A study in counterpoints RWB’s coming season juxtaposes shadow and light, torment and joy By: Jen Zoratti Posted: 4:28 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024

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The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s forthcoming 2024-25 season is all about contrasts. New and classic. Dark and light.

So it only makes sense to include Jekyll & Hyde.

The RWB will present the Canadian première of Val Caniparoli’s ballet based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 gothic novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde March 6-9, 2025, at the Centennial Concert Hall as part of its 85th season.

Set to music by five Polish composers — Krzysztof Penderecki, Frédéric Chopin, Henryk Górecki, Wojciech Kilar and Henryk Wieniawski — the ballet follows whipsawed doctor Henry Jekyll as he is tormented by his twisted alter ego, Edward Hyde. (The show has a PG-13 rating.)

Jekyll & Hyde premièred in 2020 with the Finnish National Ballet, and the RWB was eager to bring it to Winnipeg.

“It’s beautifully dark,” says Tara Birtwhistle, associate artistic director of the RWB. “It’s a ballet that’s about the battle inside yourself — who’s the real you? I thought that our company would be able to tell the story so well. Our dancers are such great actors, all of them.

“It’s a beautiful vehicle for the men. I think it’s one of the first ballets that we have where the men are the leads. And there’s some really great juicy parts for the women, as well.”

Caniparoli’s work will be familiar to patrons of the RWB; Val Caniparoli’s A Cinderella Story — a 1950s-era, Rodgers and Hammerstein-inspired version of the storybook classic — made its world première with the RWB in 2004 and was last performed in 2022.

“Jekyll & Hyde is the exact opposite of that,” Birtwhistle says with a laugh. “I love Val’s choreography, and the way he treats story, the way he creates atmosphere, and builds a ballet around that.”

Before Jekyll and & Hyde takes the stage, the RWB will present a suite of classics.

The 2024-25 season opens Nov. 7-10 with the return of Giselle to the concert hall. Choreographed by Peter Wright (after Marius Petipa), the ethereal romantic ballet — which tells the tale of a young village girl’s seduction, betrayal, heartbreak and salvation — has not been performed by the RWB since 2015.

‘It’s an iconic ballet — a cornerstone of any classical company,” says Birtwhistle, who lists Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, from Giselle among her favourite roles to perform when she was a company dancer.

“It’s very important for ballet dancers to do it because they’re challenged technically and emotionally. It’s a must-see for any dance fan.”

Because of the season’s November start date, the company will be busy with both Giselle and its annual production of Nutcracker, which tours several Canadian cities in November and early December before coming home for the holidays.

The Winnipeg-set version, choreographed by Galina Yordanova and Nina Menon to Tchaikovsky’s classic score, runs Dec. 20-28 at the concert hall.

Following Jekyll and Hyde comes Bolero, Angels in the Architecture and Hikarizatto (May 1-4, 2025) — a mixed-repetoire program composed of a couple of beloved favourites and a prime-time choreographic debut for one of the RWB’s own company members.

Soloist Stephan Azulay will bring his choreographed work Bolero to the concert hall stage. The abstract contemporary piece, set to Maurice Ravel’s instantly recognizable score of the same name, first debuted in 2022 at Fast Forward, a black-box theatre showcase the RWB presents in its Founder’s Studio.

“We found it so well-crafted that we thought that should be on the mainstage. We’re very excited for him,” Birtwhistle says.

The RWB is bringing back company alum Mark Godden’s powerful ensemble piece Angels in the Architecture, which was originally choreographed for the 1991-92 season when Godden became the RWB’s first choreographer-in-residence.

“We have not done that one in quite some time. It’s beautiful,” Birtwhistle says.

Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili’s electrifying Hikarizatto, last performed by the RWB in 2011, completes the bill.

“That piece is very athletic — it’s like super-sized ballet,” Birtwhistle says. “It’s a full-company ensemble piece, so again, it’s very powerful. Everywhere we’ve taken it in the past, the audiences jumped to their feet in a second, because it’s just that powerful.”

The 2024-25 season will wrap with two showcases highlighting the up-and-coming talent in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School: Spotlight (May 22-24, 2025, at Manitoba Theatre for Young People), featuring the Professional Division’s Ballet Academic Program, and On the Edge (June 4-6 at the RWB Founder’s Studio), featuring the post-secondary students in the Anna McCowan-Johnson Aspirant Program.

jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com