Bringing Cinderella and to life, dancers from Ballet Jörgen captivated the audience at Casa Loma campus

Ballet Jörgen has been making its mark in Toronto by jumping, dancing and gliding through the air for the past 25 years.

Most recently, Ballet Jörgen has performed Cinderella in numerous towns and cities throughout Canada and the United States, as they are one of Canada’s travelling ballet companies.

The company is also the centre focus of some programs found in George Brown College’s (GBC) school of performing arts—George Brown Dance.

The collaboration between Ballet Jörgen and GBC brings an intimate performance into the minds and classrooms of those who want more of a personal interpretation through some widely known recitals.

On March 24 and 25, Ballet In The Studio (BITS) made an appearance at GBC’s Casa Loma campus, practicing and perfecting their moves with the help of talented choreographers. These aspiring dancers made way for BITS by sharing studio space, watching in awe at the spectacular performance.

The first of five recitals put on by Ballet Jörgen was excerpts from the famous story Cinderella. Accurately portraying the evil step sisters with wigs and classic style costumes, Cinderella and the prince showed what hard work can accomplish.

Complete with costumes and synchronized leaping, these dancers knew how to put on a show that left the audience wanting more, and during the 50 minute show, two original performances were put on for the audience.

Conversation One and YET (again) are just two of the works that included original repertoire from choreographers.

Conversation One was a story of relationships, which included two dancers telling their story through movement and style. YET (again) is an original piece that has been changed over the years it has been preformed. YET (again) included one extra dancer, from three to four men, to bring the piece together.

The beautiful and carefully practiced dances moved much more than the dancers, and the intimate setting of the studio allowed the audience to personalize the dances more than one would be able to in any other sized theatre.

With style, grace and concentration, the dancers owned the dance floor and showed GBC dance students that performing for Ballet Jörgen is in the realm of possibilities. The partnership between the college and the ballet gives aspiring dancers the opportunity to be trained by professionals, through high-quality and rigorous training.

BITS had two more excerpts under their leotards, including Séance and Bouffonia.

Malgorzata Nowacka, the creator of the concepts and choreography for Séance, created this work in complete silence, having the music added later on. The dancer’s performance truly captured the passion and creativity.

Bouffonia, from the French word bouffon, roughly translates to “clown,” and the dance reflected that quite well. The careful movements and props, from birds to roosters, sent shivers down the spines of the audience as they were engulfed with the silent storyline to follow.

When an opportunity to watch a performance from a national, touring company arises, it’s hard to pass up the offer. While squished inside the seats of the studio, the audience was able to not only see each movement up close but also have their own interpretation of the story through the subtle body language and facial expressions of the dancers.

BITS and Canada’s Ballet Jörgen become one with the audience. Ballet Jörgen truly puts on a performance of a lifetime, making it hard not to fall in love with dance after feeling the emotion behind each movement.