Legendary Quebec playwright, director, actor and filmmaker Robert Lepage will undertake his first collaboration with the National Ballet of Canada in an exploration of the work of revered Canadian filmmaker Norman McLaren as part of the company’s 2017/18 season.
Frame by Frame is a joint effort between Lepage and principal dancer Guillaume Côté, the ballet’s choreographic associate. It examines the life and work of McLaren, who was also a groundbreaking animator and won a 1952 Academy Award for his controversial anti-war film Neighbours.
The ballet runs from June 1 to 10, 2018.
“Working with Robert Lepage has been on my bucket list since I became artistic director of the company,” said a clearly ebullient Karen Kain.
“There have been some conversations (with Lepage), but nothing was quite right for the collaboration. The relationship that Robert and Guillaume formed, both French-Canadian and admiring each other’s work, led to this,” she said.
“It definitely was Robert’s idea. He’s obviously fascinated with this great filmmaker in our history. We had breakfast one day when Robert was in town and he told me he was fascinated by the story of this Scotsman who immigrated to Montreal and then changed the face of the National Film Board of Canada. He was fascinated with his work and his life.”
The ballet is a collaboration with the NFB and Quebec company Ex Machina.
“I’m actually very excited about the whole season. I can hardly wait to see every single program,” Kain said.
Other highlights include:
- The Winter’s Tale: From the same team behind mega-hit Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot, this dance version of the Shakespeare play makes a return engagement Nov. 10 to 19.
- Nijinsky: The John Neumeier ballet, an homage to the life of legendary Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky and another past hit for the company, returns Nov. 22 to 26.
- The Nutcracker: The beloved work created by the ballet’s former artistic director, James Kudelka, in 1995 continues its reign as a holiday favourite from Dec. 9 to 30.
- Made in Canada: This mixed program Feb. 28 to March 4, 2018 features three works: The Dreamers Ever Leave You, conceived by Robert Binet as an homage to Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris; The Four Seasons, an audience favourite by Kudelka featuring the music of Vivaldi; and Emergence by Crystal Pite, first premiered by the National Ballet in 2009.
- The Sleeping Beauty, the classic fairy tale first transformed into dance in 1890, featuring the music of Tchaikovsky, and choreographed by ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa, runs March 8 to 18.
- Paz de la Jolla: This work by New York City Ballet dancer and resident choreographer Justin Peck is an homage to his Southern California childhood. It runs June 16 to 22 with Cacti by Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman, first premiered by the company in 2016, and Dark Angels by Guillaume Côté and composer Kevin Lau, a new work commissioned by the National Arts Centre as part of Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations.
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