It takes just two hours to strip Seymour Street of Ballet B.C.'s tutus
You could be forgiven this morning for thinking a cannon had shot out more than 200 frouffy tutus along every tree and pole of one block of Seymour Street.
No, you were not hallucinating. In fact, it was a cheeky publicity stunt by Ballet B.C., a troupe eager to change its image.
The campaign encouraged people to "take our tutus", a signal the company is a cutting-edge, contemporary ballet troupe that doesn't need the classical attire anymore. In fact, you're more likely to find the dancers in corsets, boy shorts, and athletic wear.
And take the tutus people did: Ballet B.C. reports it took just two hours for the street to be stripped of its gauzy skirts, handmade by volunteers.
Audiences will get a firsthand look at the modern direction artistic director Emily Molnar is taking the company in at its season kickoff show, Songs of a Wayfarer and Other Works, when it opens November 18 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Two seasons ago, the company struggled near collapse due to dwindling audiences and declining finances. Molnar was brought on last season to rejuvenate the company and has promised to bring in contemporary choreographers from around the world.
Comments
15 Comments
Kitts
Oct 26, 2010 at 5:00pm
That is a perfect photo. I love Vancouver and Vancouver people.
Ray I
Oct 26, 2010 at 5:03pm
Technically is that littering?
Jose
Oct 26, 2010 at 7:30pm
It is too bad that they have to stoop to such cheap, unimaginative gimmicks to try to build a real audience. Talk about losing self-respect!
Meow Meow
Oct 27, 2010 at 12:38am
At least they had the imagination to pull themselves out of going extinct! So YES they absolutely have IMAGINATION AND SELF-RESPECT!!!!!! I think it was an awesome way to re-introduce the company!
ihath.com
Oct 27, 2010 at 8:16am
what a creative idea. Enjoyed the picture as well.
cranky mom
Oct 27, 2010 at 10:05pm
i wish I had thought of the idea. they got my attention. I want to go to the ballet
Love That Dog!
Oct 27, 2010 at 11:33pm
It's like when they hung up hundreds of decent movie scripts all along Hollywood blvd.
2020Vancouver
Oct 28, 2010 at 12:37pm
Re. littering. Not such a stupid question when you think about it. Common sense suggests that this is purely recycling, although BC Ballet would probably be staying more within the letter of the law if they put the tutus in the garbage/landfill if they have no need for such garb.
The tutus aren't toxic, unlike the numerous old televisions and computer monitors that you see people dumping in their alleyways in the vain hope that someone will claim them.
Kudos to the cash-strapped ballerinas for turning tutus into a publicity stunt and recycling them at the same time.
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www.2020vancouver.com
ballet bc is the worst.
Oct 28, 2010 at 12:47pm
stupid and trite, just like this company is. it should have been allowed to fold and put out of its misery.
ballet bc sucks
Oct 28, 2010 at 12:51pm
they need a better publicity company, amatuer, just like this company continues to be.