November 18, 2003 -

OTTAWA -- The National Arts Centre and the Canada Council for the Arts will collaborate on an exciting three-year partnership aimed at creating new dance work for youth audiences. Over the next three seasons, the NAC Youth Commission for Dance, a partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts will break new ground by commissioning a Canadian dance artist to choreograph an original new dance work created with a teenage audience in mind. The first piece - to be choreographed by red-hot Toronto dancer-choreographer Matjash Mrozewski -- will receive its premiere at the National Arts Centre in the fall. There are two student matinees on November 28, 2003 and a special presentation (open to ticket-buyers) the following evening. Two other choreographers will be commissioned to create works during the second and third years of the NAC Youth Commission for Dance.

A former dancer with The National Ballet of Canada, 26-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.

Matjash Mrozewski's inquisitive and playful new work for five dancers is a deconstruction of creativity and design. Simple and accessible, it will offer meaning on different levels for different audiences, and embrace 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. This new work features an original score by Vancouver composer Owen Belton, costumes by Samara McAdam, and lighting design by Roelof Peter Snippe, both based in Toronto.

"I'm thrilled to have been chosen as the first choreographer to take part in the YCD," says Mrozewski. "What a great privilege, but also what a great responsibility. This commission marks many firsts for me: the first time I will be producing an hour-length work, the first time I will be working with a newly commissioned score, the first time I will have such a clear idea of what kind of audience I am creating for. I'm so inspired by the talented group of artists I have assembled to bring my new work to life, and I can't wait to share it with an audience who will surely be energetic and enthusiastic."

The NAC Youth Commission aims to contribute to existing Canadian dance repertoire for young audiences, to underscore the National Arts Centre's commitment to national and local 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. 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.

Says Cathy Levy, Producer of Dance Programming at the National Arts Centre, "I have been overwhelmed by the positive response to this idea. I think this is one of the most exciting new projects in the history of the NAC - and we could never have done it without the help of the Canada Council." Anne Valois, head of the Canada Council's Dance Section, said this new partnership with the NAC is exciting not only because it will generate the creation of new dance works, but also because it is tied to a concerted effort to turn youth on to a wide range of dance practice. "Young people are exposed to dance all the time in television commercials and rock videos, but they have few opportunities to experience other forms of dance. For the Canada Council, this is another opportunity to support the creation and dissemination of original Canadian work and reinforce our engagement with youth."

To ensure a memorable experience and 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, come from diverse backgrounds and 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. All discussions are filmed by two student videographers and a documentary of the process will be the eventual result. Following two weeks of creation in late April, the Toronto-based dancers will share a half-hour of their rehearsal with the Youth Focus Group in Ottawa via the NAC's broadband technology. 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 is co-produced with the assistance of Brian Webb Dance Company, Harbourfront Centre, and Vancouver East Cultural Centre and with assistance from Terrence B. Guilbault.

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

Matjash Mrozewski
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 Theatre 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 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. 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.

Matjash Mrozewski recently completed the choreography for an hour-long dance film, Year of the Lion, which aired nationally on CBC-TV on January 23, 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; Girl Power for the York Dance Ensemble (2002), the prize-winning Another Space (2002) for Milwaukee Ballet; A Delicate Battle for The National Ballet of Canada (2001); and Charged Airs for the National Ballet School's Spring Showcase.