THE 9TH: Beethoven Meets & The Berlin Wall
17 Oct 2019.  -

For the 15th anniversary season, ProArteDanza is premiering The 9th!, a choreographed imagining of Ludwig van Beethoven’s epic 9th Symphony. The bold and provocative work pays homage to the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall and has been created and co-choreographed by the company’s award-winning artistic director Roberto Campanella with artistic associate Robert Glumbek.

Roberto Campanella is the choreographer of the Oscar film The Shape of Water and a four-time Dora Mavor Moore nominee. Born and raised in Rome where he trained at high profile institutions including the prestigious Aterballetto. In 1993 he joined The National Ballet of Canada where he was promoted to soloist and cast in several roles, ultimately making his choreographic debut at the school two years later.

“Beethoven’s 9th is a musical masterpiece that celebrates the freedom of all humanity,” says Campanella whose spent the last decade developing the choreographic vision for the work. “The production speaks to the overarching themes of unity, freedom, and brotherhood. It is no accident that when the Berlin Wall finally fell, the legendary notes of Ode to Joy from the 9th Symphony rang out.”

While few musical works have sparked as much debate and discussion as Beethoven’s 9th symphony this was his first to include chorus and vocal soloists but its true magic is arguably his own deafness which that when his first performed the work, the entire audience rose to a thunderous applause, however, one of the performers had to tap his Betetovon on the arm so because he wasn’t aware of the thunderous roar behind him.

Further amplifying the nearly 200-year-old composition, The 9th! combines stunning projections by David Dexter and lighting by Arun Srinivasan along with the companies of dancers Taylor Bojanowski, Ryan Lee, Sasha Ludavicius, Daniel McArthur, Victoria Mehaffey, Connor Mitton, Jake Poloz, and Kelly Shaw to produce what will no doubt be a moving and potent performance.