Exclusive Canadian engagement

Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon is a French national treasure, one of the world's foremost contemporary dance companies. This evening of mixed repertoire features the exuberant neo-classical Sarabande by acclaimed dancer-choreographer Benjamin Millepied (Black Swan), the new Director of the Paris Opera Ballet. Set to the music of J. S. Bach, Millepied creates high-energy pyrotechnics and thrilling competitiveness among four male dancers. Steptext by William Forsythe, a fierce, hard-edged quartet, is also set to music by J. S. Bach. Tout autour, by Rachid Ouramdane, is a frenetic, highly physical work of relentless movement. Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon performs Sarabande, Steptext, and Tout autour in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on April 22 at 8 p.m.

ABOUT SARABANDE
The rollicking Sarabande was freely inspired by Jerome Robbins’s 1994 A Suite of Dances. Four male dancers introduce themselves through dance, alone or in small groups, their mood constantly shifting. The choreography has Millepied’s signature loose, nonchalant edge. Each of the dancers carves out a distinct personality and his own onstage territory, and the results—good-natured jostling, seemingly effortless lifts, and mile-a-minute leaps—are spectacular. Millepied has a distinctive voice and his choreography is noted for its fluidity and musicality; while modern, it is rooted in classical technique. Benjamin Millepied embodies the cool factor.

SARABANDE (2009)
CHOREOGRAPHY Benjamin Millepied
MUSIC J. S. Bach, extracts from Partita for solo flute and Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin
COSTUMES Paul Cox
LIGHTING Roderick Murray

DURATION 24 minutes

ABOUT STEPTEXT
William Forsythe's Steptext, created to J.S. Bach's opus for the unaccompanied violin, is a fierce, hard-edged quartet for dancers who use semaphore lower-arm language at a dazzling pace. A single male is soon followed by another. They dance together, partnering each other briefly before a woman in a lipstick-red unitard arrives to dance with breathtaking intensity and astonishing rapidity. A fourth dancer emerges to partner the woman, and their pas de deux is brilliant, echoing the shoves, pulls, and leaning balances performed by the men. With fast, clear, precise execution, the results are electrifying. Steptext also plays with theatrical conventions. As the house lights go on and off and the music is abruptly, repeatedly cut, our attention is sharpened and hunger for the beautiful, sweeping movement intensifies.

STEPTEXT (1984)
CHOREOGRAPHY William Forsythe
MUSIC J.S. Bach, Partita for solo violin in D minor, BWV 1004 (Chaconne)
SET, COSTUMES and LIGHTING William Forsythe

ABOUT TOUT AUTOUR

French-Algerian choreographer Rachid Ouramdane burns up the stage with frenetic contemporary movement set to a driving piano score by Jean-Baptiste Julien. Dancers whirl like dervishes across the stage, lifting one another while still turning, gallop rhythmically, leap with virtuosic jetés, wheel over one another’s backs, and jump over alarmingly fast-rolling bodies. The mood, amplified by the pounding piano, is of frantic, incessant activity. It is followed by stillness, then a solo full of frenzied physical dislocations. The compelling movement of Tout autour suggests ideas about the group and the individual, power and control, and instinct and will, highlighting Ouramdane’s remarkable ability to evoke psychic states through physical means.

TOUT AUTOUR (2014)
CHOREOGRAPHY Rachid Ouramdane
MUSIC Jean-Baptiste Julien
COSTUMES La Bourette
LIGHTING Stéphane Graillot
 

ABOUT BALLET DE L’OPÉRA DE LYON
The word “Ballet” in the Lyon company’s name is somewhat misleading. Although the company dancers are classically trained, the repertoire is 100% modern and consists largely of contemporary dance. The present Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon was established in 1984; Yorgos Loukos is Artistic Director. As France's most well-traveled ballet troupe, since 1987 the company has made twenty cross-country tours of the United States. Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon has acquired and commissioned ballets by a wide range of international dance makers, including William Forsythe, Jirí Kylían, Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, and Angelin Preljocaj, among others. The company's repertoire features works by many American choreographers as well, including Trisha Brown, Karole Armitage, Lucinda Childs, Stephen Petronio, and Bill T. Jones. In 1995, Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon was named Opéra National de Lyon and in 1999, it was the first modern ballet troupe to perform at the historic Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Sponsors
NAC Dance would like to thank Hotel Partner, the Lord Elgin Hotel, and Performance Sponsor, EQ3.

TICKETS AND PERFORMANCES
Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon perform Sarabande, Steptext, and Tout autour in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on April 22 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $41, $56, $70, and $85 for adults and $22.50, $30, $37, and $44.50 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card).

Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices; to reserve your seats, call
613 947-7000 x634, or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.

Tickets are available for purchase:

• in person at the NAC Box Office
• at all Ticketmaster outlets *
• by telephone from Ticketmaster, 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS)
• online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s website (www.nac-cna.ca) *

* A service charge applies on all purchases made through Ticketmaster.

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