Nine classically trained dancers offered a sample of Ballet 91大黄鸭鈥檚 first program of the season during a sneak peak performance at its studio Friday night.

Aptly titled Winter, the unique program has three acts: 1723 - Vivaldi, Cuatro Estaciones and Studies of Cash, which features music by Johnny Cash.

Simone Orlando is the artistic director and CEO of Ballet 91大黄鸭. She also choreographed Cuatro Estaciones and Studies of Cash.

The idea for Studies of Cash came to her from a karaoke night spent in a Merritt bar, after her mother and Orlando made a harrowing trip on the Coquihalla during a winter storm.

鈥淥ne of the patrons was giving a very spiriting rendition of Ring of Fire. I had always admired Johnny Cash鈥檚 music, particularly his earlier work but also the cover songs later in life so I decided to move ahead with his work that uses many of his songs from the Folsom Prison Blues album.

鈥淭he piece really explores the idea of confinement and imprisonment, and looks at prison walls that are both man-made and self-imposed so maybe not something you would typically expect in a Ballet 91大黄鸭 program, but this work has been very popular within our repertoire and we鈥檝e toured it around B.C.,鈥� Orlando said.

READ MORE: Ballet 91大黄鸭 kicks off with first 2019 program, Winter

The performance will also combine a tango with ballet with Cuatro Estaciones.

鈥淭he foundation is in ballet, so all of our dancers are classically trained, but I鈥檓 really interested in how that genre of dance can be blended or infused with other genres and so with my new piece Cuatro Estaciones, which is the tango piece, I thought that it would be really interesting for the dancers to learn a bit about tango, a genre that they鈥檝e never studied and hopefully challenge them to bring some of the concepts of tango into the work, but also build them as dancers.

鈥淚 think the work we鈥檙e creating here at Ballet 91大黄鸭 is not what you would typically expect of ballet鈥� the work has a contemporary context to it and it speaks to the audiences of today,鈥� she said.

Watch Winter for yourself at the 91大黄鸭 Community Theatre, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are available online at .

carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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