The Drama Never Ends at Ballet BC
Another day, another rumour about Ballet BC.
With former Artistic Director John Alleyne now fully recompensed for being sacked (to the tune of $142,784.92), this chicken has been wondering about the fate of the ailing company, which has been suffering, officially, since November when the Board of Directors laid off all its dancers and staff.
Official story aside, us chickens know damn well that the hen house known as BC Ballet has for years been alive with the cluck of rumours about the company being on the brink of financial insolvency so it wasn’t (and shouldn’t have been) a big surprise when the whole thing came down.
Now, although the Chair of the Board of Directors, Graeme Barritt, may have told reporters late last year that declining ticket sales for Ballet shows were caused by the global economic crash, this chicken can’t help wondering whether endless productions of the Faerie Queen – which even the blue hair core could only take so much of - might have been a contributing factor and – dare I say it – a more important one. It will be interesting to see how the company recovers given the fact that according to leading economists we are now leaving the Greatest Depression since the Great Depression behind us (after only a few months! Imagine!).
All this aside, some of us are excited at the prospect of new beginnings for the company, specifically in terms of its artistic direction. And this is where an even juicier story emerges from this (so far) tawdry tale.
Since all this trouble began, I’ve been hearing all sorts of clucking about who the next Artistic Director might be. Could this finally be Vancouver’s opportunity to have an actualworld-class ballet company that people genuinely care about?
Let’s have a look exactly who the squawking has been about:
Crystal Pite
Artistic Director of her own company, Kidd Pivot Dance; former ballerina with Ballet BC; danced for and choreographed with William Forsythe at Ballet Frankfurt. Given that she’s successfully running her own company, and given her national and international popularity, I suspect this rumour has more to do with hope than truth.
Emily Molnar
Recently appointed to act as Interim Artistic Director of the ballet; Molnar is a former soloist with the Frankfurt Ballet; has danced with the National Ballet of Canada; and is the former Principal Dancer with Ballet BC. She has performed in and created works nationally and internationally, but is perhaps a little too green on the choreography side to be directing what should be a major company. I’d be interested to know what my fellow fowl think of Molnar in a position of permanent AD
Simone Orlando
Former principal dancer with Ballet BC, Orlando has also danced with the National Ballet of Canada; in 2006 received the Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award, given annually to an emerging Canadian choreographer; recently choreographed Satie, Relâche! in partnership with the Turning Point Ensemble; has been steadily increasing her choreographic activities over the past few years. Orlando’s many years of dedicated service to Ballet BC, combined with her mounting choreographed works certainly make her the most promising candidate. Again, I wonder if the company needs someone with more experience under her belt…
Evelyn Hart
Former principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet; also danced with the National Ballet of Canada and the Bayerische Staatsballett; received the Order of Canada in 1983. My first reaction when I heard this juicy rumour was a loud squawk of “really?” Truth be told, if Vancouver perceives itself as a forward thinking city where innovation is prized above all else, should our ballet company become so, well, classical?
The question I leave you with is this: if Vancouver is billing itself as a world-class city and inviting everyone on the planet to watch us experience the big O to prove the fact, then really maybe we should start acting the part. Ballet BC needs to up the ante as a bold, risk-taking contemporary company that can make a mark on the international stage.
Who do you think should take the helm to enable this vision?