Message from the Artistic Director

Christopher Anderson| Artistic Director, Alberta Ballet

BOTERO is a journey of a beautiful international collaboration and we’re so glad you have joined us to be part of it!  

Welcome to BOTERO - Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's newest full-evening work inspired by Colombian artist and activist Fernando Botero.   

This is Alberta Ballet’s first time collaborating with Annabelle, a true pioneer within our art form. A prolific choreographer, she has created with dozens of prestigious dance companies, and her work is performed on stages around the world.  

The ballet you’re about to see is an extension of a shorter piece that Annabelle created in Colombia for Ballet Metropolitano de Medellín. This playful ballet is enriched by the vibrant compositions of Juan Pablo Acosta and the brilliant designs of Diana Echandia. 

The innovative juxtaposition of styles is a great example of the boundary-breaking work being created today. It’s been incredible to have Annabelle and Diana in our studios, working alongside the Alberta Ballet dancers, to realize this expanded work.  

I am very proud to support a vision that ballet companies around the world are pursuing – creating space and opening their stages for new ideas and a new future for concert dance. 

This has been a phenomenal season for new works, and I’d like to congratulate the artists of Alberta Ballet for their thoughtful performances across a broad spectrum of styles: from the forward focused works of Cathy Marston, Alysa Pires, and Helen Pickett in Away We Go to the cherished classic of the romantic era, Giselle. The dancers and artistic team have generously shared their passion for this art form we all love. I am privileged to support and work with these inspiring artists.  

Please enjoy this tremendous season finale, and thank you for supporting Alberta Ballet and the arts in Alberta!   

Message from the Choreographer

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

BOTERO is a ballet inspired by the many paintings and art works of Fernando Botero. This Colombian artist is famous for his distinctive style characterized by voluminous and exaggerated figures, also known as Boterismo. 

When I heard the anecdote that Botero sometimes paints a fly to achieve the perfect balance in his artwork, it sparked immediately an idea for a ballet.

I imagined that in the moments of solitude and creative retreat of the artist, a fly would surge in his studio and accompany him in a dazzling journey of creativity where all the characters he ever painted would come to life from the canvas and step out of the frame to confront him.

Art is intrinsically connected to an artist's personal experiences and surroundings and, it is subsequently translated into an elevated form through his/her paintings. To reverse this elevated form of frozen images into real people and moving images is a fascination I have had since childhood. As a child I believed that portraits came to life at night when I was asleep. Now they come to life in my ballets.

According to Fernando Botero, art is there to please and entertain. He disagrees categorically with critics stating that when art pleases, it automatically prostitutes itself. He often explores themes of power, politics, religion, and the human condition, but he always finds a way to incorporate a touch of satire and humor.

I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to share bits and pieces of my Colombian culture through this new ballet and I welcome the Canadian audience to this whimsical journey full of surprising shapes and colors designed by Diana Echandía, and accompanied by the wonderful music full of Latin rhythms by Colombian composer Juan Pablo Acosta.

About the Music

Juan Pablo Acosta

BOTERO’S music is mainly inspired by the sounds of the city of Medellin, Colombia (the painter's hometown) in the first half of the twentieth century, where tango and rural music from the Colombian Andes were heard in the cantinas and on the radio. 

The mandolin is the instrument that begins and ends the work and appears in several of the scenes as thread of the music, as it was the object that inspired Botero, his particular conception of volume due to the proportion of the small soundboard hole with its rounded and voluminous body. 

In this musical creation, traditional Latin American and Spanish music are combined with electronic and orchestral music, enriched with diverse and contrasting nuances like the themes of Botero's works.

About the Costumes and Sets

Diana Echandía

To conceptualize the characteristics of Botero’s very distinct style, I searched my way into the deconstruction of shapes and volumes so that the dancers would keep parts of their body free to express themselves. For example, each character is allocated the idea of volume "Boterismo" in different parts of their body such as the head, hands, arms, belly, or legs. 

By deconstructing the frames of paintings, the stage converts itself into a dreamlike space in which the negative space can either be used as a within or outside the painting. This allowed the choreographer a multitude of possibilities during the creation process.

Act 1 

Scene 1 - Naranja 
“In Botero's Naranja (Orange), a worm appears to pierce the fruit; in addition to the memory of the tradition of still life, this detail creates a tension between forms of such different dimensions.” ~Annick Casciero de Sanjurjo.

Scene 2 - Toreros 
Botero was sent to the school of tauromachy at the age of 15. Because of his extreme fear for bulls, he never became a matador but started painting them instead.

Scene 3 – Meseros
"I don't paint fat women. Nobody believes me but it is true. What I paint are volumes.” ­ ~Botero

Scene 4 – BoteroSutra 
“I tried to be subtle in my approach to the subject of eroticism, and that’s why you don’t see the sex [organs] of the characters.” ~Botero 

Scene 5 – Dancing Fruit
“Artists today are no longer interested in the theme of still lives. This is a pity because this genre has such a great tradition.” ~Botero 

Scene 6 – Tango 
Although tango was born in the middle of the 19th century in the Rio de la Plata, Medellín became an iconic place for this dance in the 20th century when Carlos Gardel, famous tango singer died in a plane crash in Medellín (1935) and became a myth overnight.

This cult for the tango in Medellín cannot be absent in the work of Botero, who is convinced that art must seek universality in the traditions, the everyday life, and in the picturesque.

Scene 6B - Pedrito 
In 1974, Fernando Botero loses his four-year old son Pedrito in a car accident. This event coincides with the age he was when his father David Botero died. He dedicated a series of drawings and paintings to his memory.

Scene 7 – Pierrot 
“My work is a self-portrait of my mind, a prism of my convictions.” ~Botero

BOTERO Libretto

Act 2

Scene 8 – Circo 
"The circus allows one to be logical and unreal at the same time. In the circus, all is possible: there can be a man with two heads or a character with a green face.” ~ Botero

The series “Circo” arose after "Abu Ghraib", in which Botero portrayed the torture and pain experienced in Guantanamo Bay. Feeling exhausted after those paintings, Botero searched for a theme that would allow him to recover, through color, shapes, expressions, joy, and optimism.

Scene 9 – Botero musings 
“I have not found a thing that gives me more pleasure, excitement, and that fulfills me more than painting.
I paint for myself. I paint until the painting gives me pleasure. I want to die painting.” ~Botero

Scene 10 - Blanco y Negro      
In 1995, Botero’ sculpture ‘The Bird' was used as a "Trojan Horse" to detonate 10 kilos of explosives on Plaza San Antonio killing and hurting many people. The artist decided not to restore nor replace the sculpture. He preferred to leave the work in ruins and offered a second copy of the work, in exchange for the 'Wounded Bird' to remain next to the new 'Dove of Peace', "as a reminder of the imbecility and criminality of Colombia.

Scene 11 – Caballos y Obispos 
 In 1949, Botero was expelled from college for having published an article on Picasso's painting in the newspaper El Colombiano, which was labeled communist by the institution's rector. This censorship of expression would be one of the aggravating factors of the split between political parties that would lead to violence in Colombia during that period. This is the origin of the masterpiece painted in 1958: Los obispos muertos (The Dead Bishops).

Scene 12 – Paloma 
“I often think about death, and it saddens me to leave this world and not be able to paint more. I love it so much.”
~Botero 

Scene 13 – Escobar 
Botero was reportedly angered that two of his paintings were found in the drug lord Pablo Escobar’s home after the kingpin was slain 1993. The death of Escobar, however, did not end the violence of Medellín, and the artist himself was victim of a failed kidnapping in 1994. 

Scene 14 – Resiliencia
“Art should be an oasis; a place or refuge from the hardness of life.” ~Botero

Original concept by Ballet Metropolitano de Medellín 
Choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

MUSIC CREDITS:
Music by: Juan Pablo Acosta
Violins: Marco Blandón and Eduardo Mora
Cellos: Atamaica Ruiz y Tatiana Pérez
Bandoneon: Marco Blandón
Guitars and keyboards: Juan Acosta
Piano: Johan Ramírez
Bandola: William Posada
Clarinet: Johan Pérez
Trombons: Edwar Montoya
Percusión: Sebastián Forero
Recording, mixing & mastering: Juan Duque (409 Estudio)

BOTERO CREDITS

COSTUMES AND SETS
Set and Costume Design: Diana Echandía
In house: Diana Echandia LAB
Costume team leader: Julián Sánchez, Lina Rodríguez.
Tailor/Stitcher: Claudia María Ríos, Daniela Giraldo, Beatriz Cano, Mateo Zapata, Alexander Orozco, Natalia Niño, Diana Marcela Meneses.
Set Assistant and Costume Designer: María Camila Bustamante, Ana Milena Díaz
Headdresses and Horse masks: Diana Echandía, Gabriela Echandía, Juan Pablo Hoyos.
Assistant tailor and headdress: Ana Misas, Yefferson Salazar, Olga Elena Orrego, Gloria Domínguez.
Production assistant: David Estrada

Collaborators:
Specialty production art: Volume hands, Fly headdress and Big head mask of characters “Obispos”, “Pablo Escobar”, “Pierrot”: Armando Moncada
Specialty production art: Horned headdress : Mauricio López
Horse masks structures: Pablo Hoyos
Set production: Golden Frames and blue stairs: Marino Montoya
Set production: Botero’s orange: Paulina Restrepo
Renders: Juan David Vélez
Additional frames built by F&D in Calgary, Alberta.

BOTERO Artistic Team

YEE-HANG YAM
Artistic Operations Manager

KEN JAMES STEWART
Stage Manager

BETH AIRTON
Apprentice Stage Manager

ANDREA GINTER
Alberta Ballet Lead Physiotherapist -
Momentum Health

COMPANY TEACHERS
Shino Mori
Aram Manukyan 
Alexandra Gibson
Jennifer Gibson
Yoshiya Sakurai

COMPANY PIANISTS
Juanita Faas
Marina Fedorov
Michael Levin
Mary Martell

Alberta Ballet Dancers

Casting

Subject to Change

Alberta Ballet Dancers Supported by

Alberta Ballet Apprentices Supported By

Join the Fun This Summer with Dance Camps at Alberta Ballet School!

With four different weeks to choose from throughout July and August, our week-long summer camps allow kids to keep moving all summer long!

For dates and to register visit: Summer Dance Camps

 Ages 3 through 12. No experience is necessary to join! 

Your Gift is Needed

Did you know that Alberta Ballet relies on multiple income streams to bring these incredible performances to the stage?

Donations are at the very heart of our funding. As a registered charity, Alberta Ballet relies on donations to bridge the shortfall to perform in the Jubilee, create new works and attract the best talent. As stewards of a rarified art form, we face a delicate balance, and ticket prices only get us part of the way there. Donations make it possible for us to deliver the art you love. ​

Conceived during the pandemic, Alberta Ballet created an Endowment Fund to provide more financial stability in the years to come. When our goal of $15 million is reached, the Endowment Fund will start providing consistent, predictable disbursements that will help us bring seasons like this one to life. It will also help Alberta Ballet be a haven for Albertans to connect with each other and themselves whether they are deeply moved in our audience, taking their first step into a community dance class, or pursuing their craft through professional dance training.  

Dance has the power to unite communities and transform lives through inspiration. Please consider making a one-time or recurring donation today.  

To make a donation to the Forever Moved campaign or to learn more about the Endowment Fund, please visit our website.

ALBERTA BALLET DONORS 2022/23

Thank you to our donors!

Over these many uncertain months, we’ve been grateful to our donor community for all the ways they’ve supported our mission to share dance and ballet.

As we return to the Jubilee with a full season, we’re looking forward to reconnecting this community to the art form they find so deeply inspirational.

If you are a passionate Alberta Ballet patron, consider joining our donor community.

To find out more, visit our website or email us at donate@albertaballet.com.

A whole community works behind-the-scenes,
helping us inspire you with dance!

2022/23 GOVERNMENT FUNDERS
AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS

 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Feature Image by Eluvier Acosta, featuring Mariko Kondo and Yoshiya Sakurai