Ballet Kelowna brings bard to Vernon stage

Published 7:00 pm Monday, March 9, 2026

The bard and the ballet, all on St. Patty’s Day.

The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre Society (VDPAC) presents the finale to the 2025-26 SPOTLIGHT Season’s Dance Series with Ballet Kelowna’s smash hit full-length ballet, Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays and renowned tragedy.

Ballet Kelowna’s performance goes Tuesday, March 17, at 7:30 p.m.

Choreographed by Alysa Pires, this theatrical ballet is characterized as a high stakes and gripping adaptation that “moves away from traditional tutus” to a more modern, cinematic style that explores the dark side of human nature.

Reviewers and creators describe Ballet Kelowna’s production as a thrilling and electrifying mix of contemporary dance and traditional ballet – combined with a haunting original score of ‘toil and trouble’ by award-winning Canadian composer Adam Sakiyama, and stunning visuals by Jane Everett – altogether infuse with drama and suspense Shakespeare’s exploration of the timeless themes of ambition, power, corruption, and psychological decay.

Macbeth reveals the story of the titular character, a brave soldier and powerful man whose heady ambitions to Scotland’s throne turn him into a callous, yet tortured, murderer, spurned on by his equally ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth. As they become hopelessly entangled by their atrocities, they both descend into madness.

Donaldo Nava and Naomi Kawamura dance the lead roles.

Pires brings her signature athleticism and theatricality to this contemporary re-telling of Macbeth. Featuring Ballet Kelowna’s full company of dancers, the demanding two-act ballet showcases Ballet Kelowna’s full breadth of technical and artistic expertise, with complex pointe work, unconventional groupings, and cinematic-like staging. This production brings the iconic, multi-layered Shakespearean masterpiece to life in a new storytelling through deeply expressive movement, and despite the classic, well-known storyline.

Ballet Kelowna presented the world premiere of Macbeth, the company’s first-ever commissioned, full-length ballet, at the Kelowna Community Theatre in May 2022, and toured to several B.C. venues, including the Prince George Playhouse and Chilliwack Cultural Centre.

Due to its popularity with audiences, the production was re-mounted at KCT in 2024.

Canadian dance luminary Pires’ works have been presented by Ballet Kelowna numerous times, including MAMBO and In Between in 2018; Spring in 2019, and Macbeth in 2022. A sought-after contemporary choreographer and artistic director of Alysa Pires Dance Projects, Pires’ works have been performed by such renown companies as New York City Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Alberta Ballet and Ballet Edmonton.

Her suspenseful and spectacular re-envisioning of Shakespeare’s classic artfully mixes dance — the witches are a standout element, with their roles performed on pointe to emphasize their supernatural nature — with Sakiyama’s original score; and ethereal digital backdrops created by Okanagan-based landscape artist Everett to create an unforgettable spectacle.

In addition to Pires’ costume and set concepts, Ballet Kelowna’s creative team includes costume renderings and builders Nicole Bach-Labreque, with Joy Green, Lori Lawler and Hazel Rodgers; lighting design by Rylee Block; projection design by Aaron Quibell; set builders Dave Brotsky and Bill Haidei; rehearsal director was Joanna Lige.

“I have had the privilege of seeing this production,” sid VDPAC executive director Jim Harding, “and the terms ‘stunning’ and ‘spectacle’ can often be overused. But for this production, neither one is sufficient. Many know the stage play or at least the storyline, but this only helps with the interpretation, which is brilliant, and a fitting culmination of a great Dance Series this season.”

Ballet Kelowna was founded in 2002 and is the sole professional dance company in B.C.’s Interior. The organization is committed to its role as a leader in the region through encouraging, promoting, and developing Canadian dancers and choreographers.

The company performs annually for more than 12,000 audience members in Kelowna and on tour,and provides unique dance training opportunities and outreach programs.

Artistic Director and CEO Simone Orlando is an award-winning choreographer and former dancer with Ballet BC and The National Ballet of Canada. Under Orlando’s direction, Ballet Kelowna was named the 2024 Artistic Company of the Year by the BC Live Performance Network, (formerly the BC Touring Council), and was an organizational recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Arts and Music Award in 2022.

The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre presents Ballet Kelowna’s MACBETH, the 2025-26 SPOTLIGHT Dance Series finale, on Tuesday, March 17, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $49 Adults; $45 Members & Seniors; $35 Students (Ages 25 & Under), available ONLY from VDPAC’s Ticket Seller box office. Visit or Contact VDPAC’s Ticket Seller at 250-549-SHOW (7469) or online at: ticketseller.ca.