The Eric Harvie Theatre audience rose to their feet as one on June 25 to toast the advance premiere performance of choreographer Aszure Barton’s Busk II.

Co-commissioned by The Banff Centre, Danceworks, and the Ringling International Arts Festival, in association with the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the performance marked a homecoming of sorts for Barton, who hails originally from Edmonton. The choreographer and her company, Aszure Barton & Artists, spent a month in residence at the Centre working with the Busk II creative team. The resulting multi-layered and dynamic work was clearly a hit with the Banff audience.

“I’m a proud Albertan. It’s such a pleasure to have my company with me here,” Barton enthused. “I feel the space around me, the stillness and calm. I feel very creative here and it has been a complete joy. The dancers love it. They don’t want to leave!”

Busk II is intensely collaborative, resonant of Barton’s characteristic way of choreographing. “The idea came from busking, so spontaneity is at the core of the creation,” she said. “The piece will always be evolving throughout its life. But there are certain elements and ideas, such as certain moments of solitude and the energy of the collective that are captured in the piece.”

One of Canada’s most talented young choreographers, Barton is the resident choreographer for Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, and an artist-in-residence at New York’s Baryshnikov Arts Center. A 2008 Paul D. Fleck Fellow at the Centre, Barton will choreograph new work for the National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre, and the Juilliard School in 2009. A full evening-length work, which includes Busk II and a companion piece, will premiere at the Ringling International Arts Festival in Sarasota, Florida in October.

Busk Project 2009 was co-commissioned by The Banff Centre, Danceworks (Santa Barbara, California), and the Ringling International Arts Festival, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art (Sarasota, Florida) in association with the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York). The Centre acknowledges the support of the Kahanoff Foundation for this commission. The initial development of Busk was made possible by support from Danceworks, a collaboration between Summerdance Santa Barbara and the Lobero Theatre. Additional support was provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Photo credit: Stephan Laks and Cindy Salgado in Busk II. Photo: Don Lee