<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The latest production from Canada\u2019s Royal Winnipeg Ballet<\/strong> is a blend of the old and the new.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the one hand, you have one of the most beloved scores in the ballet canon: Pyotr\u00a0Illyich\u00a0Tchaikovsky\u2019s\u00a0The Sleeping\u00a0Beauty<\/strong><\/em>. Where the masterwork blends with the new is in the new artistic leadership at the RWB. Artistic director\u00a0Christopher Stowell<\/strong> will be sharing his own choreography with audiences starting this Thursday night, while incoming music director Ming Luke<\/strong> will assume the podium to lead the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Royal Winnipeg Ballet fans first got introduced to Luke last season when he joined the company to conduct the mixed repertoire production of\u00a0Jekyll & Hyde<\/strong><\/em>. Now, the American conductor gets to show off his musical leadership skills on a longer track after experiences leading the Nashville Ballet<\/strong> along with principal guest conducting experience at San Francisco Ballet<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy favourite thing about ballet companies is that they are specific to a community,\u201d Luke shared in an interview on Morning Light<\/em>. \u201cEvery single company\u00a0establishes\u00a0its own sort of identity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Luke will be\u00a0establishing\u00a0his musical identity alongside Stowell\u2019s vision as they embark on their first full season as artistic leaders of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 2026-2027.\u00a0The two are no strangers to each other after having worked together at San Francisco Ballet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you establish a longer-term relationship with a company, then you have the ability to grow and build projects along the way,\u201d Luke says, citing projects that he is excited to create like the RWB\u2019s planned\u00a0double bill of Stravinsky works in the fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n Like Stowell, Luke builds on his own dance experience from his younger years when it comes to his leadership as a conductor. This\u00a0experience comes in particularly handy for this upcoming production of The Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, which has long been performed with the choreography by Tchaikovsky\u2019s collaborator\u00a0Marius Petipa.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something visceral when you\u2019re dancing, and you can literally feel the music as if it\u2019s part of your body, as if it\u2019s on your skin,\u201d says Luke. \u201cFor me, conducting is\u00a0exactly the same.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0portraying the music in a way that inspires the musicians in front of us to collaborate and to\u00a0make\u00a0the best music possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u00a0visceral\u00a0connection with the music is\u00a0all the more\u00a0important in a score like The Sleeping Beauty<\/em>, which Luke says is one of the hardest ballets for conductors to lead because of its history. \u201cThere\u2019s those moments that we want, those transformative moments that we remember and that we keep in our mind or the times you get goosebumps,\u201d he says, highlighting the \u201cRose Adagio\u201d and the finale as\u00a0particular favourites\u00a0of his. \u201cThere are so many points which have those opportunities of being just moving and thrilling for the audiences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Sleeping Beauty runs from March 12 through 15 at the Centennial Concert Hall. Tickets and more information can be found at Canada\u2019s Royal Winnipeg Ballet\u2019s website.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\nA rich history of artistic collaboration\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\n
\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\nLived dance experience comes to life on\u00a0the\u00a0podium\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\n
\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n