by Gary Smith You might have been expecting a dumbed-down Sleeping Beauty. After all, Toronto’s Ballet Jörgen took this grand 19th-century work and reimagined it for a chamber touring company that travels mostly to smaller communities across Canada. Well, you’d be wrong. In spite of some dramatic excesses, this production, which had its October premiere
by Kaija Pepper The action is drawn in clear, bold strokes: Opera Warriors is presented in a series of scenes and micro-scenes like panels in a graphic novel, telling a sprawling, five-act tale set in the world of Beijing Opera. Choreographer Xing Shimiao calls on more than 40 dancers from Huajin Dance Drama Ensemble of
by Steve Sucato Few tales are as universally known and beloved as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Countless dance versions have been created, approaching the story of two star-crossed lovers from numerous angles. For choreographer Hélène Blackburn and her Montreal-based company Cas Public, Romeo and Juliet took on a broader meaning. In Blackburn’s Symphonie dramatique, the