, Sadler’s Wells, Review: Gorgeous Energy to the Triple Bill” The Independent Newspaper. 7 March 2018 www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/ballet-british-columbia-sadler-s-wells-review-crystal-pite-a8243731.html

Atlantic Ballet. “The Man Behind the Movement: Jorma Elo” 22 June 2011. https://www.atlantaballet.com/news/the-man-behind-the-movement-jorma-elo

Ballet B.C. “Crystal Pite”. https://balletbc.com/bio/crystal-pite/

Ballet B.C. 2019. “Program 2”.

Ballet B.C. “Vision”. https://balletbc.com/company/vision/

Dance Consortium. “Dancers as Athletes”. https://www.danceconsortium.com/features/article/dancers-as-athletes/

Forsythe, W. & Kaiser, P. (1999) “Dance Geometry, Performance Research” 4:2, 64-71, DOI: 10.1080/13528165.1999.10871671

Gee, Dana. The Pincher Creek Echo. “Program 2 for Ballet B.C. Looks to the Future with Addition of Israeli Choreographer”. 24 February 2019. www.pinchercreekecho.com/entertainment/local-arts/program-2-for-ballet-b-c-looks-to-the-future-with-addition-of-israeli-choreographer/wcm/43eb8c73-6277-4ec0-9e67-69864fc59273

Globe Dancer. “Ballet B.C. Program 2”. 16 January 2019. http://globedancer.com/ballet-bc-program-2-2018-19/

Kidd Pivot. “Company”. https://kiddpivot.org/company-info/

Macel, Emily. “The New Athletic Aesthetic.” Dance Magazine, vol. 82, no. 7, July 2008, pp. 30–34. 

Manitoban Newspaper. “Contemporary Versions of Athleticism”. 17 November 2009. http://www.themanitoban.com/2009/11/contemporary-versions-of-athleticism/525/ 

Noll Hammond, Sandra. (2012) “Ballet Adieu?” Dance Chronicle, 35:2, 259-266, DOI: 10.1080/01472526.2012.685018

Perron, Wendy. “What Exactly Is Contemporary Ballet?” Dance Magazine, vol. 88, no. 9, Sept. 2014, pp. 34–36. 

The Georgia Straight. “Ballet B.C.'s Flying at the Speed of Choreographer Jorma Elo” 9 October 2013. www.straight.com/arts/499686/ballet-bcs-flying-speed-choreographer-jorma-elo

Vancouver Arts Review. (2019). “Which/One” in Ballet BC’s “Program 2” is a Visual Force. http://www.thevancouverartsreview.com/2019/03/whichone-ballet-bcs-program-2-visual-force/

Wyon, M A, et al. “Time Motion and Video Analysis of Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance Performance.” International Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 32, no. 11, 2011, pp. 851–5.