The Banff Centre is once again partnering Ballet British Columbia in the creation of its latest full-length narrative ballet, Orpheus. Choreographed by Ballet BC artistic director, John Alleyne, the ballet is set to music adapted from Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald von Gluck. This is the second work produced through the partnership, launched last year with the critically lauded and enthusiastically attended new ballet The Faerie Queen, which was previewed in Banff before receiving its world premiere at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver on April 23, 2001.

Ballet British Columbia will be arriving at The Banff Centre in mid-April of this year, to begin a two-week residency, made possible by the support of the Canada Council. "These two weeks are critical to the creation of the production," says John Murrell, artistic director of The Banff Centre’s Theatre Arts department. "Through the Centre’s involvement, Ballet British Columbia will have access to resources of time, space, and technology, necessary for such a project to reach maturity. We are also thrilled that The Banff Centre is constructing Kim Nielsen’s beautiful settings for Orpheus – evidence of our commitment to supporting and assisting in the development of remarkable artistic initiatives."
 

"This project, building on the outstanding accomplishment of The Faerie Queen, is another very important step forward for Ballet BC, in terms of its artistic aspiration, and also, very importantly, in terms of its outreach to audiences of varied levels of sophistication and expectation," continues Murrell. "New dance works of this quality and freshness, of this high degree of accessibility, can touch the imaginations of children, of their parents and grandparents, of the dance community, the theatre community, the visual arts community, and the music and opera community."

In the sharing spirit of its community outreach programs, The Banff Centre will open its doors to the general public for a preview of Orpheus on April 20, in the Eric Harvie Theatre, as part of the well-known Playbill series. In addition, a free performance of Orpheus will take place for Banff and Canmore students between grades five to eight on the afternoon of April 19.