Queen Elizabeth Theatre
7:30pm + 1:30pm
May 6 7 8
A full evening with one of the world’s most iconic names in dance, Vancouver’s Crystal Pite. This triple bill brings together three striking works that showcase the range and emotional depth of Pite’s impressive choreographic canon. From a poignant ode to loss and acceptance performed in falling snow, to a razor-sharp commentary on power set around a boardroom table, to a sweeping ensemble work against an awe-inspiring curtain of light—experience the brilliance of Solo Echo, The Statement, and the BC premiere of Angels’ Atlas.
A fitting finale to a historic season, this unmissable event honours an artist whose connection with Ballet BC spans nearly four decades and whose unparalleled creativity and commitment continues to resonate deeply with audiences around the globe.
Solo Echo
Crystal Pite
The soulful and beloved Solo Echo returns to the Ballet BC stage for the first time since 2018. Performed to two sonatas by Johannes Brahms—touchstones for Pite at various points in her life—the work is a profound meditation on acceptance and loss. Seven dancers embody a single character reckoning with himself at the end of life, moving from nuanced duets and solos to a complex and expansive collective body. With further inspiration from Mark Strand’s poem “Lines for Winter,” the piece is set against a serene backdrop of falling snow, with elements of winter, music, and the moving body drawing the audience into a world of yearning and reflection.
WorkThe Statement
Crystal Pite
Text
Jonathon Young
The Statement is a striking one-act play that enthralls from beginning to end. Four dancers move to a brilliant and incisive script by Canadian playwright and frequent Pite collaborator Jonathon Young. Locked in a contest for power and control, the highly engaging characters are charged with fueling a conflict in a distant country, and tension escalates as they confront the ethical weight of their actions. Character “A” declares: “For generations they’ve been fighting. We used it as an opportunity—the attacks—the—for investment. For growth. We used it.” A searing and particularly timely work from a pair of visionary creators.
Work
Angels' Atlas
Crystal Pite
A breathtaking piece for 36 dancers, guest artists from Arts Umbrella and Modus Operandi join Ballet BC dancers for the Vancouver premiere of Pite’s colossal Angels’ Atlas. Light plays a starring role here as it dances on a pivoting, reflective topography, creating conditions for the unexpected to appear. Backed by a score of original music by Owen Belton and choral works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Morten Lauridsen, the dancers embody humanity’s impermanence in an immense and enigmatic world. Angels’ Atlas charts the territories that exist beyond our understanding, continuing Pite’s near-constant inquiry into the question of what moves us.
Work
