November 14, 2003 -

OTTAWA -- Break Open Play, a new dance work aimed at younger audiences, was commissioned by the NAC and choreographed by hot-ticket Toronto dancer-choreographer Matjash Mrozewski. The very first National Arts Centre Youth Commission for Dance, a partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts, Break Open Play receives its world premiere at 20:30 in the Theatre of the NAC on November 29. The work features five dancers, an original score by Owen Belton, costumes by Samara McAdam, and lighting design by Roelof Peter Snippe.

During the 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06 seasons, the National Arts Centre Youth Commission for Dance will break new ground by commissioning a Canadian choreographer to create an original new work aimed specifically at a teenage audience. Following Matjash Mrozewski's inaugural creation, two other choreographers will be commissioned to create works during the second and third years of the NAC Youth Commission for Dance.

Break Open Play is a high-energy deconstruction of creativity and design, a fascinating metaphor for the introspection and emotional journey of a young person's coming of age. The dance is inquisitive and playful at first, taking on increasing shading and depth as the arc of exploration proceeds. Simple and accessible, Break Open Play nevertheless refuses to ignore the inherent drama of everyday life; it offers meaning on different levels for different audiences, and embraces the NAC Youth Commission's spirit of freshness and experimentation. The piece will feature much pure dance, allowing Mrozewski to explore both his limits as a choreographer and the prowess of the dancers.

"I don't think I've ever done so much work on a new piece without actually being in the studio … I got so many great books by directors. For some reason, reading more about theatre than dance was interesting to me, I got a greater sense of what it was possible to do onstage. It was heartening to read because there are so many different perspectives on the way people work. It was refreshing to read about so many people with a sense of vision. You can just see how experience leads you to that place."

Matjash Mrozewski

During the creation of Break Open Play, Mrozewski encouraged the dancers to experiment and improvise with movements and dance phrases they created themselves; the influences on their choices ranged from capoeira and karate to jazz and hip-hop. The choreographer confesses that "Working with improv for the first time in this project really took away all my bearings. But it worked out. Improv is a very tricky thing.

As a choreographer, I don't want to feel like I'm sitting back and letting the dancers do the work for me. At the same time, I'm opening up the experience to let them bring their creativity forward. I knew that if I didn't try something, I'd be missing the boat." The improv exercises were an excellent springboard for creativity; one dancer described the result as "a combination of crazy funky technical stuff that was like nothing I had ever seen before."

The result is a full-length work which depicts the creative act of artistic problem-solving through the body. Break Open Play explores the act of creation from the development of simple ideas into complex arrangements; it is playful, evocative, tremendously colourful and introspective. Break Open Play is loosely divided into four sections: The Meeting is high-energy and aggressive, as characters express their emotions through intense movement sequences. Exploration is about playing with everyday objects and allowing that improvisation to show the audience something about their own inner world. Search integrates these elements as the dancers create a ‘work of art' with the results of their previous experiments. Epilogue sees the dancers growing as people as they explore their craft.

Mrozewski boldly illustrates improvisation and the arc of creation in Break Open Play. He challenges audiences young and old to contemplate their own creativity. The piece entertains, provokes, and inspires students to create art. Mrozewski reflects, "As the piece progresses, the dancers make more discoveries about themselves and each other - exploring physically as well as emotionally." The audience leaves with a sense of the creative journey.

A former dancer with The National Ballet of Canada, 27-year-old Matjash Mrozewski has a confident, distinct style and an ability to work with a wide range of dancers. While he has spent much of his training and career in ballet, Mrozewski has also shown an affinity for working with modern dance, and his artistry in either discipline fills stages with fascinating characters and grand visions. In his short career, he has already created works for The National Ballet of Canada and Toronto Dance Theatre, for film, and for dance companies in the United States and Europe.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
As Mrozewski and his dancers rehearse in Ottawa during the last week in November, they have embraced the idea of numerous outreach activities, including lecture/demonstrations for drama/arts students at École secondaire Mont-Bleu and Lisgar Collegiate and creative process dance workshops for senior level dance students at Canterbury High School and École secondaire De La Salle. There will be two student matinees of the piece, and the NAC has produced a Break Open Play Study Guide, which has been posted online; it is available at

http://www.nac-cna.ca/en/allaboutthenac/publications/bop_guide_e.pdf

THE NAC YOUTH FOCUS GROUP FOR DANCE
To engage youth in the creative process, the National Arts Centre convened the NAC Youth Focus Group for Dance in October 2002. The five group members, aged 14 to 16, have widely differing experiences of dance. Having regularly attended NAC performances and chatted with dance professionals, their comments have helped to define the project and reveal how dance reaches young people. Many discussions have been filmed by videographers and a 20-minute documentary of the process will be the eventual result. Following two weeks of creation in April 2003, the Toronto-based dancers shared a half-hour of their rehearsal with the Youth Focus Group in Ottawa via the NAC's broadband technology; a similar discussion took place six months later as the dancers reconvened to begin rehearsals.

Headed by the NAC's innovative New Media team, this experience allows participants in different cities to observe each other and discuss the work in progress in real time. Part of Hexagon: Canada's Virtual Studio outreach 2001, which links major educational and research institutions in North America, the quality of the connection on the CA*net3 broadband network renders razor sharp sound and image quality.

The NAC Youth Commission for Dance aims to widen the existing Canadian dance repertoire for young audiences, to underscore the National Arts Centre's commitment to national and community partnerships, and to reinforce dance for young audiences as part of an ongoing aesthetic education. As Canada's leading dance producer/presenter, the NAC places a high value on fostering a relationship between teenagers and contemporary dance and the Youth Commission for Dance underscores the NAC's commitment to youth and educational activities. This may encourage young people to consider a career in the performing arts, offer a vehicle for teenagers to maintain an interest in the arts, and create youth-oriented works which will help develop informed dance audiences for the future.

Break Open Play is co-produced by the Candance Network Creation Fund, the Brian Webb Dance Company of Edmonton, Toronto's Harbourfront Centre and the Vancouver East Cultural Centre; this will ensure that the work will tour in the fall of 2004 to each of these centres. Break Open Play has also received financial assistance from the Laidlaw Foundation and Terry Guilbault. This project would not have come this far, this fast, without the enthusiasm and dedication of Anne Valois, Head of the Dance Section of the Canada Council for the Arts, who has made a 3-year commitment to this partnership. The NAC Youth Commission for Dance, as well as all NAC programmes for youth, is supported by the National Youth and Education Trust, with special thanks to TELUS (founding partner of the trust), CGI Group, Sun Life Financial, supporters and patrons of the National Arts Centre Gala, and the National Arts Centre Foundation Donors' Circle.

Break Open Play will be performed in the Theatre of the National Arts Centre on Saturday November 29, 2003 at 20:30. Tickets are $25, $16, and $12 and $13.50, $9, and $7 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card). Tickets are available at the NAC Box Office (in person) and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at (613) 755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC's website at www.nac-cna.ca. Last-minute tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students are $9.50 at the Live Rush Centre in the NAC Foyer after 18:00 on the day of performance only, upon presentation of a valid ‘Live Rush' card.

Photos for all dance events can be viewed and downloaded at www.nac-cna.ca/media/

Information:
Gerald Morris
Marketing and Media Relations,
NAC Dance Department
(613) 947-7000, ext. 249
gmorris@nac-cna.ca

MATJASH MROZEWSKI
Choreographer

Matjash Mrozewski is a Toronto-based choreographer who was graduated from the National Ballet School in 1993. He has danced with The National Ballet of Canada, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève and Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, working with such choreographers as James Kudelka, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Jean-Pierre Perreault, Rui Horta, Amanda Miller, Karole Armitage, and Dominique Dumais.

He has also danced in the works of William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Ohad Naharin, Lar Lubovitch, Frederick Ashton, Glenn Tetley and Paul Taylor and has performed independently for Holly Small and Danny Grossman.

Since leaving the National Ballet in 2001, Matjash has taken part in the New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute and created works for Milwaukee Ballet, acclaimed dancer Rex Harrington, The National Ballet School, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the Copenhagen International Ballet, the York University Dance Ensemble, Toronto Dance Theatre, and the National Ballet of Canada.

He choreographed an hour-long dance film, Year of the Lion, which aired nationally in Canada on CBC-TV in 2003. Matjash has also shown works at Dancers for Life, the Canada Dance Festival, The Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists, Fashion Cares, and A Celebration of the Works of Canadian Artists for HRH The Prince of Wales.

His works include Virgin Queen (2002) and People Are Scary (2001) for Toronto Dance Theatre; Lost and Found (2002) for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre; the prize-winning Another Space (2002) for Milwaukee Ballet; A Delicate Battle for The National Ballet of Canada (2001); Flames and Ashes for the Copenhagen International Ballet (2002); Charged Airs (2002) and Adventures in Classicism (2003) for The National Ballet School‘s Spring Showcases.

In November 2003, The National Ballet of Canada unveils Monument, his new work for thirty dancers. In 2004, he will return to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre to choreograph a new piece, and then travel to London to set a new work on the Royal Ballet.