Catherine Hurlin as Giselle in @giselle
By Brittany Tiplady
@yellowbird888
It’s possible that every ballet company in the world has presented Giselle, a piece first premiered in 1841, more times than they can count.
But if there’s anyone who could take Giselle and repackage the beloved, yet deeply archaic story of love at first sight, and death by heartbreak into a contemporary reinvention, it would be Joshua Beamish.
His company, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY has been dazzling stages across North America, Europe, Asia, and South Africa since 2005, presenting works that are met with critical acclaim. If you’re not familiar with his work, Beamish was on the choreography team for the 2010 Olympics.
This week, September 5-7 at the Vancouver Playhouse, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY presents @giselle, starring artists from American Ballet Theatre, The National Ballet of Canada, and the Pennsylvania Ballet.
“I am deeply honoured to bring together such a stellar group of dance artists from across North America to collaborate on such a timely production,” said Beamish in a press release. “@giselle is a careful examination of the evaporation of true romance in our culture. Utilizing cutting-edge motion capture technologies and screen projections of social media ephemera, this full-length work will challenge audiences to consider the ways that technology has leveraged an unexpected change upon the very nature of modern love and relationships, which now seem fuelled by a disdain for accountability and an increase in personal narcissism.”
@giselle is set to the original score composed by Adolphe Adam, but the storyline is reimagined with a modern backdrop; exploring the life, love, and dating through the lens of social media.
American Ballet Theatre dancer and 2019 Erik Bruhn Prize-winner, Catherine Hurlin, 23, has taken on the role of Giselle–a first for her impressive career.
“Rehearsals are going great; they’re long and intense by we’re getting there and everything is coming along nicely,” shares Hurlin during a phone interview.
“There are some elements in Joshua’s show that are referenced from the original choreography, because how could you not? It’s so beautiful. But this version of @giselle; she’s very scrappy and flirtatious, in a way that someone today is flirtatious. Not cutesy and frail like the classical character. She’s very sassy. And I love it because I’m very sassy as well,” says Hurlin.
Beamish’s contemporary Giselle “is betrayed, isolated, and ghosted by her romantic partner on social media. In a state of heightened anxiety, Giselle livestreams her untimely death.” According to Hurlin, the stage will project each of the characters’ online world.
“You’ll see their profiles, social media pages, and all of their posts and what they’re feeling. You’ll see video chats and messages,” she adds. “And it will feel like the audience is inside the Internet.”
Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY presents @giselle at the Vancouver Playhouse, September 5–7, 2019 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $35-$99. Get yours here.
Brittany Tiplady is a writer, editor, former ballet teacher, and the co-founder of Loose Lips Magazine. She loves the indoors, fast wifi, collecting maps, and a generous glass of red wine. She’s a self-proclaimed wizard of time management and a notorious loud talker with a penchant for all things Internet and pop culture.
