NAC Dance presents the much anticipated new full-length story ballet from Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Following the world premiere in March 2011, RWB has toured Wonderland through Western Canada, it reaches the Southam Hall stage on April 28-30, 2011.

Wonderland is presented as part of the NAC Prairie Scene Festival and all performances feature the renowned National Arts Centre Orchestra under the baton of Tadeusz Biernacki.

Wonderland is a dynamic re-interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s beloved characters, events and themes that is sure to surprise and delight. The Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter are all on hand, displaying generous doses of wit, camp and humour. The surreal and dark elements that lurk at the original story’s fringes are bravely realized in explosive passages of breathtaking dance and innovative multimedia.

Shawn Hounsell, acclaimed Montreal choreographer and RWB alumnus, has transformed Wonderland into a multi-sensory experience, with edgy and athletic movement, and an inventive electro-acoustic soundscape.  

Written in 1865 by British mathematician and author Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the tale of a young girl who follows a white rabbit down a hole and discovers a strange and fantastic world full of surprise and bewilderment, a place where the unexpected is expected and nothing is quite as it seems.

Choreographer Shawn Hounsell said “In my Wonderland, Alice is an older woman looking back and remembering a beautiful dream. Slowly, as bits of memory stitch together, the tale is told anew, this time coloured by a lifetime of impressions and experiences, as much ours as they are Alice’s. Our systems of fantasy – from literature, to theatre, cinema, the Internet, celebrity, fashion, sports and the infinite number of other ways we distract ourselves – are reflected and refracted throughout the work, so that, this time, we are not watching from the outside. This time, we are on the inside of Wonderland, experiencing it for ourselves. This is our Wonderland.”

 "... unusual and beautiful interpretation ... one of the most unique shows in [RWB's] repertoire." - The StarPheonix

Wonderland
Choreography: Shawn Hounsell
Artistic & Dramaturge Assistant: Alejandro Alvarez
Composers: John Estacio, Brian Current, Josef Strauss
Costume Design: Anne Armit
Set Design: Guillaume Lord
Lighting Design: Hugh Conacher
Soundscape Design: Nicolas Bernier
Video Scenography:Jimmy Lakatos, TURBINE
Videographer: James Meagher
Make-Up Design: Jane McKay

ROYAL WINNIPEG BALLET – PUBLIC CLASS

Ballet Class taught by SENIOR BALLET MASTER Johnny W. Chang for advanced level ballet students and dancers (aged 14 and up)

Saturday, April 30, 2011
10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
• Location: Rehearsal Hall B, National Arts Centre, 53 Elgin Street, Ottawa (Enter by Stage Door)
• Cost $20, payable in cash on site.
• You must REGISTER in advance, as space is limited, at soutter@magma.ca 613-947-7000 ext 588 – Renata Soutter, Dance Outreach Coordinator

Wonderland is presented in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on Thursday April 28, Friday April 29, and Saturday April 30, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $49.51, $68.87, $79.64 and $87.17 for adults and $26.10, $35.78, $41.17 and $44.93 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card).

Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes including one intermission

Groups of 10 or more save 10% off regular ticket prices; to reserve your seats, call 613-947-7000, ext. 634 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) new!  
• Online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s website (www.nac-cna.ca)
• A service charge applies on all purchases made through Ticketmaster

This production is eligible for the Live Rush program. Full-time students aged 13-29 with a valid Live Rush membership may buy up to two tickets per performance at the discounted price of only $12 per ticket. Live Rush tickets are available from 10 a.m. on the day before the performance until 6 p.m. on the day of the performance. This includes all available seats, including the best seats in the house. Check out liverush.ca for information on the Live Rush program.

 -  30 -

For more information, please call:
Eleri Evans
Marketing and Communications Officer, Dance
National Arts Centre
613-947-7000 ext. 379; e-mail: eevans@nac-cna.ca
or visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca

 

For inquiries during the period of April 18 – 22, please call:
Odette Laurin
Communications Coordinator
National Arts Centre
613-947-7000 ext. 634; e-mail: olaurin@nac-cna.ca