CARMINA BURANA
A feast for the senses that pairs sensual, powerful choreography with Carl Orff’s masterpiece Carmina Burana cantata. Unbridled passion and highly physical technique express raw emotion that transcends the need for a story. Choreographer Mauricio Wainrot’s artfully-staged vignettes capture the spirit of the titular score’s five movements, oscillating between the erratic, romantic, and lustful as they celebrate community and the joys of life. For many of our artists, this will be their first time performing this exciting choreography, making it a whole new experience even for returning audiences. Featuring Soloists Andrea Lett, Matthew Pauls & Nolan Kehler plus the Prairie Voices and Winnipeg Boys Choirs at every performance.
WORLD PREMIERE OF T’ƏL: THE WILD MAN OF THE WOODS
CHOREOGRAPHY BY CAMERON FRASER-MONROE
In many Indigenous cultures, history and tales are not written down but passed down through Elders; so, it felt natural to share an oral history from Fraser-Monroe’s home, the Tla’amin First Nation. T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods [“tall”] is an evening-length ballet based on the oral history of Elder Elsie Paul, who narrates in both Ayajuthem, the language of the Tla’amin Nation, and English. According to legend, T’əl kidnaps children from the village after dark and they are never seen again, until one young woman ventures to save her sister…
Juno-nominated two-spirit composer Cris Derksen provides the striking score, and joins the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra live in the pit. Costumes spring from the vision of New York-based Navajo designer and Yale-alumnus Asa Benally.
Elsie Paul is an Elder and knowledge keeper of the Tla’amin Nation, located on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Paul is a residential school survivor and one of the few living people to speak the Tla’amin language fluently. Paul holds an honorary Doctorate degree from the Vancouver Island University and has co-authored a book, Written as I Remember it: Teachings From the Life of a Sliammon Elder. This work was later released in an open access, multimedia, digital edition. Paul’s traditional name is Qazustala’s, which translates as, “a welcoming person with a wealth of knowledge, someone who shares her culture”