Take Form grows to 10 pieces by Ballet BC dancers, at the BMO Centre from September 11 to 13
The rare chance to see performers choreograph their own cutting-edge pieces regularly sells out

Photo by Duy Le
Ballet BC presents Take Form on the Newmont Stage at the BMO Centre from September 11 to 13
EVER WONDER WHAT kind of work Ballet BC dancers like Michael Garcia, Sidney Chuckas, and Jacalyn Tatro would create if they were choreographers?
Dance fans are about to find out at the fifth annual Take Form showcase, which returns with its biggest program since artistic director Medhi Walerski launched it as a digital project out of the pandemic. It’s grown into an audience pre-season favourite that has sold out for the past two years. There are even plans to move it to a larger venue with more seating, lighting capabilities, and technical possibilities. For now, though, Take Form offers a great opportunity to see your favourite artists up close on a small stage. And you’re going to have to scramble to get a ticket.
For this installment, other dancers making their mark with short, cutting-edge works on the stage include Orlando Harbutt and Joziah German (one of last year’s standout choreographers). Imani Frazier, Eduardo Jiménez Cabrera, Vivian Ruiz, Nathan Bear, and Luca Afflitto, meanwhile, are getting ready to have their Take Form choreographic debut.
The show is also a chance to catch two new dancers: company artist Kylie Miller, a locally raised talent who has worked at the world-renowned Batsheva Dance Company, and emerging artist Stan Tonin, a Halifax-born Arts Umbrella alumnus.
Take Form not only offers fresh new visions onstage, but also allows the dancers to get experience in marketing, set design, and other behind-the-scenes areas. Expect high-quality pieces from a troupe that regularly works with some of the top choreographers in the world: as past Take Forms have proven, a little of that innovation and brilliance definitely rubs off.
Janet Smith is cofounder and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.
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