Queen Elizabeth Theatre
7:30pm + 1:30pm
November 5 6 7
We open our season with a double bill from Dutch sibling choreographic duo Imre and Marne van Opstal, whose evocative work sees dance as a poetic, emotional laboratory—exploring the vulnerability of being human in all its rawness, beauty, and absurdity. Since their 2022 Ballet BC debut with the electric Heart Drive, their meteoric rise has included starry collaborations with the likes of Dior and FKA Twigs, Germany’s prestigious Der Faust Award for the visionary and hallucinatory Voodoo Waltz, and major new commissions from the Gothenburg Opera Dance Company and the Paris Opera Ballet, among others.
Experience their acclaimed I’m afraid to forget your smile along with a highly anticipated new creation.
I'm afraid to forget your smile
Imre and Marne van Opstal
Movement and live vocals converge in this groundbreaking work for six dancers and 16 voices. Joined on stage by the Vancouver Chamber Choir in their first collaboration with the company, I’m afraid to forget your smile meditates on the moment of letting go as a transition to surrender and loss. In a series of mesmerizing solos and duets, part one explores the deeply personal struggle we all face with memory and emotion. In part two, the focus shifts to the collective, with striking group images that mirror the layered unity of the choir. Physically demanding and emotionally charged, the dancers move through raw, powerful choreography that reveals human fragility and our ability to face our own limitations.
WorkNew van Opstal
Imre and Marne van Opstal
Building on a distinctive and evolving choreographic canon, the van Opstals share a world premiere with Vancouver audiences, their second creation for Ballet BC. The new work continues their ongoing artistic inquiry, which they describe as a “physical language hyper-attuned to the zeitgeist: layered in meaning and constantly searching the fringes of human experience.” Expect a daring, conceptually rich journey that reflects the complexities of our time while boldly pushing into new expressive territory. A rare West Coast opportunity to witness the evolving vision of two of today’s most sought-after voices in dance.
Work
