Norbert Vesak
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Norbert Vesak
Norbert Vesak (October 22, 1936 – October 2, 1990), one of Canada's leading choreographers in the 1970s, was a ballet dancer, choreographer, theatrical director, master teacher, dance columnist, lecturer, and opera ballet director, known for his unique, flamboyant style and his multimedia approach to classical and contemporary choreography. He is credited with helping to bring modern dance to Western Canada. Biography Although Vesak worked internationally as a choreographer, he was frequently referred to as "Canada's finest male dancer." Early in his career, he often choreographed works and then danced in them as well, receiving critical acclaim for both roles. He was described as a "Renaissance Man", well known as a lecturer, dancer, set and costume designer, and teacher, as well as for his choreography and work in the theater. Vesak was born in Port Moody, British Columbia in 1936 to Frank and Nora Vesak, of Czech and Belgian descent. As a child, he was an opera fan who des ...
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Port Moody
Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south and by Burnaby on the west. The villages of Belcarra and Anmore, along with the rugged Coast Mountains, lie to the northwest and north, respectively. It is named for Richard Clement Moody, the first lieutenant governor of the Colony of British Columbia. History The Coast Salish people were the first to live in this area, and archaeology confirms continuous occupation of the territory for at least 9,000 years. Other First Nations to live in the area are Musqueam, Squamish, Stó:lō and Tsleil-Waututh. Port Moody is named for Colonel Richard Clement Moody, of the Royal Engineers. It was established at the end of a trail that connected New Westminster with Burrard Inlet to defend New Westminster from potential attack by the US. After 1859, ...
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Geoffrey Holder
Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, and artist. He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in ''Carib Gold''. In 1973, he played the villainous Baron Samedi in the Bond film '' Live and Let Die''. He also carried out advertising work as the pitchman for 7 Up. Early life Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad,"Geoffrey Holder, Bond villain and dancer, dies aged 84"
BBC News, October 6, 2014; accessed October 8, 2014.
Holder was one of four children of and Trinidadian descent. He was educated at Tr ...
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Val Caniparoli
Val Caniparoli is an American ballet dancer and international choreographer. His work includes more than 100 productions for ballet, opera, and theater for over 50 companies, and his career as a choreographer progressed globally even as he continued his professional dance career with the San Francisco Ballet. He joined the San Francisco Ballet as a dancer in 1973. He was appointed to the position of principal character dancer with the San Francisco Ballet by Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson in 1987. Early years Caniparoli was born in Renton, Washington, to Francisco Caniparoli, a clothing manufacturer, and Leonora (Marconi) Caniparoli, who worked at Boeing. He attended Washington State University (WSU), where he studied music and theater. When the First Chamber Dance Company was touring Eastern Washington, they did performances at WSU, and offered workshops in ballet. Caniparoli attended one and was told he had talent, and should audition at the San Francisco Ballet School. T ...
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Robert Joffrey
Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Seattle, Washington to a Pashtun father from Afghanistan and a mother from Italy. Life and work Joffrey began his dance training at nine years old in Seattle as a remedy for asthma under instructor Mary Anne Wells. He later studied ballet and modern dance in New York City, and made his debut in 1949 with the French choreographer Roland Petit and his Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris. From 1950 to 1955, he taught at the New York High School for the Performing Arts, where he staged his earliest ballets. He founded thJoffrey Ballet Schoolin New York City in 1953, where it remains as a separate organization from The Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago, which is the official school of the Joffrey Ballet Company. As one of the first prolific ...
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Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric Opera House, including its annual presentation of ''The Nutcracker''. Founded in 1956 by dance pioneers Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, the company has earned a reputation for boundary-breaking performances, including its 1987 presentation of Vaslav Nijinsky's ''The Rite of Spring'', which reconstructed the original choreography from the 1913 premiere that was thought to be lost. Many choreographers have worked with the Joffrey, including Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and George Balanchine. History In 1956, a time during which most touring companies performed only reduced versions of ballet classics, Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino formed a six-dancer ensemble that toured the country in a station wagon pulling a U-Haul trailer, perform ...
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David Peregrine
David Peregrine, OC (September 19, 1954 – c. June 7, 1989) was a Canadian dancer and actor. Life He was born David Alan Evans in Llay, Wales and grew up in Ottawa. Peregrine studied ballet with Nesta Toumine in Ottawa, going on to study at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet school with David Moroni and at the Banff School of Fine Arts. Evans adopted the stage name David Peregrine. He joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as a member of the corps in 1975, becoming soloist three years later and principal dancer in 1980, partnering with Evelyn Hart. In 1980 he won a bronze medal at the International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, performing the pas de deux from Norbert Vesak's ballet "Belong." Hart won a gold medal. In 1986, Peregrine was made an officer of the Order of Canada. He performed two seasons with the San Francisco Ballet and was a guest artist with the Alberta Ballet, Boston Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Peregrine appeared as Smike in the play ''Nicholas Nickleby'' and the ...
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Evelyn Hart
Evelyn Anne Hart (born April 4, 1956) is a Canadian ballerina and former principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Life and career Born in Toronto, Ontario, Hart studied dance at the Dorothy Carter School of Dance in London, Ontario, Canada, and later at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Before attending the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Hart auditioned for The National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto, Ontario. She was accepted for its preliminary intensive summer session of auditioning for consideration as a student in the year's intensive academic/professional training program, where students train for its parent company the National Ballet of Canada. Hart did not secure a place for the school year at the National Ballet School, mostly due to her problems with anorexia nervosa. Hart battled with this pathological eating disorder before returning to ballet, training again, and winning a place for herself at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. She joined the Royal Winnipeg Ball ...
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The Canadian Encyclopedia
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available for free online in both English and French, ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' includes more than 19,500 articles in both languages on numerous subjects including history, popular culture, events, people, places, politics, arts, First Nations, sports and science. The website also provides access to the ''Encyclopedia of Music in Canada'', the ''Canadian Encyclopedia Junior Edition'', ''Maclean's'' magazine articles, and ''Timelines of Canadian History''. , over 700,000 volumes of the print version of ''TCE'' have been sold and over 6 million people visit ''TCE'''s website yearly. History Background While attempts had been made to compile encyclopedic material on aspects of Canada, ''Canada: An Encyclopaedia of the Country'' (1898–1900), ...
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The Ecstasy Of Rita Joe
''The Ecstasy of Rita Joe'' is a drama by George Ryga. The play, in two acts, premiered at the Vancouver Playhouse, November 23, 1967. It was directed by George Bloomfield. The play has an important place in the history of modern Canadian theatre, as it was one of the first to address issues relating to Indigenous people. It recounts the story of a young Indigenous woman in the city. The play opened the studio theatre of the National Arts Centre in 1969. It was adapted and choreographed as a ballet by Norbert Vesak (commissioned by the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood) and first performed by thRoyal Winnipeg Ballet on July 27, 1971 in Ottawa The play was revived by Alberta Theatre Projects in 1976. It was translated by Gratien Gélinas and presented at the Comédie-Canadienne. It was also produced in Washington, DC, in May, 1973, with Chief Dan George and Frances Hyland in lead roles. Significance The play's structure will be seen by some as clumsy at times while others may ap ...
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Albert Giraud
Albert Giraud (; 23 June 1860 – 26 December 1929) was a Belgian poet who wrote in French. Biography Giraud was born Emile Albert Kayenbergh in Leuven, Belgium. He studied law at the University of Leuven. He left university without a degree and took up journalism and poetry. In 1885, Giraud became a member of La Jeune Belgique, a Belgian nationalist literary movement that met at the Café Sésino in Brussels.''Albert Giraud's Pierrot Lunaire'', translated and with an introduction by Gregory C. Richter. Giraud became chief librarian at the Belgian Ministry of the Interior. He was a Symbolist poet. His published works include '' Pierrot lunaire: Rondels bergamasques'' (1884), a poem cycle based on the commedia dell'arte figure of Pierrot, and ''La Guirlande des Dieux'' (1910). The composer Arnold Schönberg set a German-language version (translated by Otto Erich Hartleben) of selections from his ''Pierrot Lunaire'' to innovative atonal music. In a different, late romantic st ...
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Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School. As a Jewish composer, Schoenberg was targeted by the Nazi Party, which labeled his works as degenerate music and forbade them from being published. He immigrated to the United States in 1933, becoming an American citizen in 1941. Schoenberg's approach, bοth in terms of harmony and development, has shaped much of 20th-century musical thought. Many composers from at least three generations have consciously extended his thinking, whereas others have passionately reacted against it. Schoenberg was known early in his career for simultaneously extending the traditionally opposed German Romantic styles of Brahms and Wagner. Later, hi ...
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Jacob's Pillow Dance
Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for a Summer dance festival. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive archives as well as year-round community programs. The facility itself was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2003. History The site of Jacob's Pillow in Becket, Massachusetts was originally settled in 1790 by Jacob Carter III. Because of the zigzagging road leading to the hilltop property, it became known as "Jacob's Ladder", after Jacob's Ladder, the Biblical story, and a pillow-shaped rock on the property prompted the farm to acquire the name "Jacob's Pillow". The farm was purchased in 1931 by modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn as a dance retreat. Shawn and his wife, Ruth St. Denis, led the highly regarded Denishawn Company, which had popularized dance forms rooted in theater and cultural traditions outside European ballet. They we ...
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