VANCOUVER, BC — Ballet BC launches its milestone 40th anniversary season with Bodies & Voices, an evocative double bill by acclaimed Dutch sibling choreographic duo Imre and Marne van Opstal. Onstage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre November 5/6/7, 2026, the program marks the return of the internationally sought-after choreographers to Ballet BC following their acclaimed 2022 company debut, Heart Drive.
Known for their distinctive and emotionally charged movement language, Imre and Marne van Opstal approach dance as a poetic laboratory for exploring the vulnerability of being human in all its rawness, beauty, and absurdity. Bodies & Voices brings together two works that push deeply into questions of memory, loss, connection, and the complexities of contemporary life.
The evening opens with the North American premiere of I’m afraid to forget your smile, a groundbreaking work created in 2022 for six dancers and 16 voices. The Vancouver Chamber Choir joins the company live onstage for the unique collaboration as movement and vocals converge in a meditation on surrender and letting go. Through a series of mesmerizing solos, duets, and powerful group scenes, the work moves between the deeply personal and the collective, revealing both human fragility and our capacity to confront our own limitations.
Bodies & Voices also features a highly anticipated world premiere and the van Opstals’ second creation for Ballet BC. Set to an original score by composer Amos Ben-Tal, the new work casts Ballet BC’s full company of dancers and promises a daring and conceptually rich exploration of the human experience.
“When I started thinking about our 40th season, I knew I wanted Imre and Marne to be part of it,” says Medhi Walerski, Ballet BC Artistic Director. “They are two artists I deeply admire, and their work continues to have such a strong impact on the dance world. I’m very proud of the relationship they have built with Ballet BC and our dancers over the years. These two works will give our artists the opportunity to show their range, individuality, brilliance, and strength, while bringing together two very distinct choreographic voices. I can’t think of a better way to begin the season.”
Hailing from the Netherlands and a dance-centric family which included two other siblings with careers in professional dance, Imre and Marne van Opstal have emerged as two of the most compelling voices in their art form today. Former dancers with Nederlands Dans Theater and Batsheva Dance Company, they have performed works by some of the world’s leading choreographers, including Jiří Kylián, Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter, Sharon Eyal, and Ohad Naharin. Their own choreographic work has been commissioned by some of the world’s top companies including Rambert, Nederlands Dans Theater, Paris Opera Ballet, GöteborgOperans Danskompani, Hessisches Staatsballett, and Ballett Theater Basel.
Their body of work includes Drift Wood, November, Voodoo Waltz—recipient of Germany’s prestigious Der Faust Award—The Grey, Take Root, Baby Don’t Hurt Me, and The Point Being. In 2025, the siblings were named Associate Choreographers at Nederlands Dans Theater. Their creative practice also extends beyond the stage to film, fashion, and commercial work, with collaborations including Dior, Porsche, and FKA Twigs.
The van Opstals first worked with Ballet BC in 2022, creating Heart Drive, a primal and electric work exploring the often repressed energies that shape how we love, hold, and connect with one another. It quickly became one of the company’s signature pieces of repertoire and an audience favourite, touring to prestigious stages around the world and captured for broadcast by ARTE TV in France and Germany, and later acquired by Marquee TV.
Their return for Ballet BC’s 40th anniversary season offers Vancouver audiences a rare opportunity to experience the evolving vision of one of contemporary dance’s most exciting creative partnerships.
Bodies & Voices | November 5/6/7, 2026, 7:30 + 1:30pm
Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver
Featuring:
I’m afraid to forget your smile
Imre and Marne van Opstal
Featuring the Vancouver Chamber Choir
World Premiere
Imre and Marne van Opstal
