by Sarah Crompton
Next year, Ballet BC celebrates 40 years as a force in contemporary dance. Ever since its founding in 1986, it has been a company to be reckoned with, and its artistic director Medhi Walerski has clear ideas about how to keep it that way.
“I like to say we are innovative,” he says. “But that’s just a word. I think you have to ask what it means to be innovative these days. What I am trying to do as an artistic director is to find artists who are deeply engaged in the artistic process. I want them to have as much space, freedom, and autonomy as possible.
“I don’t want them to feel they have to create works that will be a success. I want them to have the opportunity to try, and to challenge the artistry of our dancers. That’s what I would want as a choreographer as well.”
Walerski took over the running of Ballet BC in 2020, but his association goes back at least a decade when as a dancer with Nederlands Dans Theater he was invited to create a work for the Canadian company. In shaping the company to his own vision, he is both building on the past and making new decisions about the way forward.
Photo by Millissa Martin
Despite its name, Ballet BC no longer has any pointe shoe work in its repertory. It is entirely committed to contemporary dance. Equally it is determined to present works by established choreographers, by dance-makers with whom it has built strong ties, and by up-and-coming creators. “Since I joined, a lot of Canadian choreographers have created works and we have put a strong emphasis on commissioning emerging and female choreographers,” Walerski says.
“We also have a deep connection with Indigenous artists. As part of our decolonisation and reconciliation programme, I felt it was a big part of my responsibility to connect and have that dialogue, so we now have two artists in residence who are Indigenous choreographers.”
Photo by Millissa Martin
Other recent developments include a junior company of sorts called Ballet BC Annex, which runs from August to December, and which amplifies this ongoing determination to experiment with new work. “It is a great way of discovering new voices without the pressure of having to create for the main company,” Walerski explains. “In terms of dancers too, it is like an incubator.”
Such developments have been enabled by a new 18,000 sq feet headquarters on Vancouver’s Granville Island that provides four studios, and event space; this massively improves the company’s capacity to provide education and engagement programmes. Perhaps as a result of this increased engagement, audiences are on the up. Many performances in the company’s last season at the 2,800 seat Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver were sold out, and more younger people are coming to see what is on offer. “There’s a real appreciation for dance and a big change in our demographic,” says Walerski. “People are willing to be challenged, but they want to see what is being created.”
Photos by Michael Slobodian (left) and Millissa Martin (right)
All in all, it is an exciting time for the company that has as its bedrock the quality and range of the work it can present. The current Dance Consortium programme is a case in point. It offers two pieces from major choreographers, chosen to show the talents of the company’s 20 dancers. “When we talk about Johan Inger and Crystal Pite they are both masterful choreographers,” says Walerski. “Their work is so demanding, and these two pieces are completely distinct from one another, which showcases the versatility of our dancers. It’s incredible for the dancers to work with them – and the audience to witness.
“The works complement each other, but they are both quite epic and both explore themes that are deeply human. It’s challenging to bring such pieces to life because they’re large and demand a lot of resources. But it’s important I think to present works that highlight both the strength and diversity of the group and the individuality of each dancer.”
Photo by Michael Slobodian
Frontier is a much-reworked version of a piece that Pite – who began her dancing career with Ballet BC – first created in 2008. Made for a large cast, and incorporating four dancers from the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in its British incarnation, it is an exploration of the theme of the unknown on a grand and dazzling scale. Inger’s PASSING, on the other hand, which was commissioned for Ballet BC’s 2022/23 season, was inspired by a volcanic eruption and investigates ideas of memory and transformation, using multiple dance styles such as tap and folk.
The company is diverse not only in terms of individual talents but of origin. Canadians are joined by dancers from Italy, Taiwan, Costa Rica and the United States. “It creates something special in the room having so many nationalities and cultures in a space together,” Walerski says. “There’s an alchemy that springs from the mix of cultures.”
Their technical background is richly different too. “With the work we are bringing and the choreographers we are commissioning, the dancers need a very strong classical background; the foundation of dance is still oriented towards classical ballet. But they are also incredible movers. They improvise. And they can create. Each season we have a programme where dancers can present their own work – they not only choreograph and perform in each of their pieces, but they also produce their own show. They manage the schedule, the budget, marketing, ticket sales and so on. When I joined Ballet BC, I had just finished my career as a dancer and I was choreographing, but I had no idea of the next step.”
Photo by Michael Slobodian
Raised in France, Walerski trained in Normandy and Paris and danced at the Paris Opera Ballet. But the bulk of his career was spent at Nederlands Dans Theater, a company with which Ballet BC has built strong links. His predecessor as artistic director Emily Molnar is now in charge at NDT; many of the works in the Canadian company’s repertory, including those by Pite and Inger, come from choreographers associated with the Dutch company.
“Ballet BC already had a strong relationship with works from NDT when I joined,” Walerski explains. “I have just built on that momentum. It’s important for the dancers, for the audience as well, because they’ve really have had an impact on our field. They’ve changed the way that we see contemporary dance.”
Photo by Millissa Martin
Because Ballet BC is a creation-based company, he intends in future to present work from 21st century greats such as Jiří Kylian – “one of the biggest inspirations in my career” – and William Forsythe, alongside rising stars such as Imre and Marne van Opstal. This season also saw a much-acclaimed creation from Bogota-born and Montreal-based Andrea Peña, winner of the company’s Emerging Choreographer Award.
The good news for the rest of the world is that this enterprising commissioning policy is accompanied by a commitment to touring, which means that works such as PASSING and Frontier, are seen by a global audience. “We only have three programmes a year in British Columbia, and each programme only has three performances,” Walerski explains.
Photo by Michael Slobodian
“We have plans to increase that in the near future – we want the works to be performed more and for the artists to explore the works more; they mature and get better each time we perform. And we want to connect with a wider audience, both in Canada and internationally, sharing our creations with them. It is a really bonding experience for the dancers.”
All these developments are happening at a rich time for Canadian dance. “There are a lot of Canadian artists who are doing good work at the moment,” says Walerski. “Perhaps because it’s been challenging to find resources to create, people who really want to be creators have to fight. There is a resilience in the act of creation that makes them grow. We are on a good tide, a good wave.”
Sarah Crompton is a freelance journalist specialising in the arts and culture. She is the dance critic of The Observer and the theatre critic for WhatsOnStage. She is the co-host of the WhatsOnStage podcast.
Photo by Millissa Martin
