Where: Vancouver Playhouse<\/a>, 600 Hamilton St., Vancouver
Tickets: From $44 at balletvancouver.com<\/a><\/p>\n
If \u201cno one cares\u201d about ballet or opera anymore, as Timoth\u00e9e Chalomet said in March, it\u2019s news to Stephanie Petersen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI laughed off the remark and moved on because I think it was just a flippant sort of thing,\u201d said the Australian dancer. \u201cI love ballet. And I know so many people love ballet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s hope so. Petersen is part of a new company, Ballet Vancouver, making its debut this month.<\/p>\n
The brainchild of choreographer and dancer Joshua Beamish, the company\u2019s mandate is to, according to a media release, \u201crevitalize Vancouver\u2019s access to professional classical, neoclassical, and narrative ballet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The inaugural program features local and international dancers such as Petersen, who danced with American Ballet Theatre in New York for 10 years.<\/p>\n
Pieces include the Vancouver premiere of Christopher Wheeldon\u2019s After the Rain, originally commissioned by New York City Ballet; Wen Wei Wang\u2019s Swan, inspired by Swan Lake; and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa\u2019s Redemption, a solo work that debuted digitally as part of the 2021 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. Beamish has also co-created, with Gitxsan Indigenous fashion designer Yolonda Skelton, a new work, Winterbourne. It will make its world premiere as part of the program.<\/p>\n
Petersen has known Beamish for more than a decade, which dates to her time with American Ballet Theatre. They share a love of classical ballet and a desire to test the limits of the form.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always understood each other artistically as far as wanting to explore and express, but we also really care about tradition as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Stephanie Petersen, here with Jonatan Lujan, is splitting her time between Melbourne and Vancouver as she helps launch Josh Beamish\u2019s Ballet Vancouver. She\u2019ll perform with the new company at the Vancouver Playhouse April 23-25. David Cooper photo<\/p>\n
She has grown to appreciate the Vancouver choreographer\u2019s unique style of movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of detail, but it\u2019s the finer detail of how the chin would look this way and around and back in, tiny little things that resonate with the audience. He finds those pathways to express what he wants to say while the girls are en pointe and doing classical balletic things and the guys are partnering and jumping and turning.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the inaugural Ballet Vancouver performances, Petersen will dance in Swan and After the Rain. The latter is in two parts, the first with three couples, the second a pas de deux.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually, the pas de deux is presented in a gala but Josh is putting on the entire piece. It\u2019s beautiful to see the ballet in its entirety, and I\u2019m excited for Vancouver to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Ballet Vancouver finds its feet, Petersen has been splitting her time between Melbourne and here. She got to know the city well, having visited several times on other dance-related missions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love that the water\u2019s right there, and there\u2019s so much to do. I really love that about Vancouver, that there\u2019s a calmness about it, but there\u2019s still the buzz of lots happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond performance, Petersen sees the new company as an opportunity to remind people of the value of ballet, notwithstanding the remarks of a certain Hollywood actor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s extraordinary that Josh is building it from the ground up. Lots of people talk about these things but he\u2019s doing it. We need ballet in our communities. It\u2019s such a beautiful art form.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballet Vancouver will also offer a platform for local dancers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much dance talent in Vancouver, but so many current and former incredible dancers have had to travel to Toronto or San Francisco or other places to have their careers,\u201d she said. \u201cJosh wants them to be able to dance at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
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