Secret Garden given a twist
Ballerina Andrea Bayne swings through her lead role in Ballet Victoria’s production of <i>The Secret Garden</i>.
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Period piece comes to life in latest Ballet Victoria production
Building a ballet from scratch isn’t easy, but it’s worth it for Paul Destrooper.
Ballet Victoria’s artistic director, choreographer, dancer and jack-of-all-trades is putting the final touches on the company’s newest production, The Secret Garden.
He pored over eight CDs of music by Joseph Haydn to pick a score for the 45-minute ballet. He’s co-ordinating the projection team with the lighting designers, overseeing costume selection, choreographing the dance and learning his own part in the play.
“Whenever we build a new ballet, which is what we do all the time, we have to create all the designs,” Destrooper said.
After reading the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and watching the 1993 film The Secret Garden, Destrooper teamed with Michael Shamata, artistic director of the Belfry Theatre. Shamata had written his own version of the story for a play.
“It’s good working with other artists because it gives you a perspective that you didn’t have,” Destrooper said.
Destrooper liked Shamata’s version, adapting it to his ballet, then added a twist.
“The mother actually is not a character, she’s just absent,” he said of the original story. “So in (Shamata’s) play, there’s the idea of the mother being a ghost, but she’s not there. I took that idea, but made her a character. That ghost is the thread that orchestrates the journey from the beginning to the end.”
The production features a three-piece band, simple sets and elaborate projections.
“People will have an art gallery experience with surrealist art, modern, impressionist, classical and a full image that has a harmony to it,” Destrooper said.
The Secret Garden runs Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 at the McPherson Playhouse. Tickets are $41.50 and $51.50, available at the Royal and McPherson box offices, by calling 250-386-6121 or at www.rmts.bc.ca.
ecardone@vicnews.com
