60th Anniversary Dance Gala Weekend
July 25-26 · 7:30 p.m. Margaret Greenham Theatre
July 27-28 · 2:00 p.m. Margaret Greenham Theatre
July 28 · 7:30 p.m. Eric Harvie Theatre · The Banff Centre
Tickets: $25 adult · $20 student / senior · $15 child
Arts Lover Passholders Free
Box Office: 403.762.6301 · 800.413.8368
Presented as part of the 2007 Banff Summer Arts Festival

This year marks the 60th anniversary of dance at Banff, a proud legacy of classical ballet and cutting-edge contemporary choreography that has nurtured the professional development of generations of Canadian artists in dance. In 2007, The Banff Centre celebrates that legacy with four days of performance July 25 to 28 that will wrap up with a spectacular dance gala featuring works by choreographers George Balanchine, Brian Macdonald, Jean Louis Morin, Crystal Pite, Gioconda Barbuto, Bengt Jörgen, and Joe Laughlin.

For the performance, the Banff Centre Festival Dance company will be joined by Banff dance alumni including Johnny Wright, Tara Birtwhistle, Sasha Gamayunov, and Sarah Murphy Dyson of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet; Heather Ogden and Etienne Lavigne of the National Ballet of Canada; Alberta Ballet’s Kelly McKinley and Nicole Caron; Heather and Leslie Telford, who are dancing in Sweden and the Netherlands; and Sylvain Senez of Ballet B.C.

“We’re fortunate to have had the teachers, the studios and the splendid isolation here in the mountains to truly increase our understanding and ability to dance” says Brian Macdonald, one of Canada’s most acclaimed choreographers and artistic advisor to The Banff Centre’s summer dance program.

The event kicks off July 25 with three nights of performance, with works including Balanchine’s exquisite Concerto Barocco, excerpts from Brian Macdonald’s Requiem 9/11, Lignes et Pointes, and Tam Ti Delam, and Troisième Souffle by Jean Louis Morin, Crystal Pite’s Quest, and the pas de deux from Cinderella by Bengt Jörgen.

On the afternoon of Saturday, July 28, the company will present a tribute to Clifford E. Lee choreography award winners. First presented in 1978, the Lee award is one of the highest honours in Canadian choreography. For the July 28 performance, dancers will present works by Crystal Pite, Gioconda Barbuto, Marc Godden, and Joe Laughlin, woven through with film clips of Banff productions of Lee award creations by Christopher House, Peter Quanz, D.A. Hoskins, Wen Wei Wang, and many others.

The weekend wraps up with the 60th Anniversary Dance Gala, presented by 94 young dancers from the Centre’s 2007 dance training and professional dance programs and acclaimed alumni. In addition to works by Balanchine, Macdonald, and Morin, the evening will also feature the pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet by Alberta Ballet artistic director Jean Grand-Maître and the pas de deux from Swan Lake, performed by the National Ballet’s Ogden and Lavigne.

The Banff Centre also marks the date with two sessions of 60th Anniversary Dance Dialogues at 10:00 a.m. in the Max Bell Auditorium July 27 and 28, the first with distinguished dance alumni and the second with past winners of the Lee Award. Coinciding with the anniversary is the July 28 launch of Brian Macdonald’s recollections of dance at Banff, Dancing in Thin Air, published by the Banff Centre Press.

Established at The Banff Centre in 1947 by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally, founders of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Centre’s summer dance program has helped to shape the careers of Canadian dancers and choreographers, and has become an important showcase for original work in dance.

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