When Atlantic Ballet’s artistic director and choreographer Igor Dobrovolskiy created a short dance performance on the subject of domestic abuse and homicide for 2007’s New Brunswick Silent Witness Project, he didn’t anticipate the response that eventually led him to choreograph a full-length piece, Ghosts of Violence.
“It’s such a powerful message and the people that approached me and encouraged me to develop it said there wasn’t enough material dealing with this through performing arts,” says Dobrovolskiy. “But at the same time it’s a little bit dangerous. Art is a very powerful tool, if you create something wrong you can hurt people, so as a company we are continually challenged.”
Developed with Canadian playwright and dramaturge Sharon Pollock, Ghosts of Violence will be performed Saturday, May 5, 7:30pm at the Rebecca Cohn ($45/$42/$32, artscentre.dal.ca).
Each date across Canada features a student matinee, which Atlantic Ballet’s CEO Susan Chalmers-Gauvin counts as an important part of the tour. “We wanted to create a production that would appeal to a younger demographic which is the group most in danger,” says Chalmers-Gauvin. “Statistics tell us that young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are most at risk to die at the hands of an intimate partner. That’s three times the national average”
Dobrovolskiy and Atlantic Ballet work in a classic ballet style, and pairing social issues with this traditional style is new ground for the choreographer. “Modern dance is more likely to look at social issues. We use a classical vocabulary technically but the same time it’s twisted a bit,” says Dobrovolskiy. “Social workers and support staff that deal with this every day, they appreciate how we frame this message. I’m a strong believer that art can change a community.”
*Ghosts of Violence* actively brings community into the conversation, mixing their artistic message with something practical. During the course of the tour, Atlantic Ballet will work with 100 locally based community groups across the country. In Halifax these include: Halifax YWCA, THANS, Family SOS, Silent Witness Nova Scotia and Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE). The Halifax date will feature a spoken word performance by LOVE Youth Leader, Naomi Jackson.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 2, 2012.
