Ballet BC is a

contemporary ballet Contemporary ballet is a dance genre that incorporates elements of classical ballet and modern dance. It employs classical ballet technique and in many cases classical pointe technique as well, but allows a greater range of movement of the upper ...

company located in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

History

Ballet BC is a professional contemporary ballet company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company was founded as Ballet British Columbia by Jean Orr, David Y. H. Lui and Sheila Begg in 1986, with Annette av Paul as first Artistic Director. Artistic direction passed to Reid Anderson, Patricia Neary and Barry Ingham and in 1992 to John Alleyne, who introduced a program with original choreography including his ''The Faerie Queen'' in 2000 and dances by other Canadian choreographers. Alleyne was followed by Emily Molnar after the reorganization in 2009. Molnar was followed by Medhi Walerski in 2020. , the company is the only professional

ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-rou ...

in British Columbia. Its home performances take place at the

Queen Elizabeth Theatre The Queen Elizabeth Theatre is a performing arts venue in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Along with the Orpheum, Vancouver Playhouse, and thAnnex it is one of four facilities operated by the Vancouver Civic Theatres on behalf ...

. In 2023, Ballet BC moved into their own facility for the first time, at

Granville Island Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in the Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver, under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge. Formerly an industrial ...

Repertoire

Ballet BC presents a repertoire of contemporary ballet. The company opened the 2015 Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, presenting three dances each by a different choreographer, including ''Twenty Eight Thousand Waves'' by their own resident choreographer Cayetano Soto. The company travelled on their 30th anniversary tour in late 2015 and 2016.

References

External links

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Archive footage of Ballet BC performing ''Aniel'' in 2013 at Jacob's PillowArchive footage of Ballet BC performing ''Consagración'' in 2015 at Jacob's Pillow
{{authority control Ballet companies in Canada Companies based in Vancouver Performing arts in Vancouver Performing groups established in the 1980s 1986 establishments in British Columbia