Based on Syreeta Hector’s relationship to race, and her experiences in classical ballet, Black Ballerina is a powerful exploration of the nuances within one’s identity, and the unconscious ways that we all try to fit in. The 2019 performance of an earlier version of Black Ballerina was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award. Performed by Hector, Black Ballerina brings an unbridled energy to the stage.
Featured Artists
Syreeta Hector ·
Syreeta Hector is a dance artist in Toronto, Ontario. Her solo work called “Black Ballerina” focuses on the dualities within one’s identity, along with Syreeta’s blackness and indigeneity in relationship to classical ballet. This solo gained recognition at the SummerWorks Festival, won the Stratford Festival Lab Award for Research and Creation, and was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore award in Outstanding Performance by an Individual. While she continues to tour “Black Ballerina,” Syreeta is developing a new dance theatre work which will be the second chapter in the “Black Ballerina” series.
Syreeta has been commissioned to make ensemble works for Mocean Dance (Nova Scotia), ProArteDanza (Ontario), and most recently will create a new work for Kittiwake Dance Theatre (Newfoundland). Although performance and creation endeavours remain a priority for Syreeta, she derives an equal measure of inspiration by teaching movement and choreography. She is honoured to be a part of the Department of Dance as an Assistant Professor at York University.
"Black Ballerina poetically gathers the threads of Hector’s diverse cultural and artistic influences into a free-flowing collage of sound and movement imagery."
Dance International Magazine
Credits:
- Choreographer and dancer: Syreeta Hector
- Movement Dramaturg: Seika Boye (2017-2020) and Dedra McDermott (2020-Current)
- Outside Eye: J. Adam Brown
- Lighting Design: Noah Feaver
- Stage Management: Helin Gungoren
- Sound Design: Germaine Liu and Mark Zurawinski
- Sound from: Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures, Marie Davidson, Richard Reed Parry, A Tribe Called Red, Kendrick Lamar
- Technical/Set Design: Elissa Horscroft, Tristan Goethel, Mary Spyrakis
- Thank you to Canadian Stage
- Costume Alterations: Kleanthi Markakis
- Photography: Jeremy Mimnagh, Andrew McCormack, Fran Chudnoff
