Volume 26 Issue 5 - February 2021

Music Theatre
The Lively Art of
Stocking the
Stream
JENNIFER PARR
Skylar Campbell with Alexander Skinner and Siphesihle November in Chroma,
part of The National Ballet of Canada's "Modern Masterpieces" series.
KAROLINA KURAS
How does a theatre company stay connected to its audience when
no one is allowed to be in the theatre to rehearse or perform,
or to take part with the audience? As we have seen, the answer
is usually to go online with shows that are live, pre-filmed, or a
combination of the two, with the exact recipe varying from company
to company and project to project. Nearly a year after the first
lockdown began last March, the experiments in creating streaming
content continue with a number of exciting new multi-part initiatives
from three of our major companies debuting in early 2021.
National Ballet of Canada
Dance fans who have been missing the National Ballet of Canada’s
patented rich mix of full-length story ballets and mixed programs of
shorter works that allow the company to experiment with cuttingedge
choreography will be happy to tune in to the new Spotlight series
on the company’s website. Short films of ballet excerpts have been
curated by artistic director Karen Kain to showcase the full range of
ballet performed by the company’s talented dancers and the wide
variety of choreographers who have contributed to the repertoire.
Each film debuts on a set date and remains available for 30 days for
viewing online, at no cost, although donations are welcomed.
The series begins with Modern Masterpieces, a showcase of three
exciting short works from the recent repertoire of leading contemporary
choreographers Alexei Ratmansky, Jiří Kylián and Wayne
McGregor, introduced by Kain. Immediately following is Power
and Passion, which, in contrast, puts a spotlight on three fulllength
story ballets: John Cranko’s gloriously romantic Onegin,
Christopher Wheeldon’s brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare’s
The Winter’s Tale, and John Neumeier’s non-linear version of
Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. February 7 will see the digital debut
of a full recent ballet: Robert Binet’s The Dreamers Ever Leave
You, inspired by the works of Group of Seven painter Lawren
Harris. Dreamers was scheduled to be performed at Toronto’s
Harbourfront Centre this past fall before the pandemic made
that impossible. Further films will follow every few weeks highlighting
the works of choreographers John Neumeier and George
Balanchine, Marius Petipa’s classic The Sleeping Beauty, and
a program of new works by Jera Wolfe, Alysa Pires, and Kevin
Ormsby commissioned specifically for this project. For more information
please visit national.ballet.ca.
While the ballet excerpts look wonderful on film there is no
additional context supplied within the films themselves other
than a short introduction to the series at the beginning of the
first episode. And while there is detailed written information on the
website about each ballet and choreographer, as an audience member
I miss a more direct connection with what I am viewing. I hope that
as the series continues the company will consider connecting more
directly with audiences, certainly in the added web-based elements,
and perhaps even within new filmed episodes as they are created.
Toronto Musical Stage Company
Toronto’s Musical Stage Company, well-known for its excellent
productions of socially relevant musicals, and incubation of new
works, is already well on the path of experimenting with creating new
ways to connect more directly with its audiences online: sharing with
the public the masterclass talks from its Noteworthy composer/librettist
program; and offering many different watch party options for its
Uncovered concert this past fall.
This month, a new program is making its debut: The Musical
Theatre Passport, responding to this desire for audience interconnectedness,
while feeding our hunger for travel and new musical productions.
Three unique virtual theatre outings are offered: to Vancouver,
London (England) and New York, each including a curated preshow
chat with a member of the musical’s creative team and facilitated
post-show discussion and analysis with Musical Stage’s artistic
and managing director, Mitchell Marcus. The shows are an exciting
mix, as well.
Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata
14 | February 2021 thewholenote.com