Is there any better way to follow the summer of Barbie than with a fall full of works created by female choreographers?
Sure. Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and their fictional friends want more women to get elected, go to med school and generally run the world. But the film does climax with a dream-sequence ballet starring Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu. The geo-social subtext, one could argue, is to go see more Canadian dance.
Pink sequins entirely optional.
New works, mostly by women, dominate the Canadian dance landscape this fall. Notable male-made exceptions include a Quebec tour of Dix, the newest work by Côté Danse; the international tour of Akram Khan’s Jungle Book Reimagined; and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Canadian premiere of Angelin Preljocaj’s Snow White.
With all due respect to Gosling, Liu and the good Kens of the world, here’s a look at seven female-focused dance performances on stage this season.
Fall for Dance North
Oh Courage! by Sonya Tayeh, Gibney Dance at Fall for Dance, Nov. 2, 2021.Erin Baiano/Supplied
The Canadian iteration of a popular New York festival concludes with a program featuring students from Toronto Metropolitan University, New York’s Gibney Dance and London’s Ballet Black. Gibney brings north Oh Courage! a 2021 work by choreographer by Sonya Tayeh, who made a name for herself on So You Think You Can Dance but has since made inroads into concert dance. The program wraps up with NINA: By Whatever Means, an ode to Nina Simone by Mthuthuzeli November, brother of National Ballet of Canada principal Siphesihle November. Oct. 6 and 7, Meridian Hall, Toronto.
Ouvrir: Ballet Edmonton
Sum of all Parts by Gioconda Barbuto, rehearsal at Ballet Edmonton. Paula Cobo Botello, left, and choreographer Barbuto.Michael Slobodian
A 2023 winter tour put Ballet Edmonton on the map far beyond Alberta. The small troupe is a surprisingly sophisticated purveyor of contemporary work, both in terms of talented dancers and new commissions. The October program features a premiere by Toronto native Ethan Colangelo and a revised staging of Sum of All Parts by Italian Canadian choreographer Gioconda Barbuto. He’s the new associate choreographer at National Ballet; she’s had a long career as a dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and Nederlands Dans Theater, where she worked alongside Czech master Jiří Kylián. Oct. 13 and 14, Triffo Theatre in Allard Hall, Edmonton.
Assembly Hall: Kidd Pivot
Making a dance theatre piece about a troupe of medieval re-enactors sounds like an ill-conceived fringe show, unless choreographer Crystal Pite and playwright Jonathon Young are the masterminds behind it. If those two geniuses want to integrate modern dance with King Arthur cosplay, the world will line up to see it. Betroffenheit, their 2015 collaboration, which explored addiction through a postapocalyptic circus, has toured the globe and ranks among the best dance works of the early 21st century. Assembly Hall promises to be a jousting match between fantasy and reality, fought by eight performers who never lose their grip. The world premiere is scheduled for Oct. 25-28 at Vancouver Playhouse. From British Columbia, Kidd Pivot travels to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (Nov. 2-4), Danse Danse in Montreal (Nov. 29-Dec. 2) and Canadian Stage in Toronto (Dec. 6-9).
Works & Process: Tamara Rojo and Aszure Barton
Choreographer Aszure Barton and retired Royal Ballet star Tamara Rojo have teamed up to form a Canadian dance power couple. Rojo, who was born in Montreal, is the new artistic director of San Francisco Ballet. One of her first commissions is from Barton, a top-flight choreographer originally from Edmonton. Months before Mere Mortals premieres in San Francisco, the two women sit down for a chat at New York’s Guggenheim Museum. Company dancers will tease the choreography, while the concept – comparing the ancient myth of Pandora’s box to 21st century artificial intelligence – gives Rojo and Barton lots to talk about. Oct. 15 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Rising Action: Ballet Kelowna
The Forever Part by Kirstin Wicklund, Ballet Kelowna.Sylvain Senez/Ballet Kelowna
The November homestand includes a reprise of The Forever Part, created by Kirsten Wicklund in 2021 to welcome Kelowna’s determined troupe of dancers back onstage after the pandemic. Wicklund, a British Columbia native, had a remarkably busy summer: She got married and was chosen for the prestigious New York Choreographic Institute, an offshoot of New York City Ballet, and she’s still dancing herself. After eight years at Ballet BC under Emily Molnar, Wicklund is now a member of Belgium’s Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, but is beginning to rack up commissions on this side of the Atlantic. The Forever Part, inspired both by love and ruminations on the afterlife, is set to music by Bach. Nov. 3 and 4, Kelowna Community Theatre.
Emma Bovary & Passion: National Ballet of Canada
Jenna Savella and Harrison James in rehearsal for Emma Bovary.Karolina Kuras/Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada
With her stunning and soul-stirring adaptation of The Crucible for the Scottish Ballet, American choreographer Helen Pickett proved she’s among the best in the business when it comes to literary adaptation and toe shoes. National Ballet of Canada’s artistic director Hope Muir was working for the Scottish company when The Crucible premiered in 2019. Tapping Pickett to adapt a book in Toronto should result in a smart and sexy world premiere. The catch is Pickett plans to condense Emma Bovary and her many affairs into only about 45 minutes of dance; the second half of the evening is devoted to the Canadian premiere of Passion, by former National Ballet artistic director James Kudelka. Nov. 11-18, Four Season Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto.
Citadel Dance Mix 2023
Four female choreographers snagged spots in Toronto’s fifth annual fall showcase of new works. While many residencies offer studio space, the Citadel throws in a technical support, a lighting designer and stage manager, luxuries many nascent choreographers cannot afford. Kéïta Fournier-Pelletier, Sofía Ontiveros, and creative duo Meghann Michalsky and Katherine Semchuk all plan to explore identity and interpersonal relationships – common themes that have potential for variety when these women draw on their divergent queer, Indigenous, immigrant and female experiences. Nov. 22-25, The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance, Toronto.
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