Ballet Victoria presents Amadeus, Saturday, March 14, 7:30 p.m. at Centennial Theatre, 2300 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver. Tickets: $15-$33.50, available online at centennialtheatre.com or by calling 604-984-4484.
There are classical ballets, there are contemporary ballets and, poised somewhere in the middle, there is Amadeus.
Ballet Victoria premiered the original work in 2013 and, following on that success, the company is bringing the life and music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart back to the stage this season with a tour of Vancouver Island and North Vancouver. Created by artistic director Paul Destrooper, Amadeus melds Mozart's famed 18th century compositions with music by Queen's Freddie Mercury, a bit of hip-hop and even some disco.
"It's definitely not a purely classical mix like a lot of ballet companies," says principal dancer Matthew Cluff, 21. "I think it creates a more interesting show for the audience and it allows you to do much more with the choreography and the storytelling as well."
When Amadeus debuted two years ago, it marked Cluff's first full-length role with Ballet Victoria. He's looking forward to reprising the part of Mozart this time around for new and returning audiences.
"It's very liberating to dance it. It's just so powerful and it captivates you," he says.
The story follows the highs and lows of Mozart's life and career, from his creative inspiration and rise to stardom to his early death from illness at age 35.
"It basically covers the array from his writing of music to ultimately his demise and how he died at a very young age with so much more great music left within him that he just couldn't get out."
Part of the reason the show was so popular, and why it's returning to the stage, Cluff says, is because of the emotional response it induced in the audience.
"When you have a brilliant perfect blend of the right choreography, the music, the production on the whole, when it comes together like that, it can be very affecting to people and leave them wanting more."
The dancers are affected by the music and the story as well. The performance culminates in several back-to-back pieces of powerful Mozart music and it's at that point that Cluff stops thinking about his technical execution and allows his emotions to take over.
"You have this amazing music blaring from the monitors and you want to give it your all too because you're caught up so much in the moment," he explains. "Once you get there, you don't even have to think about the dancing anymore, you just let the music and let the adrenalin and let the feeling just come through you."
Born and raised in Prince George, B.C., Cluff started dancing when he was just two years old. At such a young age, "dancing" meant mimicking his older brother who, as the family story goes, had taken up dance lessons to get closer to a girl. The instructor noticed Cluff toddling to the music on the sidelines and soon enough he was enrolled in classes too.
"That kind of got me going and I haven't really ever stopped," he says.
His early training in Prince George covered jazz, tap and hip hop in addition to ballet. After completing high school a year early, he set off to study at the San Francisco Ballet School and in 2013, not long after graduating, he joined the Ballet Victoria troupe.
The company is known for producing innovative original works and Amadeus is no exception. Not exclusively for fans of traditional ballet, the program features a variety of music. In fact, the lead female dancer, Andrea Bayne, whose talents evidently extend beyond dance, will sing a live rendition of "Skyfall" by Adele.
"We have hip hop music, we have Queen, we have something for everyone," Cluff says. "It's an incredible show and it will leave your emotions very stirred."
