2011/2012 Season

HOMAGE A GORECKI, PERE ET FILS

When:

Oct. 15, 2011 – 7 p.m.

Oct. 16, 2011 – 2.30 p.m.

Location:

Timms Centre for the Arts

In 2010, the great Polish composer, Henryk Górecki, died. In using his music and the music of his son, Mikolaj Górecki — who is also a composer profoundly connected to his heritage — I want to pay homage to a monumental name in Polish culture.
- Waldemar Bartkowski, guest choreographer

In four movements, Solitude, Desire, Dream and Deliverance, guest choreographer Waldemar Bartkowski honours the music of Górecki, father and son, with an original work that blends classical and modern dance.

Henryk Górecki was born in Silesia, a historical region of Central Europe located mainly in Poland, where three cultures coexisted: Polish, Czech and German. Górecki valued the multiculturalism of Poland, and remarked that, “the folk art, all the art, had no boundaries.” He was a leading composer of the Polish avant-garde in the 1950s, known for his startlingly minimalist “New Simplicity” style. By the 1990s, he was an international star: he wrote three major string quartets for the Kronos Quartet, and a 1992 recording of his Symphony No. 3, Opus 36 became the bestselling contemporary classical disc in history, selling more than a million copies and topping classical music charts in the U.S. and U.K.

Henryk’s son, Mikolaj Górecki, studied violin, piano and composition in Poland, and was awarded scholarships to the Banff Centre for the Arts before receiving his doctorate in composition from Indiana University. His works have been performed in Poland, New York, Montreal, Amsterdam, Slovenia and Edmonton.

International choreographer Waldemar Bartkowski, who is originally from Poland but is now based in France, has created ballets for companies throughout France, Belgium and Spain since 1990. As a dancer, Mr. Bartkowski started his career with the Grand Theatre of Poznan, Poland. He became a soloist with the Lille Opera House (France). and then was hired by Ballet du Nord’s Artistic Director Alphonso Cata as a principal dancer. Last season, he choreographed Chopin’s Hand for Citie Ballet. Mr. Bartkowski was guest choreographer at the Citie Ballet Summer Intensives in 2010 and 2011.

MOSAIC ONE, JAPANESE DRUMBEAT

When:

March 3, 2012 – 7.30 p.m.

March 4, 2012 – 2.30 p.m.

Location:

Timms Centre for the Arts

Tickets:

Click here

Featuring:

Mosaic One is the first in a new series of shorter, thematically connected works that will continue in coming seasons, in order to showcase an array of local choreographers. The Mosaic series will also allow Citie Ballet to collaborate anew with a variety of Edmonton artists from disciplines outside the world of ballet.

Mosaic One, Japanese Drumbeat synchronizes 17 brand-new, short dance pieces with the thrilling compositions of Kita No Taiko, who will be performing live with Citie Ballet. The choreographers are Solveig Groenland, Citie Ballet’s resident choreographer; Larissa Lynn, a former Citie Ballet dancer and emerging choreographer; and Francois Chevennement, Citie Ballet’s artistic director.

Kita No Taiko, which means “drums of the north,” is Edmonton’s first Japanese drumming group, formed in 1987. The ensemble performs regularly at Heritage Days and Kurimoto Japanese Garden Spring Festival at the Devonian Gardens, and has performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. It has also toured across Canada, and in the U. S. and Japan ().

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Damsels of the NightLES DEMOISELLES DE LA NUIT

When:

June 2, 2012 – 2.30pm & 7.30pm

Location:

Timms Centre for the Arts

In its annual tradition, Citie Ballet caps its season with an original story ballet. Damsels of the Night (Les Demoiselles de la Nuit) is adapted from Jean Anouilh’s original, set for Margot Fonteyn in 1948 by famed French choreographer Roland Petit (who died in 2011). Citie Ballet’s production will transport you to the rooftops of Paris, where alley cats play by their own rules. The production is choreographed by Francois Chevennement and Laurence Menotti. The libretto is by Edmonton’s Katherine Koller, librettist for last season’s Murder at the Strand.