Crystal Pite’s Body and Soul (2019) Performed by Paris Opera Ballet

February 17 – 23, 2021 | Streaming available in Canada only

Experience Crystal Pite’s daring new work in a Canadian Exclusive Digital Premiere!

Springboard Performance is excited to offer to Canadian audiences the film premiere of Body and Soul, choreographed by the 2020 Order of Canada inductee Crystal Pite for the legendary Paris Opera Ballet.

Following the phenomenal success of The Seasons’ Canon in 2016, Pite was invited back in 2019 to create a new full-length work for thirty-six dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet.

A work in three distinct parts, Body and Soul articulates Pite’s ongoing fascination with conflict, connectedness and the embodiment of the human spirit. The performance begins with voice-over text that describes, in purely physical terms, a scene of conflict between two individuals.

As the performance progresses, the script’s meaning morphs and deepens with each iteration: conflict creates a vital, compelling tension between individuals, between groups, between species. The company’s mastery as an ensemble is evident in Pite’s complex choreographic swarms; individual dancers are virtuosic in breathtaking solos and duets. The dancers evoke scenes of epic protest, profound personal struggle, and collective survival. Body and Soul is a portrait of the human condition that is timeless, vast and heartbreakingly intimate.

This project is an initiative of DanceHouse (Vancouver) in collaboration with Danse Danse (Montreal), Harbourfront Centre (Toronto), the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), and Springboard Performance (Calgary).

Program

PRE-SHOW Exclusive Interview (13 minutes)
With Crystal Pite (Choreography, Script) and the Kidd Pivot creative team: Owen Belton (Composer), Eric Beauchesne (Assistant to the Choreographer), Nancy Bryant (Costume Designer), Jay Gower Taylor (Set Designer), Jermaine Spivey (Assistant to the Choreographer) and Tom Visser (Lighting Designer).

FILM (75 minutes)
Body and Soul (2019)
Produced by the Paris Opera Ballet, directed by Tommy Pascal

When you purchase a ticket, you will receive a link that will be available from February 17 to 23, for you to watch on your own timeframe. Get your tickets now!