Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
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Navigating change
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Although I don’t have stats or surveys to back up this assertion, I think it would be generally agreed that Winnipeggers don’t care for change; the slogan on our city-limits welcoming signs could be “Winnipeg: If It Ain’t Broke…”
Sometimes this is a charming trait. We celebrate our past and we collectively mourn the loss of things that were part of our shared history — Kelekis restaurant, the Nutty Club candy factory, our magnificent elm trees.
But sometimes this reluctance to let go of what’s familiar can thwart progress and invention, leaving us mired in the unproductive muck of nostalgia.
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I was thinking about this last week at the launch of Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s new season, the first under the wing of artistic director Christopher Stowell.
It is not easy to step into such a venerable organization — the company celebrates its 87th birthday this year — not to mention stepping into the shoes of André Lewis, who served in the RWB in various capacities for a staggering half-century, and as AD for 30 years.
And it’s always difficult, as an organization that wants to make relevant art but also wants to get bums in seats, to strike a balance between broad commercial appeal and programming untested new work. The reliable war horses and the flashy show ponies aren’t always good stablemates.
So I was struck by how Stowell is navigating the changeover, which is to say very carefully, but also with no small degree of boldness.
He seems to get that Winnipeggers love their timeworn traditions, but that they might be ready to make new ones. The season has plenty of nods to iconic works classical balletomanes expect (including the beloved Nutcracker, because, as he said, “I’m not completely insane”), but all of them are being approached with a fresh eye or an unexpected twist.
“My guiding inspirations were making sure that I looked in the past and respected and honoured the traditions of this, amazingly, 86-year-old company…” Stowell said at the season launch, “but what I discovered about the organization is that, in fact, innovation, taking risks, breaking barriers in exploring new ways of creating and seeing the artform of ballet has been an integral part of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet since its birth.”
In that vein, the Studio Series is a cool development, moving the shows out of the concert hall and into a more intimate venue with a speakeasy vibe that allows for interaction with the dancers and a less formal experience.
“More intimate” can often be code for “We wouldn’t be able to fill the hall,” but this series — starting with Balanchine’s Who Cares? and featuring live jazz musicians playing Gershwin — feels uniquely tailored to attract a potentially different audience. And more importantly, it sounds like fun, not just a box to tick on a programming plan.
As a tremendously nostalgic person, I totally get the appeal of repeating or revisiting the glorious, golden past (as my iTunes most-played list will attest). But as someone who wants arts organizations to thrive and flourish in the future, I applaud programming that includes Nutcrackers and also leaves room to go a little nuts.
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Jill Wilson
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Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
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