Emerging Artists of Ballet BC and New Coast Players come together for Absence; Creation, February 17

Ballet by Jack Campbell and Antony Knight makes its world premiere at Arts Umbrella

By Janet Smith

Emerging Artists of Ballet BC: Emanuel Dostine, Briana Del Mundo, Pei Lun Lai, and Eduardo Jimenez Cabrera.

Absence; Creation is at Arts Umbrella on February 17 at 4:30 and 7 pm

A NEW BALLET FEATURES fresh new talent across dance and chamber music.

Making its world premiere on February 17, Absence; Creation is by Vancouver-based composer, violinist, artist, and producer Jack Campbell with choreographer, actor, vocalist, composer, and director Antony Knight.

Exploring themes of death as absence and love as creation—and their inseparable relationship—the work features the Emerging Artists of Ballet BC: Briana Del Mundo, Emanuel Dostine, Eduardo Jimenez Cabrera, and Pei Lun Lai.

In an artists statement, Campbell says absence and creation are constantly reflected in the structures of the work, both via movement and music, “with physical elements constantly being removed and introduced, and the same in the score, with a constant state of sonic addition and subtraction being the formal foundation”.

Playing that music live is a new ensemble of star students from the UBC School of Music, called the New Coast Ensemble.

Campbell is a rising young star on the local arts scene who has created and collaborated in Paris, Berlin, London and Amsterdam. He’s commissioned and premiered over 20 works for solo violin by Canadian composers and his compositional projects aim to build bridges between music and visual arts, dance, and theatre. Projects this year include a solo concert tour in Europe, collaborative work on reconciliation through music with artist Debra Sparrow, and the premiere of a newly commissioned song cycle on LGBTQSIA+ identity. Knight is a baritone who’s studied in Opera Performance and Composition at UBC and has performed with UBC Opera. As a composer, his original piece The Protector of the Okanagan was featured in the VSO’s 2022 Jean Coulthard Readings.

Together with the dancers, they'll explore the two critical forces that connect humans across existence—and provide a chance to check out rising voices in music and dance.  

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