West Australian Ballet begins Season 2017

Ballet at the Quarry summer season 2017Perth audiences are in for yet another treat with the return of West Australian Ballet’s summer season – Ballet at the Quarry – on February 3 – 25. Proving the hottest festival ticket in town, the mixed-bill program of contemporary ballet has sold to capacity three years running.

 

Kicking off the company’s 65th Anniversary Season, 2017’s edition Takuto: Ballet at the Quarry will feature Australian premieres by two of Europe’s leading choreographic brights, Eric Gauthier and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and a world premiere by WAB’s own Demi-Soloist Christopher Hill.

 

Lopez Ochoa will return to show a new face of her artistic talents with In Transit, an intricate and refined work dense with tumbling duets and trios that explore a person’s state of mind while in an undefined public place of transit. The piece for 17 dancers features musical scores by Scanner, Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds, Fennesz and The Durutti Collumn.

 

Canadian born Gauthier, founder of Gauthier Dance, will bring two contrasting works to the program. The first, Takuto, is inspired by and features traditional Japanese drumming performed live on stage by the dancers themselves. Driven by the beat of the drum, the physical force and strength of the dancers will shine through in this raw and powerful work. The second, Ballet 101, will sing an altogether lighter tune. The solo for one dancer is a humorous “crash course” in classical ballet with tongue-in-cheek references to famous ballets and choreographers.

 

A homegrown addition to the program is the world premiere of Christopher Hill’s The Clearest Light, which will feature music by Hill himself and lighting design by Chris Donnelly.

 

Alongside regular performances, WAB will also be hosting a Jumpstart Dress Rehearsal for people with limited access to the arts. For more information on this mixed bill, head to www.waballet.com.au.

 

Image courtesy of WAB.