And then there's Crystal Pite dancing circles around that perception. Crystal Pite is a Canadian choreographer and dancer. Revisor marks the artistic reunion of top-tier artists Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, co-creators of the internationally acclaimed Betroffenheit.A lavishly theatrical dance work that reinvents the genre. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Betroffenheit is at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa Feb. 12 and 13; Canadian Stage in Toronto Feb. 18-21; the Vancouver Playhouse Feb. 25-27; Victoria's Royal Theatre March 11-12 (kiddpivot.org). In 1996 she left Vancouver to join William Forsythe's Ballett Frankfurt. Crystal Pite (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian choreographer and dancer. On my way out a leading dance producer told me, “ Crystal Pite… With French and English subtitles Run time: 100 minutes BUY TICKETS . Crystal Pite is one of the top international names in choreography. Internationally in-demand, Pite (rhymes with "kite") is beyond busy: She has spent this week in Ottawa, preparing to remount her acclaimed, searing work Betroffenheit; she's just back from The Hague, where she premiered her newest work, The Statement, for Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), where she is associate choreographer; she continues to run her dance company, Kidd Pivot, out of Vancouver; she has upcoming commissions from the Paris Opera Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London; she's an associate artist at Sadler's Wells in London; and last month she won a National Dance Award in London – an honour she didn't even realize she was nominated for. And nowhere are these themes more subtly and beautifully explored than in the danceworks of Crystal Pite, whose Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue can be … Her first choreographic work premiered with the company two years later. She began her professional dance career in 1988 at Ballet BC and in 1996 she joined Ballett Frankfurt under the tutelage of William Forsythe. "I can't say that it was easy because it wasn't; it wasn't easy, but it wasn't dark," says Pite, whose company co-produced the work with Electric Company Theatre, which Young and Collier co-founded. We hope to have this fixed soon. For Betroffenheit – co-created with Vancouver actor and playwright Jonathon Young, who wrote and performs in the piece – that moment has produced shattered audiences and raves from critics. Here is a list of famous contemporary dancers and choreographers. Contemporary dance has gathered a cult following among professional, ... Russell Dumas, William Forsythe, Crystal Pite and Trisha Brown. ICD Program is indicated for professional dancers, teachers, selected dance academies with students that are in their final year that need to fulfil an internship for 3 months and dancers that are highly motivated and interested in the NOD program. Crystal Pite has collaborated with celebrated dance artists, theatre companies and filmmakers in Canada, Europe, and the United States. UPDATED: Read our community guidelines here. Read our, I'm a print subscriber, link to my account, Read more about following topics and authors. Young conceived the work in the wake of a horrendous personal tragedy – the death of his 14-year-old daughter Azra (with fellow theatre artist Kim Collier) and two young cousins in a 2009 fire. Alongside new productions by Wayne McGregor, Liam Scarlett and Javier de Frutos, Crystal Pite becomes the first woman to create work for the Royal Ballet since 1999. She began her professional dance career in 1988 at Ballet BC and in 1996 she joined Ballett Frankfurt under the tutelage of William Forsythe. In 2005, Jermaine joined the Cullberg Ballet, where he met Crystal Pite, and performed with the company until Summer 2008. "We have to think about how this is all going to go in the future, but I love being with the show, I love touring, I love seeing the performances and experiencing the show with an audience around me," said Pite from Ottawa this week, where two nights at the National Arts Centre (where she is associate dance artist) kick off an international tour of Betroffenheit. We aim to have all comments reviewed in a timely manner. "I suppose a kind of terror and a kind of vulnerability has come into my life that I expect is going to make me a better creator.". She also has been taking her five-year-old son on the road and is trying to figure out that particular aspect of her working-mother juggling act, as his academic career progresses past kindergarten. "It was a very intense, very rich time for the company and as much as I loved it, it also happened to be the first three years of Niko, our son," she says – her partner is Jay Gower Taylor, Kidd Pivot's set designer. She has won too many awards to list here, but they include a 2015 Olivier Award in London for outstanding achievement in dance and that National Dance Award last month for best modern choreography for her Sadler's Wells piece Polaris – an aptly named work for this star from the north – which featured 64 dancers; there were 66 in the New York version. Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. Ferocious flamenco, bittersweet ballet and a harrowing masterpiece are among our pick of the best new dance productions since 2000. From 2001 until 2004, she was resident choreographer at Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. She began her professional dance career in 1988 at Ballet BC, and in 1996 she joined Ballett Frankfurt under the tutelage of William Forsythe. Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) | Crystal Pite's new piece 'Partita for 8 Dancers’ for the NDT 1 programme ‘Savoir Faire’. Dada Blob… Exotic worlds and Pop culture! Since launching her own company, Kidd Pivot, in 2002, Crystal Pite has become one of the contemporary dance industry’s most creative and interesting minds. After leaving Ballett Frankfurt, she became the resident choreographer of the Montreal company Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal from 2001 to 2004. In November 2013 Crystal was appointed an Associate Artist at Sadler's Wells in London, UK. Hailed for her work with Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), Paris Opera Ballet and The Royal Ballet of London, Crystal Pite is a shining star on the contemporary dance scene. Pite and her company, Kidd Pivot, were already acknowledged as leading lights in the international contemporary dance scene when, in 2009, the National Ballet of Canada offered Pite … Crystal is Associate Choreographer of Nederlands Dans Theater and Associate Dance Artist of Canada's National Arts Centre in Ottawa. She founded her own company, Kidd Pivot, in Vancouver in 2002 where the work she has created includes the acclaimed Dark Matters. The work could be particularly difficult to dive into for a new parent. Choreographer Crystal Pite says she loves ‘seeing the performances and experiencing the show with an audience around me.’. If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to, To view this site properly, enable cookies in your browser. Pite was born in Terrace, B.C., in 1970 and moved to Victoria around the time she turned 1. Contemporary dance can be feared as an intimidating, even impenetrable cultural pursuit for general … Throughout her career she has been commissioned by many international dance companies to create new pieces, including The Second Person (2007) for Netherlands Dans Theater and Emergence (2009) for the National Ballet of Canada, the latter of which was awarded four Dora Mavor Moore Awards… (wikipedia.org), Home / Contemporary Dance / Dada Flux / Dada Remix, Cloud Gate Dance Theater – Lin Hwai Min | Contemporary dance. This article was published more than 5 years ago. Creator of more than 40 works in just over two decades, she is in huge demand internationally; and the most prestigious dance companies in the world, including Britain’s Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet, have recently joined the growing procession of those commissioning her work. In another of her works, Grace Engine (2012), performed by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in 2013, Pite fragments the narrative, making the dancers less specific characters, and more expressive of ideas and emotions. DanceHouse is thrilled to present the online Canadian premiere of Body and Soul, choreographed by Vancouver’s own Crystal Pite, and performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. "It was great, but being a new mom I really missed home and I felt like I couldn't sustain it at that level of activity.". The Vancouver-based choreographer opens up this world to the uninitiated with her irreverent, dizzying originality, her bold approach to movement, her theatrical sensibility as well as her use of narrative and multimedia elements. I don't want to waste any time working on things that I'm not completely inspired and intrigued and curious about." Four dancers perform live to a recorded audio script (written by Young and voiced in Vancouver by four actors – Young, Meg Roe, Colleen Wheeler and Andrew Wheeler) so the text becomes a sort of score. Wrote Schabas: "I can't remember the last time I heard so much audience-sobbing at a curtain call.". Some information in it may no longer be current. Her work and her company have been recognized with numerous awards and commissions. Click here to subscribe. Created by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, the award-winning Betroffenheit is a boundary-stretching hybrid of theatre and dance that explores the psychological states of trauma, grief and addiction.. Acclaimed Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite creates her first work for The Royal Ballet. It concerns four characters – two men, two women – dealing with a conflict in a boardroom setting. ... (Resident Choreographer, 2001–04), Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and Ballet British Columbia. Canadian choreographer and director Crystal Pite made her Royal Ballet debut in the 2016/17 Season with Flight Pattern. Scoop a new vibe in the numbers and do today’s Daily Sudoku. After leaving Ballett Frankfurt she became the resident choreographer of Montreal company Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal from 2001-2004. Kick back with the Daily Universal Crossword. That means: If you do not see your comment posted immediately, it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly, generally within an hour. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter . Master Workshop Program Artist. "It makes me want to work with bigger ideas … with content that just really matters to me deeply. Follow topics and authors relevant to your reading interests. We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. Everywhere she is invited, in companies such as the Cullberg Ballet formerly led by Mats Ek, Crystal Pite innovates, surprises and updates the repertoire wherever she goes. (Superstar choreographers; they're just like us. 351 King Street East, Suite 1600, Toronto, ON Canada, M5A 0N1, Cold Blood ‘nano-dance’ show is something you have to see for yourself, International series brings essence of New York to Toronto Dance Theatre, A Night with Janis Joplin is short on her history and long on the music, Due to technical reasons, we have temporarily removed commenting from our articles. Crystal Pite, Artistic Director of contemporary dance company Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM, has been honored with the 2011 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award. She took dance lessons from a young age – tap (every Wednesday after school until she was 15) and ballet with increasing intensity. As part of the 15th International Festival of Contemporary Dance the 20 dancers and 5 dancer-choreographers will present two programmes of work: Programme 1 - performances of work by Wayne McGregor, Crystal Pite and the specifically commissioned new dance work She has also collaborated with Electric Company Theatre and Robert Lepage. Crystal Pite Body and Soul February 17–23, 2021 | Link available for 7 days Streaming in Canada only. Kidd Pivot (known from 2010 to 2012 as Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM), is a contemporary dance theatre company based in Vancouver, Canada.The company, currently comprising eight full-time dancers and several guest artists, is led by its founder and artistic director, Crystal Pite. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. So I like to be there [when] it actually comes to life and exists; I like to be there to witness it with the audience and to be part of that ritual, to be part of that moment.". Since then she has created more than 40 works. But for Pite, accessibility absolutely does not mean dumbed down; those in the know thrill at the risks taken in her work and its sublime achievements. She said she thought being a mother was going to change her world view and her sense of what's important. Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite is a former company member of Ballet British Columbia and William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt. The Terrace-born, Victoria-raised, Vancouver-based choreographer uses her body to converse with the world, allowing her work to, quite literally, speak for itself. She is wowing the international dance world – often from her home base in Vancouver. The Statement, which just premiered at NDT, is an example of the kind of innovation Pite orchestrates. Since 2002, she has created and performed under the banner of her own company. BBC Four will be screening Revisor, the latest dance-theatre hybrid created by choreographer Crystal Pite and playwright Jonathon Young, recorded during its run at London’s Sadler’s Wells in March 2020. Her pieces combine a solid classical grammar with the free-flowing movements of contemporary dance without ever losing their force or organic virtuosity. ), "On the other hand, I feel like I'm more aware, more vulnerable, more of a sponge than I've ever been," she continues. After leaving Ballett Frankfurt she became the resident choreographer of Montreal company Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal from 2001-2004. After graduating with a BFA in dance from The Juilliard School in 2002, he moved to Lisbon, Portugal where he danced with Ballet Gulbenkian from 2002 to 2005. Comments that violate our community guidelines will not be posted. She then returned to Vancouver where she focused on choreographing while continuing to dance in her own pieces until 2010. Switch gears. Crystal Pite. I remind Pite of something she told me in 2011, when her son was a baby. Crystal Pite on why dance is a universal language. The International Contemporary Dance Program is open to dance students aged 18 and up, with a strong contemporary and ballet technique. Astonishing. Despite the dark subject matter at its root, Pite says Young, taking the lead, approached its creation with curiosity, openness and eagerness; so making the work was in fact joyful. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Explore details about them in their biographies, which include trivia, interesting facts, timeline and life history. MEDIA LINKS “Stepping into contemporary dancer Crystal Pite’s choreographed life” – ARTICLE, Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail (February 12, 2016) “Finding joy within the darkness” – ARTICLE, Deborah Meyers, Vancouver Sun “Crystal Pite reflects on the trip through trauma that created Betroffenheit” – ARTICLE, Janet Smith, The Georgia Straight (February 24, 2016) © Copyright 2021 The Globe and Mail Inc. All rights reserved. "Simply devastating," wrote Globe and Mail dance critic Martha Schabas, in her four-star review of the world premiere in Toronto last year. This week I asked if that had come to pass in her work. An artistic triumph, Betroffenheit has also been a seminal creative – and life – experience for Pite, who choreographed and directs the work. Thank you for your patience. Crystal Pite (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian choreographer and dancer. Whereas Pite commissioned Young to write The Statement, Betroffenheit started with Young, who asked Pite to collaborate with him on the tremendously personal work. In 2002, she formed Kidd Pivot in Vancouver. I LOVE contemporary ballet and modern dance as well, but I believe that EVERY art form out there should have its place - even in an ever so rapid changing environment wherein consideration to … "The actual performance doesn't exist, right, unless it's actually being performed. Crystal Pite: dance genius behind our No1 In 2002 she formed her own company called Kidd Pivot, which produced her original works Uncollected Work (2003), Double Story (2004), Lost Action (2006), Dark Matters (2009), The You Show (2010), The Tempest Replica (2011), Betroffenheit (2015), and Revisor (2019) to date. New National Theatre held a dance concert Afternoon of Fauns and Nymphs, a gala performance with six contemporary dance works by six pairs of dancers and six choreographers.An evening of diverse works, ranging from works by a dancer/choreographer at National Ballet of Japan to Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. Pite’s professional choreographic debut was in 1990, at Ballet British Columbia. Close Sarah Crompton, “Crystal Pite: ‘Every time, I ask myself: why am I doing this in dance?’” The Telegraph, April 2014. Crystal Pite: 'Every time, I ask myself: why am I doing this in dance?' Avoid the use of toxic and offensive language. "Of course the material was difficult, but there's a line in the show where Jonathon says, 'You have to stay open or you close' – and that's what he's showed us.". After the Frankfurt arrangement ended, Pite moved to a more project-to-project model with the company, spending roughly half the year with Kidd Pivot activity and the rest of the time doing her "side projects" – commissions for other companies such as Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada. Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. "The stakes felt incredibly high and I knew at every stage of the process that I was working on something that I cared about more deeply than I ever cared about any other project," she says. If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. Pite, 45, has been dancing since she was 4, starting with tap – although these days, the tap dancing is as much metaphorical as it is literal. Pite is a notable collaborator and lighting designer Tom Vissar brilliantly illuminates the set for both phases and I particularly appreciated the fillagree light patterns on the back of the stage reacting to the spoken text. Contemporary dance can be feared as an intimidating, even impenetrable cultural pursuit for general audiences who worry they just might not get it. A residency at Kunstlerhaus Mousonturm in Frankfurt beginning in 2010 saw the company name change to Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM temporarily – during which period Pite created The You Show and The Tempest Replica. "Absolutely," she responds. She adds that she has less time to create now and, as a working parent, worries that she's not as good a parent as she'd like to be and not as good an artist as she'd like to be. In 1988, when she was 17, she moved to Vancouver and joined Ballet BC as an apprentice. Give your brain a workout and do today’s Daily Cryptic Crossword. Some information in it may no longer be current. 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