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 David Y. H. Lui ( CM) (September 28, 1944 – September 15, 2011) was a prominent Canadian arts impresario and producer, highly respected for constructing the arts infrastructure in Vancouver. Biography Of Chinese heritage, Lui was born in Vanco ...

and Sheila Begg in 1986, with

Annette av Paul Annette av Paul (born February 11, 1944) is a Swedish-Canadian ballet dancer who had a 30-year dance career performing, teaching, and directing companies across Canada. Av Paul was born in Rönninge, Sweden, about 30 kilometres outside Stockholm ...

as first Artistic Director. Artistic direction passed to

Reid Anderson Reid Anderson (born 15 October 1970) is a bassist and composer from Minnesota. He is a member of The Bad Plus with drummer Dave King, pianist Ethan Iverson, saxophonist Chris Speed, and guitarist Ben Monder. The original lineup of The Bad Plus ...

Patricia Neary Patricia Neary (born October 27, 1942) is an American ballerina, choreographer and ballet director, who has been particularly active in Switzerland. She has also been an ambassador for the Balanchine Trust, bringing George Balanchine's ballets to ...

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 Emily Molnar (born September 7, 1973) is a Canadian dancer. From July 2009 to August 2020, she served as the artistic director of Ballet BC, and in 2014, became Artistic Director of Dance at the cultural education institute Banff Centre for Arts a ...

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 Jacob's Pillow is a Dance studio, dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The facility itself was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2003. History The site of Jacob's Pi ...

, 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