Ballet Kelowna is a relatively young company giving its first performances in 2003. But through its vision, powerful dancers and the creation of new homegrown works, it has elevated itself to one of Canada’s Top 5 ballet companies.
The British Columbia based company returns to Alberta with The Cowboy Act Suite & Other Works. It is an energetic triple bill for a one-off at the Arden Theatre on Feb. 28.
Cameron Fraser-Monroe, a renowned national Indigenous choreographer, brings his multi-genre training to two dances. Training since his single-digit years, the contemporary dancer studied Ukrainian dance, traditional Coast Salish and classical ballet. He even trained under hoop dancer Dallas Arcand Senior from Alexander Nation.
“Everything about ballet and around ballet made me an international artist. When my art speaks, many different people listen because I have such a wide range. The best way to tell Indigenous stories is to tell the oral histories through the braiding of contemporary dances and ballet,” said Fraser-Monroe.
His opening choreography is taqəš [tawKESH] which means “to return something” in Ayajthem, a language belonging to Homalaco, Klahoose, K’omoks and Tla’amin Nations.
It is set to the music of Polaris Prize winning composer and singer Jeremy Dutcher, and is a retelling of the story Raven Returns the Water. The traditional tale centres around a time when the world’s water disappeared. Raven went searching for it and found it in Frog’s belly.
“This story was passed down from generation to generation. I grew up hearing it and like most Indigenous stories there is a message. It’s about greed, resource management, and having one person control everything isn’t good for the community,” Fraser-Monroe said.
His second choreography is a signature piece of Ballet Kelowna. The Cowboy Act Suite explores the relationship between “Cowboys and Indians” with Mohawk singer/songwriter Tom Wilson providing the music.
The inspiration for Fraser-Monroe was 18th century photographer Edward Curtis. Fascinated by photography and Indigenous Nations’ culture, he traveled throughout western United States capturing photographs of Indigenous peoples.
“I’m grateful he took the photos. In some cases, they are the only representations of our people. However, he would stage the scene and bring costumes or ask people to shave.”
Cowboy Act Suite is a tongue-in-cheek piece whereby Fraser-Monroe challenges the white European mentality often seen in historical depictions.
“I thought it would be fun to flip it around with an Indigenous photographer in the cowboy’s home. She’s trying to capture the perfect cowboy image to less and less success for a variety of reasons."
The evening’s third work is Alsya Pires’ vivacious MAMBO. It is a fun, romantic and light work set to Latin music. Ballet Kelowna originally commissioned it last year as a light winter piece to chase the blues away.
"This is a wonderful crowd-pleaser. You will have a ton of fun."
The Cowboy Act Suite & Other Works starts Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50. Visit 780-459-1542 or online at tickets.stalbert.ca.
