November 12, 2013
Publication title: ClassicalTV, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Michael Raver
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy with Alberta Ballet
ALBERTA BALLET HAS a reputation for generating some of North America’s most compelling and exquisite dance productions since its inception over forty years ago. There have been exquisite Giselles and breathtaking Swan Lakes, but there have also been glorious curveballs, including a pax de deux (or two) between dance and pop music. Elton John (Elton: Love Lies Bleeding) and Joni Mitchell (The Fiddle and Drum) have both contributed work for previous productions and now Canadian audiences will be privy to the heart wrenching elegance of Sarah McLachlan’s portrait of aural beauty. This season, AB unveils a touring production of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, a ballet premiering next week that features the music from McLachlan’s extensive catalog.
Quebec-born choreographer Jean Grand-Maître has been Artistic Director of Alberta Ballet since 2002, and has the honor of helming Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. In his dazzling career, he has been commissioned by renowned companies such as the Opéra National de Paris, the Teatro alla Scala and famously on the world’s stage at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony.
MICHAEL RAVER: You first worked with Sarah at the 2010 Winter Olympics. How did your collaboration take you from a sporting event to a ballet?
JEAN GRAND-MAÎTRE: She was one of the featured artists for the opening ceremony and I was responsible for choreographing her tableau. She watched how dancers worked. She wasn’t very close to dance before this experience but she became keen on learning on dance is born. She loved the process and how dancers respond to music. The athleticism, the emotion, the passion.
MR: The piece is called Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, but it isn’t necessarily based only on that one album, correct? You utilize songs across her entire catalog.
JGM: Often the singers will give me the titles. Joni gave me the title of Fiddle and the Drum. Elton John picked Love Lies Bleeding. Sarah gave me carte blanche. I knew the song “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy” would be in the ballet for sure. But the title also represents my dance vernacular. As much as we like to show the grace and the control of the human body, as human beings we’re often the clown. There are moments of grace, but before we get there, there are also moments of falling down. There’s a lot of effort. There are moments of gravity. [Laughs] And of course the title lent itself to the storyline.
MR: Which is?
JGM: A woman’s life and the trials and tribulations and the joys of everything that we live. It’s a story of forgiveness. Sarah’s music has this extraordinary quality of solace. Of kindness. She said to me, “People have to forgive themselves more. We’re so hard on ourselves.” So this piece brings all of that together.
MR: What was your process with creating this piece?
JGM: Nothing is done until I meet the singer. By the time I went to meet her, I was already very close to all of her recordings. I asked her about her own vision of their music. So in that way, it’s an artist meeting an artist. She was very generous in opening up and sharing what has influenced their music. From this encounter, I begin creating the ballet. The first thing is the story. With Sarah, we talked extensively about Lilith Fair and the ethos of women in our modern times. What they face today. So then I saw that it would be the life of a woman from childhood to the end. How she would attain wisdom through joy and suffering.
MR: How did you select the songs?
JGM: There’s so much of the woman’s condition in her music. We tried to find rare recordings and live performance recordings that people might not know. We did intensive research to represent their entire career. If an artist mentions a favorite song, that might not necessarily have been played on the radio.
MR: Is there a song of hers that she mentioned being a personal favorite that surprised you?
JGM: “Hold On.” It’s one of her most personal, connected and emotional songs. There’s a song called “Ben’s Song” that she said she can’t even sing anymore. Sarah’s one of the great melodic writers of our time. She sings about what we go through and it’s been interesting to see a new audience, who loves pop music, come to the ballet.
Dancer Nicole Caron is in her 12th season with Alberta Ballet. Born in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and grew up in Vancouver, B.C.. She received her ballet training at the Richmond Academy of Dance, as well as Canada’s National Ballet School, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, the American Ballet Theatre, and is an alumna of The Banff Centre’s Festival Dance.
Full of spritely elegance, Caron is well aware of how impacted she has been by working on Fumbling. “It’s emotional, it’s powerful,” she says. “The beauty of the piece is a testament to Jean and the work he’s done with Sarah’s music.”
MICHAEL RAVER: You were part of this piece from the beginning. How has it been working with Sarah?
NICOLE CARON: Being from Vancouver, I’ve known of Sarah since she first came out. So working with someone who I’ve grown up listening to, it was wonderful having them to be able to dedicate so much time to support us. She was teary eyed when she watched. We were all so nervous and not knowing if she’d like what we had done. When she came to the first opening night performance, it was amazing to have her there.
MR: What stands out with working with Jean?
NC: Jean’s movement is very challenging. It always stretches you to the extreme. He watches what each dancer’s strengths are. He added a lot of turns and technical things for me this time, a lot of back work and extensive arm movements.
MR: Is there a song of Sarah’s in the ballet that resonates with you particularly?
NC: My first time doing this, I got to dance to “Angel,” which is an encore song. It’s such a beautiful piece. Being on stage, at the end of the show, you’re emotionally and physically exhausted. A song like that then takes on a completely new meaning. At one point during the development of the piece, we performed live with Sarah at a sponsor’s house and I still get emotional talking about it. “Angel” was performed. There’s something about that song that can take you to you that ‘other,’ transcendent place. It’s definitely one of my favorites.
The tour of Alberta Ballet’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is currently set for its Vancouver premier on November 14-16 at the Queen Elizabeth Theater. For more information, visit www.balletbc.com.
