Rueben's Ramblings

Alberta ballet dancers with Sarah McLachlan (c) Phil Crozier/Alberta Ballet

The Alberta (Canada) Ballet offered a sneak peek of its upcoming Sarah McLachlan-inspired ballet in Calgary earlier this week, along with news that two additional dates have been added to its spring run. Fumbling Towards Ecstasy: A Ballet for Every Woman is the company’s third pop-inspired dance production.

Artistic director Jean Grande-Maître decided to create the work after seeing the interest generated by his previous two ballets set to contemporary music. The Fiddle and the Drum was set to the music of Joni Mitchell, while Love Lies Bleeding, which reflected the life of Elton John.

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy will explore the “ever-changing lives of women,” with female dancers ranging from 11-year-old girls to an experienced, 53-year-old ballerina; and will feature 17 McLachlan songs drawn “from her earliest albums to her latest”. Among the songs used are the title track, Hold On, Into the Fire, Good Enough, Ice Cream and Building a Mystery. In fact, McLachlan contributed greatly to the creative process, helping choose songs, aided with the libretto, lent a hand with fund-raising and even provided some personal art that will be projected during the performance.

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy will debut in Calgary on May 4 and continues through May 7; an Edmonton engagement follows May 12 through 14 and the company is also in talks to tour the ballet across North America.

You can read the full article here.