Ballet BC presented an innovative and colorful collection of works at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre .The first piece in the triad of ballet works was Schubert, which had its world premiere in Vancouver by Ballet BC in May 2000.

Choreographed by noted Ballet BC artistic director, John Alleyne, himself a former dancer, the work is a tribute to Jean Orr, a distinguished former dancer and luminary in the Canadian dance world.

Schubert is an ethereal piece with an ambience of light and flowing movement. One is reminded of the elegant glass dancers which rest atop expensive music boxes and twirl gracefully as the music plays. The music is from Franz Schubert, the ballet namesake, and the costumes, gloriously fitted, were done by Kate Burrows.

The Ballet BC dancers, particularly Cheng Xin Wei, Donald Sales, Tara Lee, Edmond Fitzpatrick, Makailia Wallace were outstanding and expresssive in this graceful piece that is a departure from more raw forms of modern ballet.

The second ballet work, Arietta, was choreographed by Crystal Pite and utilizes the music of Beethoven. This is a beautiful, expressive work and features the wonderful creativity of Pite and the great artistry of the Ballet BC dancers who moved with uninhibited color and energy. Pite has choreographed works for Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal and danced with the Frankfurt Ballet. She is a recipient of the distinguished Clifford E. Lee Choreographic Award.

The feature piece of the evening, Rodeo, was choreographed by legendary dance doyenne Agnes de Mille. She achieved fame as both a dancer and choreographer with such Broadway musical classics as Oklahoma, Paint Your Wagon, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes which had made their way into the film world.

Rodeo is the dance equivalent of a walk on the wild side and features a western, cowboy, rodeo set design and costume motif that is refreshing and bold. It is a piece where the traditionally beautiful form of the dancer is covered in heavy costume thus allowing the dancers to focus even more attention upon their movement and expression.

It is a difficult piece to perform well and has many precedents from notable ballet companies that have dazzled audiences with their version. Ballet BC rose to the challenge, under the experienced artistic hand of John Alleyne. The costumes, donated by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, were colorful and created the perfect mood.

Dancers Makailia Wallace, Edmond Fitzpatrick, Donald Sales and Simone Orlando were energetic and beautiful to watch. They had the right balance of technique, form and beauty to their steps.

Another evening of evocative and graceful dance was presented with panache by Ballet BC!

© 2006 Ross Michael Pink

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