On Wednesday, Oct. 18th, after a day at Toronto Fashion Week, we were treated to an inspiring duet by renowned dancers, and a great introduction to the dance and the company, Ballet Jorgen Canada, by Bengt Jorgen, current Director and Choreographer. In a very tiny empty space, the dancers provided light, shape, movement, story and style. Strength, control, passion were at the forefront, while graceful, silent steps, jumps, turns and embraces brought the dance from the centre of the floor right to the audience. So drawn into the movement, we felt invited to join them, maybe even becoming part of a photograph of all of us in our street clothes, not tutus, and being welcomed for our variety of shapes and sizes. Jorgen says that this company is "...not about putting art on a pedestal", and that he and the dancers want their work to reflect what the community looks like. This is a company that performs more than any other Canadian Ballet Company, bringing more than 120 performances a year to urban and rural communities all across the country. In addition to 4 feature ballets this season: A World to Shake, The Nutcracker, Anastasia and Classical and Contemporary Ballets, it offers, in partnership with George Brown University, programs to train younger dancers in preparation for ballet careers. It also collaborates with many others, including The Goh Ballet Company in Vancouver and the Honk Kong Ballet. Ballet Jorgen's repertoire is of entirely original works and the company has been creating and performing for twenty five years. Bengt Jorgen a graduate of the Royal Swedish Ballet School and a member of the National Ballet of Canada is an award winning Choreographer who has choreographed more than 30 ballets for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the American Ballet, the Hong Kong Ballet and many more. This is truly bringing Ballet to all of us.
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