Canada’s Ballet Jörgen Presents Coppélia, a Comedy With Love

Toy Story-esque Ballet That Brings A Life-Sized Doll to Life Will Amuse and Delight Audiences of All Ages on March 2

Coppélia is one of the world’s oldest surviving ballets and one of the most performed comedic ballets. It is a daring, bold, playful story about a beautiful life-sized doll who comes to life and the men who fall in love with her. Touring British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba this winter, Canada’s Ballet Jörgen (CBJ) bring their contemporary retelling of this classic fairytale to Horizon Stage on Saturday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Coppélia takes audiences into the mysterious mind of Dr. Coppélius, a lonely and disillusioned toy maker who wishes he could bring a perfect doll to life to become his perfect wife. He creates Coppélia, a life-sized dancing doll so gorgeous that Nathanael, one of the local villagers, falls madly in love with her. Nathaniel’s spurned sweetheart, Klara, enacts revenge by dressing as the doll and pretending to come to life to punish him.

Emotional and captivating, Coppélia is one of the best balletic representations of fantastical storytelling the world over and is one of CBJ’s most popular family ballets. Told through vibrant choreography, it features a set of large interlocking geometric shapes which are integrated into the production through intricate scene changes.

Choreographed by the award-winning Bengt Jörgen, CBJ’s Artistic Director and CEO, and set to the original score by Leo Delibes, Coppélia is an international co-production with The Hong Kong Ballet. It originally premiered in 2001 and audience members young and old have been thoroughly captivated and delighted by it ever since.

Canada’s Ballet Jörgen is a classical ballet company based in Toronto that aims to make ballet accessible and relevant to 21st century audiences. CBJ likes to tell Canadian stories and always reflect a Canadian identity in their programming. As an added bonus, the company’s local participant program will bring local young dancers from Spruce Grove and surrounding areas to join their professional dancers on stage. The local participant program allows the students (age 14+) the opportunity to experience being part of a professional production while also allowing the company to support the local dance community. 

Bring your family to see Coppélia, a real life Toy Story told through dance, at Horizon Stage on Saturday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 for Adults and $30 for Students and Seniors and may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995 or 1-888-655-9090, and online through Ticketpro.ca.