Critic s picks: Victorious Voices Youth Arts Fest, Beethoven at Christ Church Cathedral timescolonist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timescolonist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The popular virtual series continues this week with two performances by Grupo Corpo, the acclaimed Brazilian dance company. Parabelo and Dança Sinfônica, signature works created by Grupo Corpo choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras, are available for streaming starting Thursday at 5 p.m. The feeds will be available online (for $25) until Sunday at 10 p.m. With production, travel and accommodation costs off the table, Dance Victoria has been able to stage events for its supporters by international companies that would not normally fit the local dance company’s budget. Grupo Corpo certainly qualifies. With the pandemic grounding most international flights, Dance Victoria producer Stephen White seized an opportunity and secured the rights to a pair of prerecorded Grupo Corpo performances.
The local company hit a high-water mark last year by bringing in Edmonton’s Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, Canada’s only professional Ukrainian dance company. The Shumka Dancers are back again this week for several performances of The Nutcracker, albeit none that will put anyone on stage at Dance Victoria’s traditional home, the Royal Theatre. It’s 2020, after all so performances of Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic running Thursday through Sunday will be offered virtually. “We had it live last year at the Royal Theatre and people went nuts,” said producer Stephen White of Dance Victoria, who arranged to use a live performance video of the Shumka Dancers doing The Nutcracker once COVID-19 hit.