A meeting of minds and music: Alberta Ballet's Jean Grand-Maître and Joni Mitchell discuss their collaboration in Banff.

From The Banff Centre Report to the Community Winter 2008-2009

For an entire generation of Canadians, the music and lyrics of Joni Mitchell are part of the soundtrack of their lives, committed to memory and infused with meaning and emotion. So when Alberta Ballet's artistic director Jean Grand-Maître decided to choreograph a ballet to Mitchell's music, he took on a daunting task. Working together, Grand-Maître and Mitchell created a ballet that explores the human spirit's potential to create and destroy, its ability to love and hate, and its capacity for war and peace.

The Fiddle and The Drum debuted to rapturous reviews in 2007, and this summer Alberta Ballet brought the work to Banff for a two-week residency, adding four new songs and transforming the 48-minute ballet into a full-length work. Following the world premiere of the complete ballet in the Eric Harvie Theatre in September, members of Alberta Ballet's creative team took questions from the audience, and during the course of a wide-ranging conversation moderated by Grand-Maitre, they reflected on the joys and challenges of translating Mitchell's well-loved musical canon into dance.

Dancer Kelley McKinlay: "With any piece of music, regardless of whether it is Tchaikovsky or Mozart, as a dancer you listen to it over, and over, and over again....Having Joni and Jean there to help tell you what the song is all about was important... I know for myself it was very helpful speaking with Joni. She told us where she got the inspiration for the song and that helped us build these tableaus to make each song a journey, and make the audience feel it."

Jean Grand-Maître: "Joni came into the studio a few times and yesterday during the rehearsal for the song Woodstock, she said "No, no, no, you're too white, you're on the beat. You need to do it like black people and grease yourself into the beat." Joni Mitchell: "...add a little more funk ..."

Jean Grand-Maître: "... and suddenly the dancers changed how they did that movement. They've had a lot of rehearsals with Joni, especially here in Banff... I want to ask Kelly: when you are coached by someone like Joni who has never done a full ballet before, what was that like?"

Kelley McKinlay: "I remember the first day she walked in and we were just planning to do a run-through of the ballet for her and she walked into the studio with such presence and such energy. That run-through was a highlight, even though it was in a studio with no costumes, no makeup, no nothing. But having Joni and Jean at the front, giving so much support at the end of each piece, really helped. Joni took notes and showed us some things she would like to change."

Joni Mitchell: "... Jean told me [imitating Jean's Quebecois accent] 'Get up and show za dancers what to do....tell zem what to do!' So, I gave them some notes on the meaning and the emotion of the songs, what everything meant so that they would get a feel for the text."

Jean Grand-Maître: "Did that inspire you Kelly?"

Kelley McKinlay: Absolutely .... ballet dancers aren't used to dancing to music with vocals that you can understand. To be on stage and hear a certain word and to know exactly what it means and what the meaning and emotion is you are trying to portray is an inspiring thing. That helped make all of us grow and go to places we didn't think were possible. Jean helped with that too. And it just pushes you to your full potential. All of us grew and brought Alberta Ballet to a new level."

Alberta Ballet toured The Fiddle and The Drum throughout January, touching down in Medicine Hat, Regina, Saskatoon, and Lloydminster. The full-length version debuts in Edmonton on February 20  21 and in Calgary on February 26  28 2009. Tickets at www.albertaballet.com