Since announcing the cancellation of the remainder of its 2019-2020 season due to COVD-19, Ballet BC has been busy offstage, looking for an opportunity to connect with its audience. The result is the YouTube digital project, Gather’in.
“For this series, we have asked our dancers to participate, providing anything that they feel inspired to share with you,” says the company in a message to its patrons. “We hope that through this series, we can offer a moment of conversation, laughter, reflection, allowing us to ‘gather’, while inside.”
The first in the online Gather’ in series is portal, an original dance film by Ballet BC dancer Scott Fowler. A Vancouver native, Fowler began his training at Arts Umbrella and continued with summer intensive programs at American Ballet Theatre, the National Ballet School and Jacob’s Pillow. His eighth year with Ballet BC, he says his short dance film is an interpretation and reflection of his heart and mind during this period of social isolation.
“I am sharing it as a way to put my thoughts and feelings out in the open, and hopefully have them connect with the viewers in some way,” he says.
In addition to the new work created for Gather’in, Ballet BC has also launched a virtual archive series featuring excerpts from its video archives. The series will showcase works performed by Ballet BC over the past eleven years.
Both Ballet BC’s Gather’in and virtual archive series are available on the company’s Youtube channel.