National Arts Centre announces spectacular 2003-2004 Dance season
April 09, 2003 -
OTTAWA -- Cathy Levy, Producer of Dance Programming at the
National Arts Centre, today released details of an exciting season of
dance for 2003-2004. The line-up includes artists from Germany, the
United Kingdom, Taiwan, Venezuela, the Czech Republic, China, France,
the United States, and Canada. There are 39 performances of 19
separate dance events from 18 different companies (presented in four
distinct series), including the first ever Canada/China dance
co-production.
There are 7 NAC co-productions (4 during the Canada Dance
Festival), as well as 1 world premiere, 4 North American premieres, 4
Canadian premieres, and 7 Ottawa premieres. The season also features
three Special Presentations, including perennial favourite The
Nutcracker; a new NAC commission created for youth audiences by
one of Canada's hottest young choreographers; and a tribute to
famed Canadian dance artist Jean-Pierre Perreault, to whom the entire
2003-2004 Dance season is dedicated.
CANRIL CORPORATION BALLET SERIES
The renowned National Arts Centre Orchestra is featured at all
performances in this series. The NAC is delighted to welcome Canril
Corporation for the third year of their sponsorship agreement. In
honour of their generous support and profound commitment to the
performing arts, the classical ballet series was re-named for Canril
Corporation in 2001. Headquartered in Canada's Capital, Canril
Corporation is a leading commercial property developer. For more than
15 years, Canril has proven its ability to analyze and act on
development opportunities of all sizes and levels of complexity.
Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet inaugurates this series with a
new creation by choreographer Mark Godden, a ballet version of
Mozart's sparkling comic opera The Magic Flute
The National Ballet of Canada performs Onegin, a
masterpiece of Russian Romanticism featuring retiring principal
dancer Rex Harrington in the lead role
Germany's Bayerisches Staatsballett makes their Ottawa debut
in Raymonda, a gorgeous and erotic romantic tragedy
SERIES A, AN INVITATION TO THE DANCE presented by Casino du
Lac-Leamy
Ballet British Columbia brings myth and fantasy to life with a
full-length version of Orpheus (choreographed by John Alleyne)
using the lyrical music of 18th-century composer C.W.
Gluck
Ottawa favourites Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
return to the NAC with Master Choreographers: Mats Ek and Nacho
Duato, a programme highlighting work by two of the world's
most creative dance artists
America's Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company brings their
kinetic high-energy style to the NAC in a dynamic 20th
anniversary programme of new and remounted pieces
Rounding out the season, France's multi-talented multi-media
artist Philippe Decouflé creates a thrilling new work to be
performed by the acclaimed Lyon Opéra Ballet
SERIES B, EXHILARATING CONTEMPORARY EXPRESSION
Montreal's Compagnie Marie Chouinard entices with a
razor-sharp solo and Opera-Dogma, a provocative new NAC
co-production exploring the body, eroticism, and human relations UK
contemporary/Kathak sensation Akram Khan returns to the NAC with
Kaash (If), a visual and choreographic spectacle DanzaHoy
journeys from Venezuela to perform Exodo, a tango-influenced
examination of the exile of the soul that throbs with passion,
melancholy, and sensuality
Taiwan-based Tai-Gu Tales Dance Theatre blends contemporary dance
and Chinese opera theatricality in The Life of Mandala
Hot hip-hop masters Compagnie Kafig from France perform Corps
est Graphique, taking the dynamic and athletic language of the
street and giving it a spectacular multicultural twist
The Beijing Modern Dance Company/Snell Thouin Project's
Bone/Os, a first-ever Chinese/ Canadian co-production
features12 superb dancers in an explosive creative union which
overturns notions of time and the senses through mysterious light,
film, and an original score
SERIES C, A BOLD NEW BODY AESTHETIC
Dazzling Deja Donne, based in the Czech Republic, perform In
Bella Copia, a world inhabited by six bizarre characters fuelled
by narcissism, lust, and a bottomless desire for attention
The critically acclaimed UK-based Charles Linehan Company presents
Grand Junction and a new quartet, both full of clean,
streamlined movement and uncluttered innovation
Compagnie Pernette comes from France with Le Nid, a
nightmare-world spectacle evoking fantasy and ordinariness, morbidity
and humour
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: THE NUTCRACKER
Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet bring their lyrical
set-in-Canada version of the perennial holiday favourite.
Tchaikovsky's memorable music, brilliant choreography,
magnificent sets, and hundreds of opulent costumes set off this
elegantly glittering jewel -- a classic holiday treat for the whole
family!
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: THE NAC YOUTH COMMISSION FOR DANCE, A
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS
This exciting initiative allows the NAC to commission a new dance
work during each of the next three seasons. The first piece --
choreographed by sensational Toronto dancer-choreographer Matjash
Mrozewski -- will have its world premiere in November 2003. In each
of the following two seasons, a different Canadian choreographer will
also create a new piece aimed specifically at youth audiences.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: JOE
A fitting tribute to the life of extraordinary artist Jean-Pierre
Perreault (1947-2002), this 20th anniversary production of
Joe honours a brilliant landmark in contemporary choreography.
Exploding with driving, pulsating rhythm and visual power, Joe
is a riveting and witty ode to the working man.
Subscription packages are on sale now. Dance subscribers save up
to 20% on regular ticket prices when choosing two series and 15% on
regular ticket prices when choosing one series. Full-time students
save 50% when purchasing subscriptions. Subscribers also save 10% on
extra tickets for dance performances throughout the year, as well as
10% on regular price tickets to concerts with the NAC Orchestra, and
English Theatre or French Theatre productions. Subscription
information is available at the NAC Subscription Office, (613)
947-7000, x 620 Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 17:00 or online:
www.nac-cna.ca/subscribe.
NAC 2003-2004 DANCE FACTS AT A GLANCE
The season is dedicated to extraordinary Canadian artist
Jean-Pierre Perreault (1947-2002). As a fitting tribute to his life
and work, the NAC is honoured to be presenting a 20th
anniversary production of Joe, a brilliant landmark in
contemporary choreography
The NAC is seen by dance artists as one of the finest places in
the world to perform
The NAC Dance season is one of the leading dance seasons in North
America
There are a total of 39 performances of 19 separate dance events:
something for everyone, aficionado or novice, regardless of taste in
dance. The NAC season is a cross-section of the finest classical and
contemporary dance, something to move, excite, transport
audiences
NAC Dance offers the best in Canadian and international dance: 18
companies from 8 countries (Germany, the United Kingdom, Taiwan,
Venezuela, the Czech Republic, China, France, the United States) as
well as from 4 cities in Canada: Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and
Vancouver. Bone/Os will be the Ottawa premiere of the first
ever Canada/China dance co-production
Pursuing the NAC's strategic goal of artistic expansion and
innovation, the 2003-2004 Dance season offers 1 world premiere, 4
North American premieres, 4 Canadian premieres, and 7 Ottawa
premieres:
1 world premiere: NAC Youth Commission for Dance
4 North American premieres: Opera-Dogma by Compagnie Marie
Chouinard, Corps est Graphique by Compagnie Kafig, a new work
by Charles Linehan Company, and Le Nid by Compagnie
Pernette
4 Canadian premieres: a new work by Philippe Decouflé for
Lyon Opéra Ballet, Kaash (If) by Akram Khan, The
Life of Mandala by Tai-Gu Tales Dance Theatre, and In Bella
Copia by Deja Donne
7 Ottawa premieres: The Magic Flute by the Royal Winnipeg
Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett performing Raymonda,
Orpheus by Ballet British Columbia, Master Choreographers:
Mats Ek and Nacho Duato by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de
Montréal, a new work by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance
Company, Exodo by DanzaHoy, and Bone/Os by the Beijing
Modern Dance Company/Snell Thouin Project
Pursuing the NAC's strategic goal of emphasizing the National
Arts Centre's national role, there are 7 NAC
co-productions', with Ballet British Columbia, Matjash Mrozewski,
and Compagnie Marie Chouinard during the regular season, and four
others during the Canada Dance festival in June 04.
Pursuing the NAC's strategic goal of commitment to youth and
education, NAC Dance is thrilled to present the fruits of the NAC
Youth Commission for Dance, a partnership with the Canada Council for
the Arts. The first new work (by young Toronto choreographer Matjash
Mrozewski) created under this 3-year initiative will premiere at the
NAC in November 2003
The NAC is delighted to welcome returning sponsor Canril
Corporation, sponsor of the Canril Corporation Ballet Series for the
third year and to welcome Casino Lac-Leamy, who are sponsoring Dance
Series A for the first time
NAC Dance features the renowned National Arts Centre Orchestra for
each presentation in the Canril Corporation Ballet Series
Two Series B shows are scheduled for two nights each rather than
one
