Choreography: Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe
Composer: Cris Derksen
Projection and Lighting Design: Andy Moro
Costume Design: Asa Benally

Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe returns with his newest work for the company, Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, a full-length narrative ballet that blazes across time and tradition and is set to original commissioned music by Cree cellist and composer Cris Derksen. Projections by Euro/Omushkego Cree artist Andy Moro will bring to life sterile cities and scorched forests, while costumes by Navajo/Cherokee designer Asa Benally layer each character with rich histories.

Set in a dystopian future where wildfire season has no end, a young Indigenous firefighter’s beliefs are challenged when he meets Mothkʷ, a fierce protector of ancestral knowledge who carries out cultural burns.

The word cikilaxʷm [tseekiLAHkwum] means “prescribed fire” in nsyilxcən, the language belonging to the syilx (Okanagan) People. It relates to traditional burning practices that nourish the land and community, bringing healing and rejuvenation.