6 September 11 – 17, 2014 WEVancouver.com

fall arts preview

of contemporary ballet’s most sought-after choreographers.

Gnam was inspired at the age of � ve to follow in the soft-soled footsteps of his older brother, James, who danced for Ballet BC before founding his own company, Plastic Orchid Factory.

“When I was a kid, my parents always joked that I thought my brother lived at the airport because we’d go pick him up there and drop him off there and that’s all I really saw for the � rst little while,” he recalls with a laugh.

“I grew up watching Ballet BC and I always wanted to work here. When the old director John [Alleyne] was here, I was really inspired by the way that he worked. Then he left, and I couldn’t have been luckier, because I remember when I was younger saying, ‘Man, if only Emily Molnar had a company, I’d love to work for that.’”

No. 29 launches Ballet BC’s 2014/15 season Nov. 6-8 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets start at $30; 1-855-985-2787 or Ticketmaster.ca.

Ballet BC’s No. 29.

Michael Slobodian

photo

Ballet BC continues to push its boundaries with risky commissions and hot guest choreographers

By Kelsey Klassen

In dancers’ years, Ballet BC would be on the cusp of its career, just starting to feel the premonitory pains in its knees and pondering the bittersweet future of

what it might do next. But instead, at 29, the internationally-acclaimed Vancouver dance company is leaping into its 2014/15 season with more focus and intention than ever.

Even the most ardent of fans may have lost count, but over the past � ve years, Ballet BC has commissioned a staggering 28 world premieres – an accomplishment of excep-tional proportions on the Canadian dance front, and part of artistic director Emily Molnar’s much lauded vision to reinvigorate the struggling dance company since joining on in 2009.

Leaving convention on the cutting-edge floor

The last season saw seven entirely new creations unfolding on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, setting up the 2014/15 season opener to contain the timely and cel-ebratory 29th: White Act, a world premiere by fast-rising Spanish choreographer Fernando Hernando Magadan.

“We take a tremendous amount of risk put-ting new works out because it’s the unknown, and we love that,” says Molnar. “And we love that we have an audience who’s willing to go there with us. I cannot imagine a better place [than Vancouver] in the country to be doing what we’re doing.”

Inspired by La Sylphide – one of the oldest surviving Romantic ballets – White Act � t-tingly explores society’s inherent temptation for the unknown and our insatiable desire to � nd true love, with dramatic consequences.

The program also includes a revisiting of 2012’s explosively kinetic A.U.R.A (Anarchist Unit Related to Art) by Italy’s Jacopo Godani, and An Instant, a poignant investigation of Wislawa Szymborska’s poem “Could Have” by Vancouver-born choreographer and dancer Lesley Telford.

With each successive season, Molnar has tasked her dancers to create an environment where choreographers can come and con-ceive exactly the work they would have made if they had their own companies.

The risk has paid off, with returning patrons feeling rewarded by the repertoire, and the company reeling back from the brink of bankruptcy to post a $150,000 operating surplus in 2013.

Connor Gnam is entering his ninth season with Ballet BC. A fan of Molnar’s from his Arts Umbrella days when he was a student and she was the artist in residence, the hard-working dancer was a natural � t for a company that has been recognized for its versatility around the world.

“I have a real passion for doing everything I can to make sure the choreographer gets what they want at the end of the day. We work very short careers, so you can push really hard. Sort of a ‘live for today’ mentality,” says the 27-year-old, who has performed works by Wil-liam Forsythe, Jorma Elo, Itzik Galili, George Balanchine, Gioconda Barbuto, Medhi Waler-ski, and Vancouver’s own Crystal Pite – some

Ballet BC 2014/15 seasonNo. 29 • Nov. 6-8See story.

The Nutcracker • Dec. 12-14 The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s uniquely Canadian retelling of this holiday classic.

Balanchine • Feb. 19-21Miami City Ballet in an evening of masterworks by George Balanchine.

Trace • Mar. 26-28Workwithinwork by William Forsythe; a Walter Matteini world premiere; and the reprisal of Medhi Walerski’s Petite Cérémonie.

RITE • May 7-9Emily Molnar collaborates with Bocci’s Omer Arbel and Black Mountain’s Jeremy Schmidt. Gustavo Ramirez Sansano reimagines The Rite of Spring.

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22 September 11 – 17, 2014 WEVancouver.com

eat & drink

When Bill McCaig opened Nicli Antica Pizzeria in Gastown

several years ago, it was the � rst certi� ed Verace Napo-letana pizza to be offered in Vancouver. The menu has stayed true to the ethos of Naples’ pizzaioli, offering classic ingredients with few dishes outside of the pie list, meaning if you felt like anything other than pizza, best to go elsewhere.

With the opening of Next Door a few months, ago, that limitation is now removed. The space adjacent to Nicli was formerly Vicino Pastaria & Deli, McCaig’s attempt at a resto-deli com-bination that – in large part thanks to city licensing is-sues – never got successfully off the ground.

No danger of that with Next Door. The licences are in place, the deli counter is gone, and, in its place, a

rustic bar and ceiling-height wine wall stands ready. The room is not as sleek as its big sister, but with high ceilings and warm wood, it’s a comfortable, cozy spot to enjoy drinks and bites while waiting for a table, or settle into for a more substantial evening.

GM Anthony Sterne runs a great front-of-house crew, so service is excellent; knowledgeable, friendly and the up-selling is kept to a minimum. It makes for a perfect match to chef Keev Mah’s excellent renditions of the small but well-chosen menu.

Cocktails like the Girl Next Door ($12) are spot-on. Broker’s gin with basil, honey, lime, and egg white make for a frothy, refresh-ing beverage that pairs well with the chilled sweet pea soup (now a tomato version in keeping with what’s in season). At $3, it’s the per-

fect � rst bite (or sip), served in a small shot glass with a deep plate of crème fraiche mousse, parmesan and basil oil. Pour the chilled liquid over top and it’s a bright, happy palate freshener.

An Italian take on a Scotch egg ($5) is fantastic. Italian sausage surrounds � or di latte and a runny egg yolk just waiting for you to poke it free (how this is achieved is a mystery), while a smoked egg white aioli of-fers a pleasant sharp contrast to the almost-overwhelming richness of the dish.

None of the dishes run more than $12, so your wallet won’t take a beating, even for a full meal. De� -nitely save a few dollars for the ricotta gnocchi, served with smoked porchetta, chanterelles and chestnuts. A special one night of deep-fried and ricotta-stuffed zuc-chini blossoms is beautiful, while braised crispy pork belly is nicely balanced with sautéed kale.

I tried the white choco-late panna cotta for dessert

one night, and, while it wasn’t my favourite version of this classic sweet dish, the raspberry and basil granita was lovely, and was nicely set off by a parmesan crisp. Not bad for the place next door.

All ratings out of � ve stars.

Food: ★★★★Service: ★★★★Ambiance: ★★★Overall: ★★★★

Nicli’s Next Door | 68 East Cordova | 604-669-6985 | NiclisNextDoor.com

Open Wednesday-Satur-day, 5pm to late. No reserva-tions.

Anya Levykh has been writing about all things ingestible for more than 10 years. Hear her every Monday on CBC Radio One’s On the Coast and � nd her on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and Facebook.com/FoodGirlFriday. FoodGirl-Friday.com

Nicli’s Next Door makes simple spectacular

Nicli’s Next Door GM Anthony Sterne serves up some ricotta gnoc-chi with San Marzano tomato, grated salted ricotta, and fresh basil, as well as plate of as-sorted bruschetta. Jennifer Gauthier photos

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26 September 11 – 17, 2014 WEVancouver.com

opinion

BC’s Anti-Gang

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email: rantrave@wevancouver.com

All rants are the opinion of the individual and do not re� ect the opinions of WE. The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity and brevity, so please keep it short and (bitter)sweet.

rant/raveLighten up!

Re: Rants/Raves, Sept. 4This rant is in response

to the two people that wrote in about the pig slic-ing itself.

Oh my word! Can we lighten up just a tiny bit? And may I also suggest that before you press ‘Send’ on your funky little laptop whilst you sit in some bland coffee house feeling ‘oh-so-superior’ because you’re probably drinking ‘fair-trade’ coffee, that you may actually consider re-reading your trite message, instead of caving in to your sudden elitist indignation.

Quite simply, poor gram-mar is sloppy (as sloppy as, shall we say, a pig slic-ing itself?), and it poorly detracts from whatever half-assed message you are vaguely trying to comment on.

And I quote:  “...you published a picture of a pig slicing himself (by the way, we don’t know it’s gender) to promote the Vancouver chili and barbecue festival, it was revolting and un-ethical.”  

Take out the comma and continue with your thought as a comma suggests a pause in your thinking. 

A period after that sen-tence would’ve been in or-der. If you were daring, you might have used a semi-colon but I’m guessing that skill is beyond you. Perhaps in your caffeinated hyper-world, you may think that editing, re-reading, gram-mar, etc... are not needed to get your point across. However, it actually makes you sound very much like an idiot thus detracting considerably from what-ever pseudo-important message you were trying to impart.

As for the issue at hand, all grammar aside: Lighten the fuck up. It’s a silly little cartoon and I doubt that actual pigs go about slicing themselves up at random just as I would hazard a very good guess that not

many people who are ‘fence-sitting’ on the issue of carnivore vs. herbivore would be really impacted by this image at all! I rarely read the WE anymore but I happened to see this and simply could not help commenting on the utter lack of proper usage of the English-fucking-language.  

Please go back to grade school and enjoy a round of baby-back ribs on me while you’re at it! There is a divine smokehouse on W. Broadway – Memphis Blues – and I’m sure they’d love to accommodate you.

Now do excuse me while I tuck into some delicious barbecued pork chops.

–G Pick

Rude people get what they deserve

Re: Rants/Raves, Sept. 4Besides the rude com-

ments you got, you missed the opportunity to emphat-ically state that in this day and age it’s totally unac-ceptable to hold the door for any stranger to your place of work or dwelling, and that if the rude piece of garbage does not have a so-called friend in the building, the police will be called. Nobody should be offended if they are not trying to con their way in to a building to cause more harm to others. Harm reduction can be a useful term in this case which is wrongly used by politicians and bureaucrats.

–Jeff

Still good people out there

Thank you to the thoughtful person who recently left me a note of apology to explain their hungry dog. The dog was tied up to a bike rack at Hillcrest Community Centre (Nat Bailey). The dog chewed on two loaves of bread I had inside my bike bags. This kind person also left me $5.00 to pur-

chase replacement bread. There still are good and considerate people.

–TJL

Get over yourself!

Re: Belle Gelateria eyes global expansion with new shop, Aug. 28

Get over yourself! The Bella Gelateria owner says, “At my level of being a World Champion, every-thing has to be perfect”. He then goes on to say “I don’t � t in... I stand out”.

Enough said.–P.Taff

Police need to stop cell drivers

Distracted drivers are causing a lot more acci-dents as you see them driv-ing with spaces between cars as their attention is on their texting or cell phone

But lets put the blame where it really belongs, on a lack of police enforce-ment of the traf� c laws. When you see a driver on their cell phone and they don’t try to hide the fact that they are using their phone, and with a police of� ce watching but they do nothing you know driv-ers aren’t afraid of being caught.

It is time to get the po-lice out of the coffee shops, off their fat asses, and do some traf� c enforcement. Vancouver Police are paid to do law enforcement, so why aren’t they doing it?

Also the Mayor is the chairman of the Vancouver Police Board and it is his responsibility to see laws are enforced, not to be en-couraging citizens to break the law. Why is there no leadership at the top?

If I see at least 30 to 35 drivers a day on their cell-phones you would think and entire police force would see one or two.

–John Adamson

Fibre Artist Sola Fiedler presents her Vancouver Tapestry at grunt gallery’s 30th Anniversary Party on Aug. 28. Inspired by Vancouver during the 2010 Olym-pic Winter Games, the tapestry took the 78-year-old more than 5,000 hours to weave, beginning in May 2009. OUT AFTER DARK is a weekly feature highlight-ing social and cultural events around Vancouver. Got an upcoming event? Email us at OutAfterDark@WEVancouver.com.

out after dark

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Mike Zalman of Slickity Jim’s. Rob Newell photo

Your city, your stories. Since 1949. March 27-April 2, 2014 | WEVancouver.com

MAIN STREET

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There’s more to the story, including a Main Street round table and chat with Slickity Jim’s 7-14

Is graf� ti trending? 4

Heritage home at risk 5

Reel People: the Harmons 21

Pappas Furs closing 24

September 25 issue:

VANCOUVER’SEASTSIDE

30 September 11 – 17, 2014 WEVancouver.com