Queen Elizabeth Theatre
7:30pm + 1:30pm
Nov 6 7 8
The season opens with TRILOGY, introducing a world premiere from an emerging voice, a poetic revival from the company’s Artistic Director, and the return of a worldwide hit featuring a monumental cast. Experience a new creation from Italian choreographer Sofia Nappi, Medhi Walerski’s SWAY, and Shahar Binyamini’s 50-dancer BOLERO X.
New Nappi
Sofia Nappi
Buzzworthy Florence-based dance artist, choreographer and KOMOCO Artistic Director Sofia Nappi shares her first creation for Canadian audiences following a whirlwind of European commissions and awards. The rising star’s work has been called “joyous” and “absolutely original,” and is known for its theatricality and expressivity.
Nappi’s formidable background includes training with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater as well as close contact with the Hofesh Shechter Dance Company and the movement language Gaga—both strong influences in her distinct choreographic voice. Career highlights include Holelah with the National Theatre Mannheim, originally created for the 2019 Venice Biennale; a work for the Up & Coming Choreographers Project of NDT 2; plus commissions with Leipziger Ballett and Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart and choreography for the work Platée with Göteborg Opera in 2024.
Don’t miss a world premiere from an ascendant one-to-watch.
WorkSWAY
Medhi Walerski
Music
Adrien Cronet
The polished, mesmerizing SWAY from Ballet BC Artistic Director and French choreographer Medhi Walerski returns. With inspiration taken from the lines of Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is the thing with feathers” (1862), SWAY is a sophisticated work for seven dancers where Walerski’s inimitable movement language—infused with elegance and nuance—shines bright.
Originally created for NDT 2 in 2019 and set to an original score by Belgian composer Adrien Cronet, the rich, layered rumination on our ability to communicate without words is highlighted by dynamic group work and deeply captivating duets.
A moving and highly memorable ode to hope and possibility.
WorkBOLERO X
Shahar Binyamini
Music
Maurice Ravel
You asked, we answered—Shahar Binyamini’s global sensation comes back to Vancouver! A “masterful tribute to unity, power, and the collective human experience” (PBS), BOLERO X is a pure celebration of dance, marked by raw, inventive partnering and breathtaking synchronization.
Set to Ravel’s 1928 masterpiece Bolero, the monumental 50-dancer cast—bolstered by artists from Arts Umbrella Dance—mimics the score, gradually building towards a truly hypnotizing crescendo. Since its attention-grabbing world premiere with Ballet BC in 2023, BOLERO X has gone on to earn rave reviews and standing ovations across Canada and the US, and was the focus of a Dance Masterclass documentary which takes a behind-the-scenes look at Binyamini’s creation process with the company.
Prepare to transcend.
Work
