Nac Dance With Cathy Levy

Straight Talk: What is the role of art as a vehicle of social change and Canada's barometer of acceptance? A panel discussion produced by the NAC's Dance department -- With Lloyd Newson, Founding Artistic Director, DV8 Physical Theatre; Dr. Brent Hawkes, Metropolitan Community Church, Toronto; and Joanne St. Lewis, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.

In this final episode, Crystal Pite talks about the dual role of choreographer-performer, the creation process, her attachment to Canada’s National Arts Centre, and her enduring passion for the art of choreography. In closing, she touches on her upcoming commissions for Cullberg Ballet, the 2010 Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver, Nederlands Dans Theater and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, and the presentations of Kidd Pivot at Sadler’s Wells (UK) and Jacob’s Pillow (USA).

In this third episode, Crystal Pite speaks of her collaborations with The National Ballet of Canada, Sweden’s Cullberg Ballet, BJM – Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, and Vancouver-based composer Owen Belton. She explains the origin of the name Kidd Pivot and comments on the company’s work, opportunities and challenges.

In this second episode, Crystal Pite recalls her move to Germany in 1996 to join William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet and the ensuing five years of growth as a performer and choreographer. This is also a time of exposure to the work of Pina Bausch, Wim Vandekeybus, Jan Fabre, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Meg Stuart and Rui Horta. She leaves Germany in 2001 and realizes her dream of forming her own company, Kidd Pivot, where she is free to create and perform her own work.

In this first of four episodes, Crystal Pite, Vancouver-based dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director of Kidd Pivot and NAC Associate Dance Artist, tells us about her early years of training, performance and choreographing. She embarks on her professional career at 17 upon joining Ballet British Columbia as a dancer. Within a few years, she seizes the opportunity to choreograph for the company as well as for Ballet Jörgen and Alberta Ballet. She receives the Clifford E. Lee Award in 1995, the first of numerous prizes she will be presented with during the course of her young career.

In this fourth of four podcasts with Karen Kain, the NAC's Cathy Levy and Gerald Morris talk to former prima ballerina Kain about The Sleeping Beauty, the role of personal interpretation in performing the classics, the arc of Kain's career, alternate career choices, her relationship with the NAC, and her favourite roles.

In this third of four podcasts with Karen Kain, the NAC's Cathy Levy and Gerald Morris talk to former prima ballerina Kain about the launch of her international career in Moscow in 1973 and her glorious years with partner Frank Augustyn. Karen Kain shares her memories of Rudolf Nureyev's decade with The National Ballet of Canada and the company's association with Mikhail Baryshnikov -- and her pivotal role in his 1974 defection to the West. She also discusses the restaging and refurbishment of the company's lavish production of The Sleeping Beauty.

In this second of four podcasts with Karen Kain, the NAC's Cathy Levy and Gerald Morris talk to former prima ballerina Kain about her rebellious behavior at the National Ballet School, her first performances and early years with The National Ballet of Canada, and the role of talent, hard work, preparation, opportunity, and sheer luck in her career. Kain also discusses motivation and confidence (and the consequences of the lack of it) and the value of a male dance partner.

In this first of four podcasts with Karen Kain, the NAC's Cathy Levy and Gerald Morris talk to former prima ballerina Kain about her early years: growing up in Ancaster ON, the joys and challenges of her seven years at the National Ballet School, and her audition to join The National Ballet of Canada. Ms Kain also discusses what a dancer needs to succeed in the profession.