CALGARY, Nov. 4 /CNW/ - Alberta Ballet is proud to announce that it will once again showcase its unique talents on the international stage. An excerpt from its groundbreaking ballet Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum has been commissioned for performance to kick off the one-year countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Having a ballet company perform at the same event as Canadian music personalities Sarah McLachlan, Joel Plaskett and Adrian Anantawan is a rare and exciting occurrence. Alberta Ballet is proud to enthrall a broader audience than ever before, proving to the world that it is truly a progressive and classically talented company.
The Cultural Olympiad 2009 countdown event, taking place February 12, 2009, is a celebration of Canada's best creative talent. Alberta Ballet company artists will perform a portion of Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum, an innovative and unique collaboration between Canadian music icon Joni Mitchell and Alberta Ballet Artistic Director Jean Grand-Maître. In 2007, Mitchell and Grand-Maître joined forces to create an exhilarating and emotional production blending Mitchell's music and art with Grand-Maître's choreography. Their resulting collaboration yielded a ballet exploring the human spirit's potential to create and destroy; its ability to love and hate; its capacity for war and peace. Since its world-premiere in Alberta, Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum has enjoyed a sold-out theatre screening in New York City, a national television broadcast and dozens of rave reviews.
"Alberta Ballet's participation in the one-year countdown concert eloquently expresses our organization's continued growth on the national and international scene," says Grand-Maître, "We will be proud ambassadors of our province once again before the eyes of the world. Our unique repertoire will be showcased alongside such luminaries as Sarah McLachlan during a gala performance highlighting the most exciting and artistically adventurous creations this country has to offer."
About Alberta Ballet:
Alberta Ballet, a not-for-profit organization, is Canada's third-largest ballet company. Since its formation in 1966, with its cutting-edge repertoire and talent, Alberta Ballet is at the forefront of national and international stages. Considered one of the most successful Canadian choreographers of his generation, Artistic Director Jean Grand-Maître has built a rich repertoire that includes the ballets of such masters as George Balanchine and Rudi van Dantzig, as well as, original works; including the critically acclaimed Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle & The Drum, a collaboration with legendary music artist Joni Mitchell.
For further information: Media Contacts: Samantha Garner, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, P: (403) 245-4222 ext 529, E: samanthag@albertaballet.com; Gail Helmer, Director of Marketing and Communications, P: (403) 245-4222 ext 545, E: gailh@albertaballet.com
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