Ballet BC

And whether it inspires us to act or simply see the world differently, something in us begins to shift.

On this episode, we are joined by Mehdi Walerski, a world-renowned dancer, choreographer, and the artistic director of Ballet BC.

We discuss the importance of the arts, of hope, and of letting go.

Mehdi, thank you so much for joining me today.

Yeah, and I see it as a good thing because it's a way to keep evolving and reinventing yourself.

But when it becomes destructive, when you're sleepless and when the relationship to self-care is in jeopardy or in danger, then that's when I feel that it's maybe unhealthy.

So it's creative anxiety, basically, and I'm not anxious at all, even with the work at Ballet BC that can be extremely demanding, challenging, and could bring a lot of stress.

It doesn't bring me stress, but with work, yes, and it's because it's going to be exposed.

Nathan had the opportunity to expand his education and participate in company summer intensives such as Netherlands Dance Theater and Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

He was the recipient of Ballet BC's Dancers of Today Scholarship, which allowed him to continue his training and be a representative of his Indigenous culture.

Nathan just concluded his second season as an emerging artist with Ballet BC and is very excited and grateful to be joining Ballet Vancouver for the 26-27 season.

Welcome to the podcast, Nathan.

Thank you.

I would say I enjoyed it because it was dancing more for fun for me.

I wouldn't say it advanced my technical training but it did give me a lot of opportunity for choreography and collaboration which I never like touched because I was always oh I'm ready I'm gonna know my five six seven eight count and so it was really nice to attend that and have like a new language in dance in a I got exposed because I was just saying how I was like, I was so competitive and I had kind of like saw like a path that I could go down in that way.

But through Langley Fine Arts, I saw my first ever Ballet BC show.

She was 18 years old.

She went on to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and then decades later, she became a founder and the first president of Ballet BC.

If you've ever seen dance in the city, you are standing on ground she helped to clear.

Beside her is Joshua Beamish, who started his own company at 17, has made work for the Royal Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada, who choreographed The Merry Widow for us here at Vancouver Opera.

And I looked at him and I said, yes, I've been there.

Isn't that fantastic? Because I danced in the auditorium at the school.

Jean, you are one of the builders of Ballet BC and Pacific Ballet Theatre had folded.

Most people would read that as proof that the city couldn't have a company.