Presenting Les Grands Ballets Canadiens with their version of Sleeping Beauty, preparing for a four-city BC tour, and dealing with some injuries in the company, it’s no surprise Alberta Ballet’s artistic director, Jean Grand-Maître, had a busy week. We finally managed to connect to talk about the ballet’s new Sarah McLachlan ballet, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, playing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Nov. 14 to 16.
Following their highly successful ballets profiling Joni Mitchell and Elton John, Alberta Ballet has created a ballet inspired by the life and music of Sarah McLachlan. For each of these ballets, Grand-Maître has met with the artist to get a sense of their artistic vision and see what direction and form the ballet might take. “I meet with the singers when they agree to have us do a portrait ballet. I meet with them and talk for a couple of hours.”
These ballets are great for bringing in new audiences and Grand-Maître said that there has been “a wonderful cross-pollination” of dance lovers discovering the music and music lovers discovering the dance.
McLachlan became involved after Grand-Maître choreographed the dance to her song at the 2010 Olympic opening ceremonies. She had also seen the Joni Mitchell ballet and, Grand-Maître recalls, “She said she’d be honoured, and I went to see her in North Vancouver.”
They talked for a couple of hours about life, art, and her journey as an artist. “We really work hard to try to capture the essence of the artist and create a truthful portrait. That’s why the initial conversations are so important,” said Grand-Maître.
Grand-Maître and McLachlan talked about her inspirations, and what each song meant to her. “She is very inspired by the elements . . . she loves exotic cultures, and loves the ocean,” he said. Many of the costumes and sets in the show were inspired by this love of water and the elements, as are the video projections that serve as a backdrop for the show. McLachlan’s ink drawings were also used in the projections.
They also discussed the ethos of women. “They have more choice now and have to find a balance between life and work,” explained Grand-Maître, “I talked to a lot of women I know . . . and the themes of love, betrayal, loss, and death came up a lot.”
This is how the idea to do a psychological portrait of a woman came about, and the ballet became a profile of a woman’s life. There are also metaphors of empowering women and sisterhood in the ballet, which came up a lot in Grand-Maître and McLachlan’s conversations.
McLachlan came to visit the studio often during rehearsals and Grand-Maître says that she was in tears when she saw what they had created. He describes her music as “a balm on pain and suffering” and clearly respects her, saying she is “an extraordinary artist” and an extremely generous person whose career has “survived decades.”
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is one of McLachlan’s most famous albums, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, but the title was chosen because, as Grand-Maître explained, “it describes my choreographic style.” He said his choreography is about trying to move from a contraction or a struggle to graceful movement, and sometimes it’s a struggle to find grace.
The songs in the show span McLachlan’s entire career. “I had the opportunity to study her catalogue, and some of my favourite recordings are live versions — some that have never been heard before,” said Grand-Maître.
Looking ahead, he is thinking about which artist they may profile next. “It’s amazing how many Canadians I’d love to work with.” Leonard Cohen and Peter Gabriel are at the top of his list. “I have a chance to meet Peter after Christmas, so I’m excited about that.”
