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Fostering Connections: Ballet BC artists collaborate with UVic composers

Ballet BC had the recent opportunity to partner with Dance Victoria and the University of Victoria Faculty of Fine Arts for Three x Three x Three, an exciting collaborative project that connected the professional dance world with a renowned academic institution.

Led by the vision of UVic Dean of Fine Arts Dr. Allana Lindgren, three Ballet BC dancers/choreographers—Livona Ellis, Justin Rapaport, and Zenon Zubyk—were paired with three composers/musicians from the University of Victoria School of Music—Christopher Butterfield, Patrick Boyle, and Anthony Tan. Over several months throughout the 2021/22 season, the partners worked closely together both remotely and in person to choreograph new works to new compositions of music and sound. It was an invaluable opportunity for Ballet BC artists to work on a new creation from conception to completion, assembling their own cast of dancers and exploring their creativity alongside original music. The artists were able to experiment, improvise, and create freely, exploring a variety of concepts surrounding space and sound.

“I was interested in seeing how our exchange of ideas would influence my creative vision and what kind of balance we would find. Having the sound develop after the movement has challenged me to understand rhythm, timing, and punctuation in a different way, and has pushed me to explore my choreography with a different lens.” – Scenes of Thought choreographer and Ballet BC company artist Livona Ellis in an interview with UVic News.

The completed works, Scenes of Thought, Letting Go, and Multiplicity is a Liberty, were shared with an intimate in-person audience at the Dance Victoria studios following Ballet BC’s mainstage performances in March 2022, as well as livestreamed.

Thank you to everyone who joined us live in Victoria and tuned in for the performances!