An invaluable opportunity for students.
Ballet BC Annex project, a collaboration with Arts Umbrella Dance, offers an invaluable opportunity for schools and communities across BC to engage in world-class dance and educational programming.
The Annex project tours schools in Metro Vancouver and throughout BC, bringing contemporary dance repertoire, professional performances, and workshops to student groups and audiences of all ages. In the 2024/25 season, we are thrilled to present a new creation by Zachary Seto, as well as Ballet BC Artistic Director Medhi Walerski’s SWAY and Micaela Taylor’s Volo.
In schools, workshops led by dancers and Ballet BC’s Outreach and Education team will accompany each performance, offering insight into the choreographic process and the career path of a dancer. Students will learn excerpts from the performance and engage in creative dialogue.
Ballet BC Annex dancers as well as select guest artists will visit your school or community location.
The half-day program will consist of the opportunity to watch a performance and participate in a dancer-facilitated workshop learning Ballet BC repertoire. There will also be an opportunity for students to engage with the artists and ask questions.
Volo | Micaela Taylor
The word ‘Volo‘, Italian for flight, encapsulates the angst and propelled energy that it takes to take off from one place to another. A focus on the neverending travel that can overwhelm individuals yet satisfy the business of life. This will mark the second time Taylor’s work will be performed by Ballet BC Annex following the choreographer’s triumphant Ballet BC mainstage debut with Salt Conscious in the 2023/24 season.
SWAY | Medhi Walerski
Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s 1862 poem ‘“Hope” is the thing with feathers,’ and set to a gorgeous composition by frequent collaborator Adrien Cronet, SWAY invokes the lyrical movement language Walerski has become known for. Fluid, harmonic transitions between duets and the group create timeless moments just as fleeting as the hope described by the poet. An ode to movement and its ability to communicate without words.
New Creation | Zachary Seto
Currently studying at SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Dance in New York, Zachary Seto has premiered his work in New York City with the Battery Dance Festival, as well as Dance Ontario as an awardee of their Creative Partnership Program. Influenced by the earth and the stories that humanity is currently living out on this planet, Zachary’s piece is an excavation into deserts, dunes, mountains and valleys, drawing the seeker inwards to dance with the shadows in a curriculum of desperation and destiny.
If you are an educator interested in Ballet BC Annex, please contact outreach@balletbc.com.
If you are interested in supporting this program, please contact developmentmanager@balletbc.com.