For media inquiries, please contact Abby Sawchuk at communications@balletkelowna.ca, or call our office at 250.762.6105

Ballet Kelowna’s Artistic Director & CEO Announces a Bold New Season of Dance for 2024/25

 Season Subscriptions on Sale August 12!

The 2024/25 season includes three dazzling mixed programs with Ode, an homage to company artist Desiree Bortolussi in honour of her retirement, Ex Animo, an ardent lineup of works from the heart, and Vividus, a program full of life.

Kelowna, BC – Simone Orlando, Ballet Kelowna’s Artistic Director & CEO, today announced Ballet Kelowna’s 2024/25 season features a stunning collection of commissions and newly acquired works that promise to capture the hearts and minds of audiences through their ingenuity and vitality.

“I wanted the 2024/25 season to feel bold and fresh to give audiences something they haven’t seen from us before, or, at the very least, stellar works they haven’t seen in a number of years,” says Simone Orlando. “As the only professional dance company in British Columbia’s Interior, I feel that it is our duty to continue pushing the limits of ballet; what better way to do that than to welcome back Cameron Fraser-Monroe and Alysa Pires, two creators who started their professional choreographic journeys with Ballet Kelowna and have gone on to create works for renowned ballet companies. It is also with great anticipation that we will unveil a debut creation from National Ballet of Canada superstar Guillaume Côté. In addition to these commissioned pieces, I am excited to continue expanding our repertoire by introducing works by Vancouver-based Lesley Telford as well as the award-winning American choreographer Trey McIntyre.”

The 2024/25 season opens with Ode (An Homage), Nov. 8 + 9, 2024, a program to celebrate long-time company artist Desiree Bortolussi and mark her retirement after thirteen illustrious years with Ballet Kelowna. For her final performances, Ms. Bortolussi will be featured in Simone Orlando’s seductive Cuatro Estaciones, a work that infuses ballet’s contemporary lines with the intricate, expressive elements of Argentine Tango, Guillaume Côté’s riveting Bolero, a perennial favourite in Ballet Kelowna’s repertoire with slow, hypnotic movements that build to explosive lifts, and the Canadian premiere of Trey McIntyre’s The Reassuring Effects (of Form and Poetry), which uses Antonín Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings in E Major as a springboard to showcase McIntyre’s fresh and imaginative style, creating a playful and electrifying atmosphere. This program promises to be a triumphant and emotional evening of dance. 

The season continues with Ex Animo (From the Heart), Feb. 14 + 15, 2025, a fervent program featuring three heartfelt pieces for the Valentine’s Day weekend. Cameron Fraser-Monroe, a member of the Tla’amin First Nation, returns to his long-standing relationship with hoop dance in payɛčot yɛχət [PAI-yeh-chot yeh-HUT], meaning “I always remember” in Ayajuthem, the language belonging to the Homalco, Klahoose, K’omoks, and Tla’amin Nations. This piece features soulful music by Indigenous cellist and composer Cris Derksen. Next, Vestiges will be Alysa Pires’ third world premiere created in Kelowna, promising to display striking athleticism and mesmerizing theatricality. Finally, rising choreographer Robert Stephen’s highly musical approach is showcased in In the Light of the Waking Sun, an uplifting ensemble piece that explores a rekindling of relationships through airy movement and swift, clustering formations. This touching mix of works explores human relationships, bringing glowing warmth to the winter season.

The 2024/25 season culminates with Vividus (Full of Life), May 2 + 3, 2025, a dynamic triple bill featuring some of Canada’s finest choreographers. With Simone Orlando’s spirited Rite of Spring, a visceral reaction to Igor Stravinsky’s avant-garde composition of the same name, and Lesley Telford’s gripping An Instant, a work that investigates physical risk and captures the feeling of teetering on the edge of a precipice, this high-energy program is complemented by a breathtaking world premiere by Guillaume Côté who continues to test the limits of contemporary ballet in his first commissioned work by Ballet Kelowna 

Ballet Kelowna’s 2024/25 season is presented by the Thomas Alan Budd Foundation.

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE ON SALE AUG. 12 and can be purchased online at theatre.kelowna.ca, by phone at 250-469-8940, or in person at the Kelowna Community Theatre, 1375 Water St, Kelowna.

The 2024/25 season offers a wide array of subscription and single ticket options, with three pricing levels of seats in the Kelowna Community Theatre. 

Subscribe to all three programs (Ode, Ex Animo, and Vividus) for as low as:

Adult - $161, Senior - $147, Student/Child/Accessible* - $84.

Prices include tax but do not include the Kelowna Community Theatre ticketing and capital improvement fees.

*Senior is 65+. Students must present valid ID at box office. Child must be 12 years of age or under. Accessible seating is available.

Subscribe before Sept. 15, 2024, for incredible incentives like the chance to win a pair of tickets to one of these amazing shows at the Kelowna Community Theatre this fall:

• Rumours: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute
• Alex Mackenzie’s Hungry for Laughs
• The Jim Cuddy Band: All The World Tour
• A Rocky Mountain High Christmas 

Single tickets go on sale September 16, 2024.

All performances take place at the Kelowna Community Theatre, 1375 Water Street, Kelowna BC.

Other Upcoming Ballet Kelowna Activities:

Ballet Kelowna’s IN MOTION Adult Dance program fall term begins Sept. 16. Whether you’re looking to explore ballet or contemporary for the first time or further develop your dance skills, Ballet Kelowna’s IN MOTION classes help improve strength, posture, flexibility, and balance. (balletkelowna.ca/in-motion)

Ballet Kelowna’s POP-UP SERIES returns, making its first appearance at UBC’s Okanagan campus on Oct. 4. Co-presented by UBCO’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, this free event is open to members of the public and students alike. POP-UP SERIES: UBCO will feature a free ballet workshop, open viewing of company warmup, and a special performance at 5:00 PM that will include excerpts of signature works from Ballet Kelowna’s repertoire. All POP-UP SERIES activities are free or by donation. Registration opens on Sept. 2, 2024. (balletkelowna.ca/popupdance2024)

About Ballet Kelowna (balletkelowna.ca)

Founded in 2002, Ballet Kelowna is the sole professional dance company in BC’s Interior. A recent organizational recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Arts and Music Award and the BC Touring Council’s Artistic Company of the Year Award, Ballet Kelowna is committed to its role as a leader in the region through encouraging, promoting, and developing Canadian dancers and choreographers. The Company performs annually for more than 12,000 audience members in Kelowna and on tour and provides unique dance training opportunities and outreach programs. Its Artistic Director and CEO, Simone Orlando, is an award-winning choreographer and former dancer with Ballet BC and The National Ballet of Canada.