Penelope and Odysseus
Saturday, November 28 · 7:30 p.m. · Eric Harvie Theatre · The Banff Centre
Adult $35 – $25 · Senior/Student $32 – $22
Day of performance: Adult $38 – $28 · Senior/Student $35 – $25
Banff Centre Box Office: 1-800-413-8368 or 403-762-6301
Presented as part of the 2009 – 2010 Visiting Artists’ Series
At 70, dancer and choreographer David Earle has developed a wide-ranging repertoire that is often about grand, soul-expanding themes — ancient mythology, sacred symbols, and the connection between body and spirit. He is particularly interested in creating opportunities for dance audiences to hear new contemporary and traditional music, and he regularly choreographs to live accompaniment, including choirs, small ensembles, and orchestras. On November 28, Banff audiences will see an evening of premiere performances of new work by Earle and his company, Dancetheatre David Earle, to the live accompaniment of the Penderecki String Quartet.
The key piece for the premiere is called Odyssey, and it’s set to a performance by the quartet of Omar Daniel’s Penelope and Odysseus. Often seen as a symbol of faithfulness and the testing of faith, Homer’s mythical character Penelope, wife of Odysseus, waited for him for 20 years while he fought the Trojan War. For Earle, the underlying themes of separation and reunion formed this new work for a full ensemble of dancers. The company has been in Banff for two weeks on a creative residency, building and staging Odyssey. Earle will also premiere fully choreographed versions of three additional works, including Miserere, Serious Games, and Antico.
Both based in Guelph, Ontario, Dancetheatre David Earle and the Penderecki String Quartet have been collaborating for 12 years. In 2006, Earle was awarded the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts from the Canada Council in recognition of a distinguished career. He cofounded Toronto Dance Theatre, becoming the company’s sole artistic director in 1987 and touring widely with the company. In 1996, he left TDT to create Dancetheatre David Earle in Guelph, and throughout his career has continued to teach and create training opportunities for young dancers, including several years of teaching and choreographing at The Banff Centre in the 1980s. As a choreographer, Earle has created more than 130 original works, including Sacra Conversazione, Baroque Suite, Mozart’s Requiem, Architecture for the Poor, and Angels and Victories.
Founded in Poland in 1986, at the urging of acclaimed composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki, the members of the Penderecki String Quartet — violinists Jeremy Bell and Jerzy Kaplanek, violist Christine Vlajek, and cellist Jacob Braun — have toured extensively through the concert halls of Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Currently the quartet in residence at Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener, Ontario, the quartet has collaborated with composers and artists including Jane Bunnett, DJ Spooky, and Gilles Tremblay.
Upcoming performances in The Banff Centre’s Visiting Artists’ Series include The Three Men Project (January 9), Green Thumb Theatre’s Wired (January 16 – 17), Pierre Brault’s Five O’Clock Bells (January 29 – 30); Kidd Pivot (February 13) Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Edgar Meyer (February 14), Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s Beneath the Banyan Tree (February 27 – 28), and more.
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- More information on The Banff Centre’s 2009 – 2010 Visiting Artists’ Series:
