ESSENCE Comes to Ballets Jazz Montréal

Ballets Jazz Montréal marks the opening of Danse Danse's 26th season at the Place des Arts with a triple bill featuring choreographers Ausia Jones, Crystal Pite, and Aszure Barton. ESSENCE is the first evening presented by the company's new artistic director, Alexandra Damiani, and the first show of the Danse Danse season to offer live audio description for blind and partially-sighted spectators.

Performances are September 27. 28. 29. 30,  2023 at 8:00 p.m.

About ESSENCE

Past, present, and future collide in this all-female triptych, allowing audiences of all backgrounds to reconnect with or discover Ballets Jazz Montréal's athletic blend of ballet and contemporary dance. Two emblematic works, Les Chambres des Jacques by Aszure Barton and Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue by Crystal Pite, stand alongside a new creation, We Can't Forget About What's His Name by Ausia Jones, a young Ballets Jazz Montréal performer and protégé of William Forsythe, whose choreographic language is inspired by groove and counterpoint.

Exploring the individual in all its facets, right down to the heart of its animality, Aszure Barton's Les Chambres des Jacques paints a picture inspired by her conversations with her dancers and based on the little personal tics peppered in-between their movements. These tiny imperfections, complemented by the music of Gilles Vigneault and Antonio Vivaldi, pay homage to the beauty and fragility of being.

Crystal Pite’s Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue takes a deeply personal look at the idea of rescue. This critically acclaimed work features five performers alternating in a series of ten intimate duets, each highlighting a particular aspect of rescue and examining the emblematic stories that connect us. Through this series of duets, audiences can decide for themselves who saves whom, and from what.

Inspired by the connections dance and family tradition have formed in her life, Ausia Jones explores concepts of time, community, unity, and isolation in We Can't Forget About What's His Name. The energy of Jasper Gahunia's original score drives this piece, which tackles the idea of uncertainty and how it influences moments of connection, as well as the space it leaves for freedom and joy.

Alexandra Damiani's instinctive response to the works of Aszure Barton and Crystal Pite, both former Ballets Jazz Montréal resident choreographers, is a testament to their shared history with the company. By combining their works with the emerging talent of Ausia Jones, this program pays homage to the company's roots while serving as a springboard for a new artistic vision, a balance between the DNA of Ballets Jazz Montréal, and the evolution of its mission, thereby expressing the essence of Damiani's direction.

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