Triple bill includes the return of the global sensation BOLERO X, Medhi Walerski’s SWAY, and a world premiere from Italian choreographer Sofia Nappi
VANCOUVER, BC – Ballet BC returns to Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre for TRILOGY, November 6/7/8. The season-opening triple bill features SWAY, a gorgeous piece of repertoire centred on hope from Ballet BC Artistic Director Medhi Walerski; a world premiere from buzzworthy Italian choreographer Sofia Nappi; and the return of the sensational 50-dancer BOLERO X by Shahar Binyamini, performed by a full company cast plus 30 guest artists from Arts Umbrella Dance.
“We’re opening the 2025/26 season on a high note.” says Ballet BC Artistic Director Medhi Walerski. “Continuing the company’s unrelenting commitment to new creation, it’s a joy to bring Sofia Nappi’s vibrant, contemporary voice to Vancouver. Entirely conceived and created in our studios over the summer, this piece is full of imagination and promises to be an incredible live experience. BOLERO X continues to wow all who encounter its power. I’m thrilled for those who missed it the first time to get another chance to witness it. SWAY is a work of my own, set to an original composition by Adrien Cronet and centred on the notion of hope—a theme which feels especially timely at the moment.”
SWAY returns to the Ballet BC stage after a hugely successful company premiere in 2024. Originally created in 2019, the work is performed by a cast of seven dancers, combining sophisticated, captivating partnering with dynamic group work. With inspiration taken from the lines of Emily Dickinson’s poem “Hope is the thing with feathers” (1862), it is a deeply moving ode to possibility and our ability to communicate without words. The work is one of nine signature works by choreographer Medhi Walerski performed by the dancers of Ballet BC since 2010, contributing to a lasting imprint on the company’s repertoire.
Based in Florence, Italy, Sofia Nappi is a dancer, choreographer, and founder and artistic director of KOMOCO, a new contemporary dance company launched in 2024. Her work is known for its theatricality and expressiveness with an element of the mystic, taking influence from a background spent training with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as well as close connections with the Hofesh Shechter Dance Company and the movement language Gaga founded by Ohad Naharin. The new creation features 16 dancers and explores themes of divine play and human connection. This is Nappi’s Ballet BC choreographic debut, and the first time her work will be shared with audiences on the West Coast.
TRILOGY concludes with the return of Shahar Binyamini’s global sensation BOLERO X, “a masterful tribute to unity, power, and the collective human experience” (PBS). Most recently performed by Ballet BC in Eastern Canada at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa) and Place Des Arts (Montreal), this will be its first return to the stage in Vancouver since its original creation in 2023. Performed by a monumental cast of 50 dancers supported by artists from Vancouver’s Arts Umbrella Dance, the work is set to Ravel’s beloved and instantly recognizable composition Bolero and echoes the score, gradually building towards a hypnotizing crescendo highlighted by breathtaking synchronization.
The creation process of BOLERO X was captured for an online documentary produced by the internationally renowned Dance Masterclass, which is now streaming worldwide. The work will also be performed by Ballet BC on tour this fall in Los Angeles, CA (joined by dancers from the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance); Ann Arbor, MI; Blacksburg, VA; and Tucson, AZ.
New this season, Ballet BC introduces matinees! Enjoy the same great programming as evening showtimes on Saturday afternoons at 1:30pm. In addition, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening performances will now begin at 7:30pm (previously 8pm).
Subscriptions and single tickets to all 2025/26 Ballet BC performances at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre including TRILOGY are on sale now at balletbc.com/season. Tickets start at $19 thanks to the generous support of Simons.
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