Ballet BC

I have always wanted to see the Nutcracker, and finally I did.
I was not disappointed.
Set in Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Ballet BC presented Royal Winnipeg’s The Nutcracker during December. A perfect show for the winter holidays.
Everything was amazing !! The orchestra playing Tchaikovsky was moving. The scenes and costumes were incredibly creative. Watching the ballet was like being in a storybook that has magically come alive before your eyes.
A great show for kids, couples, and friends. Definitely will watch again next year !!

Ballet BC is presenting Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s, The Nutcracker Dec 12 – 14, 2014. There are two shows left to see, hurry!!!
We attended Queen Elizabeth Theatre last night, my very first ballet! I had some expectations but the actual performance far exceeded anything I had dreamt up. I was awestruck. It was absolutely splendid! I had no idea ballet would be that entertaining, funny, moving and a such true pleasure to experience. The performers, props, set and costumes are first class! And of course the music… One of my favourite collections.
I was one of the lucky winners of the Unilocal Elite & Ballet BC ticket giveaway. I had always wanted to go to this ballet… But the timing had never worked out. So thankful for the amazing opportunity I had last night — thank you Ballet BC and Unilocal.
I highly recommend this show, 5 stars all the way, I’m already looking forward to attending next year!

Being a ballerina is hard work! My toes are cramped from all the pointing today, but I can now twirl (pirouette) like a true ballerina now, so its all good.
I was one of the lucky few that attended the Up sponsored Ballet 101 class this afternoon at the Scotiabank Dance Centre.
We were treated to a wonderful and fun class led by Rachel and Gilbert.
There were 4 brave men amidst 30 ladies, we all had fun learning all the barre exercise the pros go thru but at a much slower pace.
Rachel also broke down the technique of doing a pirouette. It is difficult to keep balance and turn at the same time but she made it fun.
After the 90 minutes session, which passed by so fast, we were treated to a lovely reception.
A great event to showcase what the group do to promote Ballet BC. Check out their next Ballet 101 class in the spring.

After watching Ballet BC’s UN/​A this evening, I turned to the impeccably well dressed lady next to me and said (excuse my language), «Holy s%&t!». Fearing I had somehow crossed the lines of ballet etiquette, I recoiled at my brashness but she simply looked back and quipped, «I couldn’t have said it better.»
Full Disclosure: I have a connection with this company that occasionally treats me to tickets to Ballet BC shows. Did that make my reaction to tonight’s performance any less genuine? Hell no. In fact, when this connection was made I thought, «Oh lovely! I’ll get to wear a pretty dress and go watch pretty things float around a stage. During intermission, i’ll wax poetic over their resemblance to beautiful pieces of tissue paper twisting in the wind and other delicate things while I sip (what undoubtedly would be) an oaky Chardonnay.»
Let’s put one thing straight — this past season, Ballet BC made me eat every stereotype I had.
And it was delicious.
You guys, ballet is pretty badass!
Now don’t get me wrong, tissue paper floating ballet is still beautiful and firmly holds its place within this genre, but I had the pleasure of seeing three shows this year that completely re-​educated me on the expanse of dance in Vancouver: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, Grace Symmetry & UN/​A. Though all were intriguing, engaging and dare I say, «hip» shows — UN/​A stands a head above the crowd.
Featuring three separate works within the show, it’s a refreshing two hours of what can only be described as, exquisitely bendy people.
Twenty Eight Thousand Waves starts with a moment so intimate, i’m pretty sure I should have bought those four dancers dinner beforehand and then crescendos into this animalistic raw energy onstage. Side note: You can tell I REALLY love something, when I start dropping «crescendo» and «raw energy» in conversation… you can take the art major out of school but…
I would like to climb into Cayetano Soto’s mind for an afternoon and poke around. I feel like that would be a grand adventure. Bonus points for the saucy red shoes sir.
Lost & Seek reminded me of chess club. Hold on… stay with me. I had a crush on a few guys from the chess club, because they were awkwardly charming and this ballet serves up that same brand of, «you seem a little uncertain about yourself and that makes you endearing.»
But immix?
*stands on theatre seat and hoots and hollers*
That’s what I would have done tonight, but I didn’t know how far this «throwing stereotypes out the window» thing went. This piece was mind blowing. This piece was infectiously energetic.
This piece was «cool».
Gioconda and the Ballet BC team threw down one of the most accessible but awe inspiring pieces of work i’ve ever seen and they did it like bendy, bendy ninjas. Don’t like ballet? Try this on for size and THEN make a decision.
So it’s official — i’m a ballet groupie. It’s like being Alice, except each time you see Wonderland through a different set of eyes. Do yourself a favor, catch one of their contemporary shows next season and fall happily down the rabbit hole.

Ballet BC presents — Alberta Ballet ‘The Nutcracker’.
We attended a performance of Alberta Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in late-​December 2013, and were totally «wowed» by the sights and sounds!!! With our seats in the first row of the dress circle, we had unobstructed views of the stage, and the orchestra as well — thus, very much-​enriching our total experience.
The Nutcracker was bright and beautiful — with the fine sets, wonderful costumes, and lovely choreographies. And the Tchaikovsky score, in hands of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra was simply glorious. Delightful sights and sounds, and those two senses were sure given a great workout!
Thanks to Ballet BC, Alberta Ballet, and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, we were able to much-​enjoy another wonderful event of the holiday season.