Ballet BC's Emily Molnar in Ottawa to receive Order of Canada honour

Ballet BC's artistic director Emily Molnar was in Ottawa today (August 25) to receive her Order of Canada.

The award was announced June 30, but the influential dance artist, shown here with longtime partner Con Verburg, was in the nation's capital to officially don her red-and-white ribbon.

Molnar, a onetime dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, Ballet BC, and Ballett Frankfurt under icon William Forsythe, has steered the Vancouver company since 2009, quickly establishing it as a cutting-edge force in the global contemporary-ballet scene. At the same time, she serves as artistic director of dance at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Under Molnar, Ballet BC has toured to the U.K. and throughout North America. The company is busy preparing for a tour of California in early September (with shows at the University of Southern California and the Laguna Playhouse), followed by productions in Nanaimo B.C., and then at the New York City Center as part of Fall for Dance on October 11 and 12. The repertoire includes Molnar's own 16+ a room as well as Crystal Pite's haunting Solo Echo and Bill by Israel's Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar.

She'll also lead the troupe on an extensive tour of the U.K. in March 2018, with stops including London's esteemed Sadler's Wells as well as Brighton Dome.

Ballet BC opens its season November 2 to 4 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre with a new work by Cayetano Soto and a rendition of Johan Inger's B.R.I.S.A.

The Order of Canada is one of the country's highest awards, recognizing "people whose achievements are exceptional, who have performed outstanding acts of bravery, or who have benefited Canada or humanity in general."

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