Members of the Alberta Ballet are seen in this undated handout photo. Choreographers from three Canadian ballet companies will join forces along with homegrown composers for a new production debuting in Ottawa prior to heading across the country.Leiland R.W.Charles/The Canadian Press
Choreographers from three Canadian ballet companies will join forces with homegrown composers for a new production debuting in Ottawa prior to heading across the country.
"Encount3rs" will feature the works of Jean Grand-Maitre of Alberta Ballet, Emily Molnar of Ballet BC, and Guillaume Cote of the National Ballet of Canada.
The three one-act ballets were commissioned by the Ottawa-based National Arts Centre where "Encount3rs" will have its world premiere. The performances will be accompanied by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the music will be recorded for commercial release.
Grand-Maitre teams with Juno-nominated Andrew Staniland in his exploration of the fast-changing world in "Caelestis."
Molnar partners with Juno-nominated composer Nicole Lizee on "Keep Driving, I'm Dreaming." And Cote reunites with Kevin Lau – his past collaborator on the National Ballet's "Le Petit Prince" – on the new work "Dark Angels."
"Encount3rs" will be staged at the NAC's Southam Hall in Ottawa April 20-22. It is then slated to be restaged by the choreographers' respective companies: Ballet BC from May 11 to 13; the National Ballet from June 16 to 22, 2018, and Alberta Ballet in the winter of 2018-19.