Representing three groundbreaking Canadian creators, The National Ballet of Canada returns to the venerated Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, England for the first time since 2013. Artistic Director Hope Muir has curated an inspirating celebration of Canadian talent from the company’s recent repertoire, programming James Kudelka’s exquisite Passion alongside Emma Portner’s duet islands and Crystal Pite’s full company work Angels’ Atlas, with its mesmerizing light design and evocation of the human condition.
Created for Houston Ballet in 2013, Passion is a love story whose meticulous structure mirrors the music, the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto for Piano in D, Op. 61a. Two couples – one classical, the other contemporary – weave within the Corps de Ballet like musical themes, evoking complex relationships of passion.
James Kudelka served as Resident Choreographer of The National Ballet of Canada following his nine years as Artistic Director. He creates works of incredible musicality and vision for companies internationally, from original full-length ballets to short contemporary works and remounted classics. Kudelka was Resident Choreographer of Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie from 2008 to 2020.
Movement and music are deeply intertwined in Passion, set to the First Movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto for Piano in D, Op. 61a, a revised arrangement by the composer of his well-known violin concerto. As two couples perform simultaneously among the corps de ballet, the choreography illuminates the structure of Beethoven’s music while revealing the choreographer’s emotional and intellectual response to it. An unusual feature of the piece is the extended cadenza for solo piano and timpani.
“Passion is a study in contrast – classic versus modern, romantic fantasy versus lusty reality.” – Houston Press
“At the emotional heart of the ballet is a starkly contrasted contemporary couple, similarly dancing in their own bubble. Their visceral attraction to each other is fraught and passionately unrestrained, cueing no-holds-barred athletic partnering.” – Dance International
A sculptural duet for two women by Canada’s Emma Portner, a star on the international dance scene. islands was named a triumph when it premiered with Norwegian National Ballet in 2020, prompting an invitation to tour with the prestigious Dialogues festival alongside choreographic luminaries such as Crystal Pite and Jiří Kylián. An acclaimed work from a genre-breaking choreographer, islands is set to an eclectic compilation of music by contemporary artists Brambles, Guillaume Ferran & David Spinelli, Forest Swords, Lily Konigsberg and Bing & Ruth.
Ottawa-born Emma Portner is an exciting voice in choreography today. She trained at The Ailey School in New York City, spent summers at Canada’s National Ballet School and is now Artist-in-Residence with Benjamin Millepied’s Los Angeles Dance Project. Portner also produces, manages and directs her own short films and dance company.
islands is set to a collection of existing music ranging from electronica to classical, eclectic pop and ambient sound for a mesmerizing and decidedly contemporary experience. Featuring musical selections by Brambles, Guillaume Ferran, Forest Swords / Matthew Barnes, Lily Konigsberg and Bing & Ruth.
“islands is nothing short of a sensational introduction to Portner’s language of movement... More Emma Portner, please!” – Dagens Nyheter
“In islands, Emma Portner invents her version of the pas de deux, with two conjoined twins joined together by the belt who discover each other and combine their bodies.” – Le Figaro
Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite created the Dora Award-winning Angels’ Atlas for The National Ballet of Canada in February 2020 to rapturous reviews. The ballet unfolds against a morphing wall of light that carries the illusion of depth and a sense of the natural world. Here, the dancing body becomes a sign of humanity’s impermanence and – equally – its vitality within a vast, unknowable world.
Set to original music by Owen Belton and choral pieces by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Morten Lauridsen, Angels’ Atlas is a profound work from one of the world’s leading contemporary choreographers.
A former dancer with Ballet British Columbia and Ballett Frankfurt under William Forsythe, Crystal Pite is now a leading contemporary choreographer. She is Associate Choreographer of Nederlands Dans Theater, Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre and Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells, London. Her company, Kidd Pivot, performs her original creations around the world.
The ethereal score for Angels’ Atlas incorporates original music by Canada’s Owen Belton with two liturgical choral works composed more than 100 years apart: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Opus 41, No. 6: Cherubic Hymn and Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium, which dates to 1994. The mystical quality of these works and their connection to the body through the voice makes Angels’ Atlas what one reviewer called “a religious experience
“Human yearning is evoked powerfully onstage… Crystal Pite has a gift for bringing out the very best in dancers.” – Toronto Star
“Pite’s [Angels’ Atlas] seemed not only genius in its craftsmanship, but prophetic – a brilliant tragedy that defines a moment in history through music, lighting and movement” – The Globe and Mail
“Mind-blowingly good” – CP24
“Pite has created another masterpiece.” – Ludwig van Toronto
“Angels’ Atlas ventures higher, into the celestial realm, to make us question the limits of knowledge and our own fleeting existence.” – Fjord Review
Passion
Choreography:
James Kudelka
Music:
Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto for Piano in D, Op. 61A, First Movement
Costume Design:
Denis Lavoie
Lighting Design:
Michael Mazzola
Premiere: Houston Ballet, Houston, Texas, September 5, 2013
The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, November 10, 2023
Passion is generously supported by The Gail Hutchison Fund.
islands
Choreography:
Emma Portner
Staged by:
Whitney Jensen, Samantha Lynch & Darlyn Perez
*Music:
Brambles, Guillaume Ferran, Forest Swords, Lily Konigsberg and Bing & Ruth
Costume Design:
Martin Dauchez
Lighting Design:
Paul Vidar Sævarang
Rehearsal Director:
Stephanie Hutchison
*Deep Corridor, from the album Charcoal (2012), Written by Mira Dawson
Performed by Brambles and under license from Xtra Sensory
George V
Performed by Guillaume Ferran & David Spinelli
Courtesy of SME France SAS
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment (Canada)
and Concord Music Group, Inc., www.concord.com. All Rights Reserved.
islands 1
Written and composed by Matthew Barnes and Performed by Forest Swords
Published by Just Isn’t Music Ltd (PRS), administered by Third Side Music
Rock and Sin, from the album 4 Picture Tear (2018)
Written and Recorded by Lily Konigsberg
Under license from Wharf Cat Records
Starwood Choker, as performed by Bing and Ruth
Written by David Moore
from the album No Home of The Mind (2017)
Licensed courtesy of 4ad LTD & By Arrangement of Beggars Group Media
World Premiere: The Norwegian Opera & Ballet, Oslo, Norway, March 7, 2020
The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, March 20, 2024
Lead philanthropic support for islands is provided by The Catherine & Maxwell Meighen Foundation.
Angels’ Atlas
Choreography:
Crystal Pite
Original Music:
Owen Belton
Additional Music:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Opus 41, No. 6:
Cherubic Hymn
Performed by Valery Polyansky and the USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir. Courtesy of Firma Melodia Music Ltd.
Morten Lauridsen, O Magnum Mysterium
Used by Arrangement with Southern Music Pub. Co, Inc., Publisher and Copyright Holder
Performed by Polyphony conducted by Stephen Layton. Courtesy of Hyperion Records Ltd, London
Reflective Light Backdrop Concept:
Jay Gower Taylor
Reflective Light Backdrop Design:
Jay Gower Taylor and Tom Visser
Lighting Design:
Tom Visser
Costume Design:
Nancy Bryant
Assistant to the Choreographer:
Spencer Dickhaus
Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, February 29, 2020
Produced and commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada.
A co-production of The National Ballet of Canada and Ballett Zürich.
Philanthropic support for Angels’ Atlas is generously provided by An Anonymous Donor, Rosamond Ivey, Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, The Producers’ Circle, The Volunteer Committee of The National Ballet of Canada and The Gail Hutchison Fund.
The Producers’ Circle (2020): Gail & Mark Appel, John & Claudine Bailey, Inger Bartlett & Marshal Stearns, Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, The Thor E. and Nicole Eaton Family Charitable Foundation, Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, Kevin Garland & Roger Garland, C.M., Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Jerry Lozinski, O.C. & Joan Lozinski, O.C., The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado, C.M. & Jim Pitblado, C.M., The Harry & Lillian Seymour Family Foundation, Gerald Sheff & Shanitha Kachan and The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation.
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