Canada’s Ballet Jörgen - Creations in Isolation
Leader audience kept on their toes during Leader and District Arts Council 2021/2022 Season Debut
By Mallory Cawthra
On October 14th, 2021, Canada’s Ballet Jörgen (CBJ) performed the final show of their Creations in Isolation tour in Leader, Saskatchewan, at the Community Centre. The night included an interactive post-show question and answer period with the dance company for the nearly 160 attendees (double the average attendance numbers). Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Creations in Isolation is an original work adapted for smaller audiences and venues, perfect for a town of Leader’s size. CBJ’s website states that the mixed program “… showcase[s] excerpts from major classical ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, the Nutcracker, our smash hit Anne of Green Gables – The Ballet, along with exciting new contemporary works by Ontario choreographers.”
“When the email from OSAC arrived informing us of the opportunity to present a national touring company ballet in small-town Saskatchewan with a limited number of bookings available, we immediately submitted our expression of interest,” explained Treena Redman, President of The Leader and District Arts Council (LDAC).
The town of Leader was the only Saskatchewan stop on CBJ’s tour, and Redman said, “Having people who have never seen a live ballet performance in their life enjoy it more than they could have imagined,” was truly a highlight.
In addition, on October 15th, CBJ taught Master Classes to the Leader School of Dance students at the Leader Dance Studio, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Skip Taylor, Performing Arts Coordinator for OSAC, related that, “For young people, many performers I talked to have said seeing performers making a living in the arts, touring in their own local community, opened up the possibility for them that performing could be a career.”
Taylor further revealed that “the Leader and District Arts Council deserves all the credit for having the vision and putting a plan in place to bring a world-class ballet company to rural Saskatchewan. The work our volunteer members like Treena Redman do to put on these performances and give their communities these experiences is truly inspiring.”
The live performance was the first of the 2021/2022 season hosted by LDAC, after a long hiatus due to COVID-19; without volunteer efforts (lights and sound setup, dance floor installation) and local sponsorships, would have been nearly impossible.
Pamela Sifert, LDAC volunteer, explained in her Master of Ceremonies speech, “… when we decided this summer to take a leap of faith and book them [CBJ] without knowing if we really could afford them, we put the word out in the community and asked for sponsors, and as per usual, our community did not disappoint.”
Sponsorships for the event included Sandhills Credit Union, IG Wealth Management, Leader Pharmacy, Dirk Pharmacy, the Leader Inn, The Leader School of Dance (Owner Tiffany Wagner provided the Rosco dance floor), and Gopher One Designs - with Gord Stueck and Dustin Heatcoat providing free advertising for the digital sign.
CBJ’s website outlines how the ballet company was founded in 1987 by Bengt Jörgen and Susan Bodie to “support the development and dissemination of Canadian Choreography” and is based in Toronto, Ontario. CBJ typically performs to 50,000 people annually and travels coast to coast to “reach underserved communities” and “aims to provide access to professional dance in communities that historically lack opportunities to participate in cultural events due to geographic, funding and socioeconomic barriers.” The event really raised the barre (no pun intended) and brought the community of Leader together: enlivening, cultivating and connecting through the medium of dance.
Leader School of Dance students had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Master Classes being taught by Canada’s Ballet Jörgen.
