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Performance Schedule Halifax 2012-2013
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Ballet 101 Schedule
| Woodlawn Library (Dartmouth, NS) |
April 17, 2013 |
7:00 pm |
| Pubnico Public Library (Saint John, NB) |
April 22, 2013 |
5:00 pm |
| Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Library (Yarmouth, NS) |
April 23, 2013 |
10:30 am |
Photos from our opening night of Swan Lake in Halifax
Photos from a window display at Woozles Bookstore, anticipating Swan Lake in Halifax
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Halifax News
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READ ABOUT US IN
Metro News Halifax - Ballet Jörgen Canada brings Swan Lake to the Halifax stage
Truro Daily - Truro dancers performing in Swan Lake this weekend
CBC - Interview with Education Manager & Character Artist Clea Iveson
The Chronicle Herald - Fortress under Swan Lake siege: Ballet stops in Wolfville, Halifax
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April 2013
Ballet Jörgen Canada Returns with a Week of Local Programming including Swan Lake, School Shows and more!
Ballet Jörgen Canada (BJC) is back with a week of local programming in Halifax next week, including the Eastern Canadian premiere of its gorgeous new 25th anniversary production of Swan Lake, performances in local schools and masterclasses and Ballet 101’s in local libraries. Swan Lake has been touring across Canada, reaching seven provinces and thirty-three cities coast to coast. The Globe and Mail’s Dance Critic Paula Citron has called the new production, “an enticing gem”.
Artistic Director and CEO Bengt Jörgen has re-envisioned the classical and dramatic Swan Lake, adding a hint of Canadian heritage as is often a sign of his work. While this major new production showcases the extraordinary beauty of traditional ballet in its purest form, Jörgen re-imagines it in the picturesque seascape of Cape Breton’s Fortress of Louisbourg. The elaborate sets are designed by Camellia Koo, reflecting the beauty of the national
heritage park and providing a dramatic backdrop to Robert Doyle’s 17th century costume designs. Doyle is thrilled to be involved in this unique rendition of Swan Lake, having worked on the original restoration project of Louisbourg. Performances will also take place in Fredericton, Wolfville and Saint John.
The Halifax shows will feature a pre-performance chat by Education Manager and Character Artist, Clea Iveson at 7:00 p.m. each evening in the Sculpture Court of the Dalhousie Arts Centre. Audiences are invited to stay after the show for a celebratory piece of 25th anniversary cake and meet the cast. You can order tickets online at the Dalhousie Arts Centre’s website or call (902) 494-3820; tickets are selling briskly for all performances. Donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted at the Cohn for Feed Nova Scotia.
Local performers are included in each performance of Swan Lake as it travels across Canada. Halifax is no exception, with auditions for local dancers being held at the Maritimes Conservatory of the Performing Arts on Sunday, April 14. Auditions must be booked in advance (sign up online on BJC’s website) and dancers can also audition for George Brown Dance and summer programs with BJC at this time.
Local children’s bookstore Woozles is celebrating Swan Lake with a special window display and draw for tickets. To enter, participants can bring a ballet drawing to the store at 1533 Birmingham Street or present a dance. Visit www.woozles.com for more information.
The company will also present its children’s ballet A World to Shake to schools in Fredericton, and Halifax Regional Municipality, as well as presenting masterclasses to local ballet schools in Truro, Halifax, Dartmouth and Yarmouth. “Thousands of children across Canada participate in BJC’c programs. We are committed to bringing dance into the classrooms and closer to young people throughout the country,” says Bengt Jörgen. There are also six free presentations in local libraries, affording a chance to learn more about this art form and meet the dancers.
BJC gratefully acknowledges the support of the Michael Young Family Foundation and BMO Financial Group in making Swan Lake possible. The company also acknowledges the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, Aeroplan, and CIBC for their kind and continued support in making ballet part of Canadian life. Halifax programming is made possible by Margaret and David Fountain, The Coast, The Chronicle Herald and KOOL 96.5 FM Radio. |
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October 2012
Ballet Jörgen Canada Back Home in Halifax as part of its 25th Anniversary Season
As part of its 25th Anniversary Season, Ballet Jörgen Canada opens its first of two major home season in Halifax, NS from October 23 to 28, 2012.
On Tuesday October 23rd to Friday October 26th Ballet Jörgen Canada brings two Nova Scotia artists together for performances at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. This special event is commissioned as part of Ballet Jörgen Canada’s 25th Anniversary Season and is presented in partnership with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Choreographer and Halifax resident, Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson is working with Hannah Mae Cruddas, a Nova Scotia native and dancer with Ballet Jörgen Canada, on two pieces inspired by Canadian visual artists. The two works are being created specifically for the exhibit spaces at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and will premiere this week.
The first piece is inspired by the works of Emily Carr. The second piece is based upon and will be danced alongside a sculptural installation by Attila Richard Lukacs. Lukacs’ sculpture is a recent gift to the Gallery from BMO Financial Group. Performances happen twice daily at 10:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m. at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, October 23-26, 2012. The audience is invited to speak with Hannah Mae after the performance of each piece.
From Tuesday, October 23 to Saturday, October 27, 2012, Ballet Jörgen Canada will offer free programming at Halifax Public Libraries. Using excerpts from their children's ballet, A World To Shake, dancers from Ballet Jörgen Canada offer an inside look at how ballet evokes emotions and tells stories without using words. Drop in with the whole family. You can find the full library schedule at www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca.
On Saturday, October 27, 2012, Ballet Jörgen Canada’s popular Ballet in the Studio (BITS) program returns, this year at a new location – the Meinertzhagen Theatre of the Halifax Grammar School. Showtime is at 7:00 p.m. Tickets ($15-21) are now on sale at the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office: http://artscentre.dal.ca, 902.494.3820 or toll-free 1.800.874.1669. A special group rate is available for dance schools.
Ballet in the Studio offers the opportunity to see the newest and most exciting work Ballet Jörgen Canada is performing. Ballet in the Studio will include Silences Between by Truro choreographers Melissa Page-Webster and Margot Bégin Gillis, excerpts from Bengt Jörgen’s new production of Swan Lake, and Derek Sangster’s hit, Good Mourning. The audience will have the chance to meet the dancers at a reception following the performance.
On Sunday, October 28, 2012, Ballet Jörgen Canada will teach master classes in ballet, pointe and repertoire at Halifax Dance (1505 Barrington Street, Halifax). Advance registration is required: www.balletjorgen.ca/education or call 416.415.5000, ext. 4928.
Additionally, on Sunday, October 28, 2012, Ballet Jörgen Canada will hold auditions for the company and training programs (full-time and summer training programs) at Halifax Dance from 9:00am to 3:30pm. To register, visit the Audition Hub on the company website: www.balletjorgencanada.ca/education or call 416.415.5000, ext. 4928.
The week will culminate with Solos and Duets, a presentation of five new works on Sunday, October 28, 2012, at 3:45 at Halifax Dance. This performance showcase will feature pieces by choreographers Margot Bégin-Gillis, Georgia Rondos, Veronique MacKenzie, Penelope Evans and Melissa Page-Webster. Solos and Duets will be presented directly after BJC’s master classes and auditions. Admission is free for workshop participants, and pay-what-you-can for all others. Solos and Duets gives choreographers the opportunity to work with professional dancers at no personal cost and present their work in a public showcase.
In April 2013 Ballet Jörgen Canada will return home to Nova Scotia after its national 25th Anniversary Season tour, showcasing its new production of Swan Lake set at the Fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, NS. BJC will perform Swan Lake and offer community programming. Local participants will be selected for small roles in the production through dance schools or by audition.
Please visit our website: www.balletjorgencanada.ca, and subscribe to our Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube channel to stay up to date on our 25th Anniversary season.
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October 2012
Ballet Jörgen Canada Dance Installation at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Tuesday, October 23 to Friday October 26
Two performances daily at 10:00am and 2:00pm
Two dancers with ties to Nova Scotia create and perform dance at the AGNS. Ballet Jörgen Canada has commissioned choreographer and Halifax resident, Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson to create two pieces inspired by Canadian visual artists on Ballet Jörgen Canada dancer Hannah Mae Cruddas, a Nova Scotia native.
The first piece is inspired by the works of Emily Carr. Performed to the music, Spiegel Im Spiegel, the piece attempts to capture the movement within the brushstrokes of Emily Carr's trees. Similar to the paintings, Ms. Jackson's choreography siezes upon the tension inherent in broad, sweeping and expansive movements performed in a small, confined space.
The second piece is based on and will be danced alongside the multi-media installation by Attila Richard Lukacs recently gifted to the Gallery by BMO Financial Group. Here, Ms. Jackson will focus on the quirky nature of the sculpture asking Hannah Mae to perform contemporary steps that are intricate, quick and overlapping. Darker themes may be in play but the dancer's movements are light, similar to those of a jester.
The audience is invited to engage with Hannah after the performance.
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September 2012
2012-13 Season in Halifax!
BITS IS BACK!
We are heading to Halifax in October with a repeat performance of Ballet in the Studio (BITS), this time at a new location – the Meinertzhagen Theatre of the Halifax Grammar School. We hope the improved sight lines here will enhance your experience of watching our dancers up close and personal in our eclectic program of new works for the company. That performance takes places on Saturday, October 27 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office – go to http://artscentre.dal.ca.
SOLOS AND DUETS
We will also be holding our fourth annual creative program for Atlantic Canadian choreographers in Halifax, which will culminate in our Solos and Duets program at Halifax Dance Association on Sunday, October 28. Dancers and artistic staff will be available for teaching ballet, pointe and repertoire in Atlantic Canada dance schools from October 21-27 and again in April 15-27, 2013. We’ll offer ballet, pointe, repertoire, hip-hop and jazz classes for different age groups on Sunday, October 30 at Halifax Dance. Pre-registration is required and can be done on our website starting next month.
25TH ANNIVERSARY NEW PRODUCTION – GET TICKETS NOW TO SWAN LAKE!
The 2012/13 season is an important milestone as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary and set the stage for the next quarter century. In keeping with our vision and as a centerpiece for our Silver Anniversary Year, Ballet Jörgen Canada is producing the world’s most renowned classical ballet – Swan Lake - in a major new Canadian production with a cast of more than 30 dancers. The company’s Anniversary Season is the perfect moment to create a stunning new version of this beloved work, in a Swan Lake that will entertain, inspire and delight audiences young and old in thirty-five communities from coast to coast. And tickets make a great holiday gift!
Following on the amazing success of our re-imagining of the Nutcracker in the spirit of our Canadian heritage through the Group of Seven, Swan Lake is set in and around Cape Breton Island’s Fortress of Louisbourg in the mid 1700s. The costumes are being created by Robert Doyle, one of Canada’s most distinguished designers, who has strong ties to Nova Scotia through his extensive work at Neptune Theatre, Dalhousie University’s Theatre Department, as well as the Nova Scotia Tattoo.
We will be giving three performances of Swan Lake at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax on April 18th and 19th along with a number of community events surrounding this major ballet. Tickets are on sale now at the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office (http://artscentre.dal.ca, 902-494-3820) – don’t miss this major ballet event in Halifax! And come meet the company after the show and have a piece of 25th anniversary cake with us.
DANCE WITH US/AUDITIONS/SUMMER SCHOOL
Auditions for George Brown Dance programs (P101, P102 & P103), Ballet Jörgen Canada’s premier post secondary dance training, and for BJC’s advanced summer programs (Junior Company & Summer Intensive IV) are taking place on Sunday, October 30, 2012 and Sunday, April 14, 2013. Registration is required. To audition for Ballet Jörgen Canada, register for the April 14, 2013 audition. Local Participants will be auditioned for roles in the Swan Lake performances; watch for the audition dates, on line registration is coming soon. For any questions about Education programs please contact Clea Iveson, Education Manager at education@balletjorgen.ca or 416-415-5000 x 4928.
SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
While we’re on the road, we’ll be bringing our beautiful children’s ballet A World to Shake back to schools in Atlantic Canada. If you know of a school that would like to have this show presented, please let us know. Last year we performed in schools in New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland, as well as Greenwood, Berwick, Stewiacke, Truro, Halifax, Dartmouth, Wolfville and Louisdale in Nova Scotia. We will also present a school matinee show of our brand new production of Swan Lake at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on April 19 – thanks for passing this information along to any friends and family who are educators.
In addition to education and performances, Ballet Jörgen Canada places special focus on community programming. Our vision is to make ballet relevant, comfortable, part of growing up, part of the fabric of regular life, as community friendly as hockey or curling. This spring in Halifax we worked through the library system and presented six events, reaching out to many who could otherwise not see what live ballet is all about. We are developing partnerships to target priority neighbourhoods, black youth and commissioning new works for presentations in venues such as the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Local choreographer Ruth Ellen Kroll Jackson will create a new work on Nova Scotian ballerina, Hannah Mae Cruddas for presentation this October at AGNS. Check the library schedule (www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca) to find out all the details about our free library visits throughout HRM.
You can learn more about how to purchase tickets for all these performances by visiting our website, www.balletjorgencanada.ca. Please let your family and friends know about our upcoming performances, and encourage them to find us on Facebook or visit our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/balletjorgencanada.
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August 2012
Choreographer Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson works with dancer Hannah Mae Cruddas
Choreographer Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson works with dancer Hannah Mae Cruddas on a new solo in Halifax. The work, in part inspired by Emily Carr, will premiere at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia this fall, October 22 – 26.
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April 2012
Dartmouth dancer leaps to Ballet Jorgen apprenticeship
MORE THAN FOUR YEARS AGO, Dartmouth’s Hannah Mae Cruddas was onstage with Ballet Jorgen Canada as a guest dancer, playing the young Anastasia.
Today, the 18-year-old is an apprentice with the company, and, after performing in Anastasia in Halifax and Wolfville, as well as in New Brunswick and P.E.I., she’s heading to Truro for Classical & Contemporary Ballet on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Marigold Cultural Centre.
Read more
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August 2011
Hannah Mae Cruddas on Breakfast Television!
Halifax dancer with a passion for pirouettes and plies! Hannah Mae Cruddas joined Heidi in the Breakfast Television studio to talk about her experience at the Ballet Jörgen workshop where dancers from all over the world audition for.
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July 2011
2011-2012 Atlantic Canada Annual Report now available for download!
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June 2011
2011-2012 Season Announced!
This season’s four feature ballets are the brand new A World to Shake, the audience favourite The Nutcracker, a Canadian Tradition, Classical and Contemporary Ballet – featuring new, edgy works - and the wonderful and tragic Anastasia. The season is has over 50 scheduled full length performances from Nelson, BC to Summerside, PEI, and for the first time ever, 2 performances in the Northwest Territories. The season and everything within it is Re-imagined, Rediscovered.
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May 2011
Leica Hardy
Ballet Jörgen Canada congratulates Halifax based dance artist Leica Hardy on her Honorary Doctorate from Saint Mary's University for her outstanding contribution to the field of dance in her community.
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April 2011
Palooka Project
We're participating in the exciting Palooka Project on Sunday, May 1 at 8:00PM - the exciting "dance in a ring" event where we get to perform inside an old boxing gym! The Chronicle-Herald did a short story, and you can find more information at the Kinetic Studio website.
Read Full Chronicle-Herald Story | Visit Kinetic Studio online
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April 2011
NS Dance School Ticket-Off
Members of Leica Hardy School of Dance, Halifax Dance, Coastal Dance, Maritime Conservatory, Maritime Dance Academy, Cadance Academy and Truro Dance Academy (and their families) can compete to win free tickets for their whole school! Register here - the school with the most entries at the end of the weekend wins! (and everyone else can buy $20 tickets at the group rate)
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April 2011
Coppélia for a Day!
Our favourite contest returns to complement the Coppélia performance on April 19th. Meet our professional dancers, speak with Artistic Director Bengt Jörgen, even see the backstage magic of the ballet! There's nothing like seeing the ballet from this close, register now for your chance to win!
Click here to register, or press the "win" button on the side!
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March 2011
Early Bird Special!
Buy early bird tickets to Coppelia: A Comedy with Love (on stage April 19, 2011 at the Cohn)! Get 20% off your tickets when you buy at least one adult and one student/senior/children ticket. Offer available during March 4-7, 2011 by phone or in person only. Tickets: $20-$39.
CALL (902) 494-3820
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November 2010
Chronicle-Herald reviews Ballet in the Studio
"Frog and Toad takes stage on home turf"
"It's not surprising that Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson's new work is based on a children's story. The Dartmouth-based choreographer-dancer-teacher is the mother of two daughters - Ellery, seven, and Viola, five - and a son, Xavier, three..."
Read More
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October 2010
Atlantic Canada brochure now available online for download
Read More
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October 2010
Ballet Jörgen Canada celebrates success in Atlantic Canada
Successful performances at the Halifax Dance Association and the Maritime Conservatory mark the beginning of a great 2010-2011 Atlantic Canada Season. Thank you to friends and patrons who made our fall visit so special.
       
The Atlantic Advisory Board
The arts community in Atlantic Canada is culturally richer after the launch of Ballet Jörgen Canada’s Atlantic Advisory Board in 2008, whose primary responsibility is to provide advice, give guidance and support, and to act as a liaison with the local community.
Ballet Jörgen Canada’s Atlantic Advisory Board is comprised of a host of local community members, all of whom are committed to supporting dance and the performing arts in the region, including arts patron and former dancer Janice Flemming; dancer/jeweller candice prior; former ballet dancer Leila Kovacevic, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty, Mary Balkam - Management Consultant and Dr. Jim Smith, Chair at MedMira Laboratories. The Atlantic Region Coordinator is Peggy Walt. Ballet Jörgen Canada thanks the following former members of the Atlantic Advisory Board for their contributions: Patricia Parsons, Tim Margolian, and Lauren Brown.
Ballet Jörgen Canada annually reaches between 40 and 50 communities. Our commitment in Atlantic Canada includes a focus on community outreach and education, and making affordable ballet performances more accessible to children and adults. In October 2007, Ballet Jörgen Canada’s presented the World Premiere of Anastasia, a co-presentation with Symphony Nova Scotia, at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax. In 2008, a world premiere of the Group of Seven Nutcracker was staged in Charlottetown. In November 2009, Ballet Jörgen Canada launched Solos and Duets, a program for choreographic development in Halifax. The 2009-2010 Season has seen Ballet Jörgen Canada's return to Halifax with exciting programming and a full length ballet, Cinderella.
Bringing the ballet experience to audiences in the region for over 15 years, Ballet Jörgen Canada has become much more than a company that tours Atlantic Canada from afar: we are a part of the fabric of arts and culture in the region through not only our large-stage performances, but also through our school programs and community outreach.
Since the formal establishment of the Atlantic ‘hub’ headquartered in Halifax and supported by a local cadre of committed and passionate dance enthusiasts, Ballet Jörgen Canada continues to reach thousands of Atlantic Canadians each year through elementary school performances, workshops, residencies, master classes and major cultural events such as the world premieres of two full-length ballets: Anastasia and The Group of Seven Nutcracker.
Contact us at atlanticregion[at]balletjorgen.ca
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