Ballet BC presents ZENITH at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, March 6 to 8
Monumental triple bill sees the return of Johan Inger’s PASSING along with world premieres from Fernando Hernando Magadan and Andrea Peña

Ballet BC dancer Kaylin Sturtevant. Photo by Marcus Eriksson
Ballet BC returns to Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre with ZENITH from March 6 to 8 at 8 pm, with pre-show artist talks each evening at 7 pm.
The triple bill features three exciting works: a world premiere from acclaimed Spanish choreographer Fernando Hernando Magadan, the large-scale PASSING from Swedish choreographer and longtime Ballet BC collaborator Johan Inger, and a world premiere from Montreal-based rising star Andrea Peña.
Though this will be her choreographic debut with the company, Colombia-born multidisciplinary artist Peña was a dancer with Ballet BC early in her career. A recent recipient of Ballet BC’s Emily Molnar Emerging Choreographer Award, she holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial design, and is known for exploring the intersection of choreography, design, and new media. Her creation for Ballet BC will continue to explore this crossroads, incorporating bold, surprising elements of scenic and costume design.
Spanish choreographer Magadan is a freelance choreographer, teacher, and stager with roots in professional gymnastics. Throughout his 15 seasons as a performer with Nederlands Dans Theater, he worked with prominent choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek, Crystal Pite, Sol León, Paul Lightfoot, Hofesh Shechter, and Inger. He was rehearsal director and artistic leader of the prestigious junior ensemble NDT 2 from 2018 to 2021. As a choreographer, Magadan’s movement vocabulary is highly physical, inventive, and musical. His latest creation for Ballet BC explores the immensity of space and connections to physics and gravity, as well as the fragility and vulnerability of being human.
Following its world premiere with Ballet BC in 2023, Inger’s PASSING has quickly become one of the company’s most beloved pieces of repertoire. Traversing a vast landscape of human emotion, PASSING takes audiences on an epic, theatrical, touching ride. The large-scale 50-minute piece, partially inspired by natural catastrophe, explores both intimate and societal relationships. Set to an original score by Amos Ben-Tal as well as selections from Erik Enocksson and Louis Hardin (a.k.a. Moondog), the work’s sonic journey is as beautifully complex and captivating as its movement language.
For tickets to ZENITH and more information, visit Ballet BC.
Post sponsored by Ballet BC.
Related Articles
Former National Ballet of Canada artistic director reflects on his 2008 duet as Plastic Orchid Factory gears up to present its revival
Program includes a new creation from a sought-after choreographic duo, a remount of an acclaimed work, and a world premiere from Medhi Walerski
Vancouver choreogapher Crystal Pite has won previous Oliviers for Revisor, Betroffenheit, and Flight Path
Early Music Vancouver program features a piffari, or wind band, accompanied by the early dances of French and Italian court festivities
Offerings also include Hungary’s circus-dance company Recirquel, as well as Robert Lepage and Guillaume Côté’s visually striking take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Belgian dance-theatre company invites audiences on a thrilling and disorienting journey into the subconscious
In the DanceHouse presentation, Le Patin Libre’s artists emulate bird flocks with unfettered glides and layers of emotion
French choreographer Hubert Hazebroucq performs 15th- and 16th-century dances to the sound of a live wind band
In Compagnie de la Citadelle duet choreographed by James Kudelka, a couple’s bond unravels before audiences
Choreographer blends Kathak and contemporary influences in solo presented by the Dance Centre and New Works
At DanceHouse, Montreal choreographer Alexandre Hamel blends a love of birds and a background in competitive figure skating to create a dazzling new kind of ice show
Presented by VIDF with New Works and the Chutzpah! Festival, double bill premieres works by Alexis Fletcher and Fernando Hernando Magadan
Inspired by the titular Sufi mystic, renowned artist’s new solo is co-presented by The Dance Centre and New Works
Cosmic circles, monumental walls of light, and inventive partnering as new Andrea Peña and Fernando Hernando Magadan works bring audiences to their feet
From an aeriform ballet on ice to a duet in total silence, there are several hot tickets this season
Week-long, half-day program is designed for beginner students ages eight to 15
Taiwan-born Pei Lun Lai and Costa Rica-raised Eduardo Jiménez Cabrera negotiate new challenges in the studio—and in their adopted Vancouver hometown
From We All Fall Down’s Papillon to BRKFST Dance Company’s STORMCLUTTER, artists bridge the gap between contemporary and street styles
The City of Others uses a rich mix of dance styles to explore racism and resilience, in DanceHouse production with Blackout Art Society, Latincouver, and VLACC
Inspired by the mesmerizing flight patterns of bird flocks, the work makes its Vancouver premiere in partnership with Canada Dance Ice Theatre
The solo for Jeanette Kotowich addresses the choreographer’s mixed Oji-Cree and Mennonite ancestry