Review: Chamber + Silent Tides + Bolero X at Ottawa's National Arts Centre

Last night’s triple bill by Ballet BC at the National Arts Centre was a treat for the senses. Each of the three dances were carefully selected to go together like a fine dining experience, a fitting analogy made by Ballet BC’s artistic director, Medhi Walerski, during the pre-show discussion. Like a meal, Walerski says, one needs to start slowly and build up their palette, with the final course being the most extravagant, sensory experience of all.

There can be challenges to presenting three unique works in one evening, whether logistical or thematic. However, each of the three works presented had a shared theme of finding one's individulaity while simultaneously exploring the connections between people and the power of togetherness, which made them flow well together, despite their stylistic differences. 

The first work of the evening, Chamber, was originally created to celebrate the centenary of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in 2012. The Rite of Spring’s original ballet depicted primitive rituals whereupon a young girl was chosen as a sacrificial victim. In Walerski’s vision, up to eighteen dancers move together as one, then take turns showcasing their ritualistic movements, moving fluidly in and out of the dance space through the use of hidden panels incorporated into the background. The score, by British composer Joby Talbot, adds to the mystique of the piece.

Next was Silent Tides, also choreographed by Walerski. Silent Tides was a piece born out of the pandemic and features two dancers on a minimalistic stage. Each dancer is initially alone; then they reach out to one another before pulling and twisting away, balancing individualism with intimacy. With Silent Tides, Walerski sought to depict the relationship between individuals and evoke a sense of life, death, eternity and infinity. At the beginning, the score, by Adrien Cronet, is electronic, but then shifts to a violin concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach, reflecting the ever changing pace of the dancers. With its delicacy and grace, Silent Tides was a well placed interlude between Chamber and the grand finale, Bolero X.

Bolero X, choreographed by Shahar Binyamini, was nothing short of an extraordinary feat. Thirty dancers from four Canadian institutions (l’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal (Montréal), l’École supérieure de ballet du Québec (Montréal), Arts Umbrella Dance (Vancouver) and The School of Dance (Ottawa)), joined twenty Ballet BC dancers on stage and performed seamlessly to Maurice Ravel’s masterpiece, Bolero, performed by the NAC Orchestra. The dance, as with the music, slowly increased in tempo, the dancers moving as one with the beat, culminating in a powerful crescendo that ended with the audience literally leaping to their feet with applause in unanimous appreciation for this incredible opening to the NAC’s Dance season. This spectacular start to the NAC's 2024-2025 dance season certainly sets the tone for what is to come; click here to find tickets or obtain information about all the NAC's dance events coming to the stage this season.

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