Pure Ballet
After a big week, the live performance of Cohen’s Hallelujah by Allison Crowe and the incredibly emotional dancing by Sophia Lee brought me to tears. My friend Sarah and I agreed that Pure Ballet was the perfect escape on a Wednesday evening.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Pure Ballet is a selection of 5 works, the first half includes; Luminous, Adagietto, Rivalry/Revelry and The Doorway. The second half is an excerpt from Carmina Burana, one of my favorite ballets and one of the most powerful choral and classical scores I’ve heard. Luminous was exceptionally moving. The music was a powerful chamber orchestra piece written for solo violin and it is so full of emotion and power. Hear from choreographer Peter Quanz as he explains the sources of some of his inspiration.
My favourite by far was Scenes from Leonard Cohen, The Doorway. This was the World Premiere for Jorden Morris’s new work and I’m looking forward to seeing more from him. It was very interesting to see musicians on stage with the dancers and all the more powerful to hear, watch and feel them together. I especially enjoyed how Morris allowed Cohen’s words to be the music at times, with interviews and poetry as the guide for the dancers.
With this being the final show of the 2011/2012 season it was also a goodbye to two dancers, who not only danced beautifully but were honoured with a poignant final bow. I’ve seen Emily Grizzell and Carrie Broda dance over the years and they will be missed.
It’s been a beautiful season and I’m already looking forward to next year’s Fairy Tale Fantasy line up. Thank you to the RWB for sharing their dance, music and magic with us, I’m incredibly grateful.
Bravo!
*Photo credits to Bruce Monk and Tim Fennell
