Two dance stars return as Ballet BC unveils its 2020-21 roster
Brandon Lee Alley and Livona Ellis are back in the studio, along with new member Rena Narumi
Brandon Lee Alley and Livona Ellis return to Ballet BC this season, while Tokyo-born Rena Narumi makes her debut.
TWO OF BALLET BC’s audience favourites are returning to the company for its 2020-21 season.
North Carolina native Brandon Lee Alley, former star of the troupe’s hit Romeo + Juliet, is back, as is Livona Ellis, an Arts Umbrella grad who first made her splash with the company in 2010.
Meanwhile, Ballet BC is adding Tokyo-born Rena Narumi, also an Arts Umbrella alumna, to its ranks. She also trained at Centre d’artchoregraphique Franco-Japonais, played Juliet with the Royal Swedish Ballet, then travelled the world with Nederlands Dans Theater. Her most recent performance was with Kidd Pivot.
The company is expected to announce just what its pandemic-era programming will look like soon.
The returning dancers include Anna Bekirova, Parker Finley, Miriam Gittens, Jordan Lang, Justin Rapaport, Dex van ter Meij, Kirsten Wicklund, and Zenon Zubyk.
Emerging artists working with the company this year are Kiana Jung, Stefanie Noll, Sarah Pippin, Evan Rapaport, Rae Srivastava, and Jacob Williams.
Meanwhile, two other former dancers with the company have been named this year’s Artists in Residence. Alexis Fletcher, a 14-year star with the company, and Peter Smida, who has 12 years under his belt, will take part in the program aimed at nurturing the talents of former and existing Company members, especially choreographically.
It's a time of major change at the company, which just welcomed new artistic director Medhi Walerski, choreographer of Romeo & Juliet and other favourites in the repertoire. He spent years honing his skills at the acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater, where former artistic director Emily Molnar headed in July.
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