Ballet Edmonton

Thank you to Performance Sponsor Assante Financial Management, Dianne Lackonick. 

Ballet Edmonton is a contemporary ballet ensemble of company dancers under the leadership of celebrated choreographer and Artistic Director Wen Wei Wang. The company creates and commissions original work each season from a variety of choreographic voices. Ballet Edmonton's vision is driven by a passion and curiosity to explore new ideas. We offer audiences original, inspired contemporary dance that reflects our Artistic Director's adventurous, curatorial vision.

Ballet Edmonton will present a triple bill mix program of three new works by two outstanding choreographic voices. The evening opens with two works by celebrated choreographer and Ballet Edmonton Artistic Director Wen Wei Wang with Persistence of Memory and SWAN, followed by a stunning new creation, Valei-me, by Brazilian-born Diego Ramalho.

Persistence Of Memory was created amid the 2020 pandemic when artists had no access to family, friends or audiences. So, the company formed a closed cohort, and the Ballet Edmonton studio became a place of safety and sanctuary. This work was initially created as a film and reimagined for the stage.

As the pandemic stretched to the whole world, billions of people were separated from each other, isolated in their own spaces, Wen Wei Wang shared. Art has kept us connected; it shortens the distance between us and provides comfort, encouragement, and hope. SWAN is a remount of Wang's masterful piece, which first debuted with Ballet BC in 2017. Inspired by the iconic characters in Swan Lake, this breathtaking work highlights Wang's capacity to move dancers in ways that exemplify the poise and grace of the balletic dancer while pushing the bodys athletic range to tell a familiar story through a new lens.

SWAN, choreographed by Wen Wei Wang, proved itself as a stunning, flawless endeavour that had its audience breathless by the time the curtain closed Lord of Dogwood - Review

Valei-me is a contemplation on how we are influenced by where we first belonged. The work by Diego Ramalho explores how music enters the body and inspires movement and a sense of place. Ramalho shares that he wants the audience to be free to bring their own ideas about their own sense of place and belonging to this performance. Brazilian music informs the narrative structure of this emotional and energetic piece. Each dancer was invited to contribute their own voice and tone to inform how these ideas are expressed physically.

Join us for more! Join us in the Davies Lounge at 6:30 pm for a pre-show conversation with Ballet Edmonton’s Artistic Director Wen Wei Wang and local dance artist and educator, Camille Spencer. Seating for the pre-show conversation is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Doors will open for the pre-show conversation shortly before 6:30 pm.  

After the show, stay for a talkback with company members hosted by Camille. 

About Camille Spencer:

Camille Spencer is an Independent Dance Artist, Choreographer, and Teacher. Hailing from the USA, she has traveled to many countries to find purpose in the artistic scene of Kingston, Ontario. With 20 years of experience her work focuses on adapting dance for non-traditional communities, engaging young dancers in professional opportunities, and furthering the exposure of dance to a wider audience. You can find Camille at H'art Centre, Kingston School of Dance, local independent dance projects, and summer festivals sharing her work. When not dancing she is working at her homestead, with her family of boys.  

Camille was a Kingston Grand Theatre Local Artist-in-Residence in 2021.