Ballet BC 30th Anniversary Season

What a joyful evening! Ballet BC has again outdone itself.  No individual performance, not a single outstanding piece de resistance tonight. Just simple grace of the whole with amazing choreography, lighting, set, music and voice. The ensemble was the thing. A fluid alive pulsating spectacular wonder of dance, bodies and minds melded with the beauty of theme, sound and silence.
Twenty eight thousand waves was whimsical yet deep, Choreographer Cayetano Soto  A touching piece of mastery.  The celebration of harmony in movement. Timing was everything. Everyone was there for each other.  On the mark.  Totally meditatively now.  An instant expanding in space with music touching soul.  A lovely moment by moment expression of form. Sufi-esque!
Awe was just that. Awe inspiring.   A world premiere.  The music and presence of world reknowned male vocal ensemble, Chor Leoni.  What a feast for eye and ear! A stupendous wedding of music, words, and dance.  Music of Janczak, Orff and Esenvalds with text of Leonard Cohen. Sheer brilliance.  A wonderful collaboration, Ballet BC and Chor Leoni.  Heavenly and Angelic.  I loved the interpretation.  Stijn Celis, Choreographer.  Erick Lichte, music director.  I feel truly blessed to have been there tonight. I could have gone home after seeing Awe and been simply fulfilled. A true dance and music extravaganza.
But then there was also Solo Echo. Choreographer, Crystal Pite.  The set design of Jay Gower Taylor and lighting by Tom Visser was the blessed backdrop to a dance of wisdom and spirituality.   The quote from Cayetano Soto in the program read, “I always find myself captivated by the thin line between life and death.”  The set and dance together spoke to this timeless space filling it with art and beauty. I was transfixed.  I simply loved this piece. The dancers were magnificent.
I love all the Ballet BC dancers individually but the corp is organic.  Tonight it was all about the troop, pas de dieu, pas de trois, men and women exploring.  The whole a thing alive.    I believe its ever increasing creativity,  cohesiveness and oneness reflects the visionary genius of artistic director,  Emily Molnar.
Of the dancers, Alexis Fletcher  is in her 11th season. I simply can’t get enough of her.  Every year I’ve watch her art grow. She is amazing.  Rachel Prince, 9 years with the company. stood out as well for me this night.  I loved too the maturity of Livonia Ellis dance interpretation. Now here 6 years,  I remember fondly her first season as if it were yesterday. Gilbert Small now in his 7th season is even more powerful today if such could be conceived.  Then Christoph von Riedman, in his second year,  shone  for me tonight. I love Rachel Meyers and Peter Smida is terrific.
The audience: intermission people watching has never been better.  Thank you young lady in the gold lame stilettos. Young man, your stylish and unique hair cut will definitely set a trend.  The model in that form fitting yellow dress  mesmerized her handsome partner.
But the best of all, this Vancouver audience collectively got it!   The volume of applause could challenge the theatres of New York and London.  There was that enthusiasm, appreciation and sophistication. The  packed  Queen Elizabeth Theatre, stood, clapping and cheering  fully appreciative of experiencing  culture in at it’s finest.  Thank you Ballet BC.  Thank you Chor Lioni.