Alberta Ballet 52nd Season

Alberta Ballet’s 52nd Season Celebrates Legends, Poets and Dream Weavers

Alberta Ballet Artistic Director Jean Grand-Maître today announced the 2018/19 season, a series brimming with Canadian artistry as it celebrates legends, poets and dream weavers.

The new season includes ten Alberta premieres and two world premieres.

Most notably, Alberta Ballet will add to its repertory The Sleeping Beauty, the crown jewel of classical ballet. The production, choreographed by Associate Artistic Director Christopher Anderson, will embrace the ballet’s majestic tradition and further thrill Alberta audiences with a kingdom re-imagined as nestled in the iconic western Canadian landscape.

Alberta Ballet's Hayna Gutierrez and Garrett Groat. Photo Credit: Paul McGrath (CNW Group/Alberta Ballet)

The season is book-ended with acclaimed intimate tributes to Canadian musical legends.  The opening production has Alberta Ballet hosting Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal in Dance Me, an homage to Leonard Cohen.  The season finale is Alberta Ballet in Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and the Drum.

2018 also marks 10 years since the premiere of Edmund Stripe’s The Nutcracker. Alberta Ballet will present a special anniversary edition of the production with new choreographic elements and a parade of cameo walk-on roles.

Alberta Ballet has also invited Bruce Wells to stage his version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  This legendary comedy is favoured by prestigious ballet companies across North America and Alberta Ballet will present the Canadian premiere of Wells’ acclaimed version.

Other highlights include two mixed bills featuring the boldest choreographic voices in contemporary dance today. The first of these triple bills, in January, will feature guest company Ballet BC to perform works by Crystal PiteWilliam Forsythe and Medhi Walerski.  The second triple bill, de.Vi.ate is Alberta Ballet’s response to requests for its own company dancers in more avant guard work.  de.Vi.ate will be the first time Alberta audiences see Jean Grand-Maitre’s Caelestis, a one-act ballet commissioned by the National Arts Centre. The original orchestral score for Caelestis, composed by Edmontonian Andrew Staniland, has since been nominated for a JUNO Award.

Says Grand-Maitre, “Our stage will explode in a maelstrom of electrifying and enchanting magic, gathering artistic mavericks from across the nation. It’s such a profound collection of talent, the 52nd season may very well become Alberta Ballet’s most memorable.”

Subscriptions and Key Dates
March 5, 2018 – Launch of renewal period for current subscriptions
June 1, 2018 – Sales open for new subscriptions and season flex packs
July 16, 2018 – Sales open to general public for single tickets

Season details, including performance dates, available at
www.albertaballet.com/season-overview

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