Belle Spirale Dance Projects is thrilled to present Exhale, their spring program featuring 2 new creations.

World Premiere by Wen Wei Wang

Last Breath (最后的呼吸)

Working with dancers Alexis Fletcher and Justin Rapaport, Wang explores the intimate geography of human connection. Joined by mezzo-soprano Emma Parkinson, they investigate the delicate textures of human connection—how we touch, how we breathe together, and how we navigate the weight of final moments. In Wang’s hands, the interplay of dance and voice becomes a meditation on presence, distance, and the choices we make when everything hangs in the balance.
It’s a rare opportunity to witness one of Canada’s most celebrated choreographers in dialogue with seasoned performers, complete with the wonder of live music.

World Premiere by Alexis Fletcher and Ariana Barr

Co-created by Alexis Fletcher, Sylvain Senez and Ariana Barr, this intimate solo navigates the accumulated traces of a lifetime— the tender ephemera we gather and eventually leave behind. A meditation on how legacy shapes our present choices, this work examines the profound ways the past influences who we become and what we pass on.

Presented as a solo for Ariana, the artists weave between the domestic and the subconscious, reflecting upon the collision of past and future and the universal yearning to make sense of what has come before.

Thursday Feb 26th, 3:30 – 4:30 ~ Jandali Studio, 4.5th floor.
Friday March 6th, 2 to 3pm ~ Jandali Studio, 4.5th floor.

The showing will consist of an open rehearsal of Wen Wei Wang’s new creation for Belle Spirale, featuring dancers Alexis Fletcher and Justin Rapaport, and live opera with renowned mezzo-soprano Emma Parkinson. You will be the very first audience to experience this new work in progress, and there will also be opportunity to chat with Wen Wei and the artists.

This work will premiere as part of Exhale, our Spring Double Bill.
Tickets and all information about this performance is available here: https://bellespirale.ca/exhale

** Please note that you can take the elevator to either the 4th floor or the 5th floor, then you have to walk up or down a half-level of stairs to access the studio. If mobility is a problem for you, please let us know and we can provide assistance.

Please email info@wenweidance.ca to RSVP if you would like to attend one of these showings!

Photo credit: Michael Slobodian
Pictured: Ariana Barr

World Premiere by Wen Wei Wang

Co-Produced by Wen Wei Dance and Belle Spirale
When a master returns home, magic happens. Renowned choreographer Wen Wei Wang—a true national treasure and former artistic director of Ballet Edmonton—is creating an intimate new work for Belle Spirale, exploring the profound spaces between bodies, breath, and choice.
Produced in collaboration with Wang’s company Wen Wei Dance, this deeply personal commission celebrates his long-tiProduced in collaboration with Wang’s company Wen Wei Dance, this deeply personal commission celebrates his long-time artistic relationship with Belle Spirale directors Alexis and Sylvain.

Working with dancers Alexis Fletcher and Justin Rapaport, Wang explores the intimate geography of human connection. Joined by mezzo-soprano Emma Parkinson, they investigate the delicate textures of human connection—how we touch, how we breathe together, and how we navigate the weight of final moments. In Wang’s hands, the interplay of dance and voice becomes a meditation on presence, distance, and the choices we make when everything hangs in the balance.
It’s a rare opportunity to witness one of Canada’s most celebrated choreographers in dialogue with seasoned performers, complete with the wonder of live music.

World Premiere ~ Solo for Ariana Barr
In this intimate new solo, co-creators Alexis Fletcher and Ariana Barr examine the profound moment between stimulus and response—that fraction of a second where choice is born. Through a distinctly female lens, they explore how intuition, memory, and conditioning shape our decisions in an increasingly uncertain world.

What emerges is a meditation on agency and pause, revealing the quiet power that lives in the space before we act. Presented as a solo for Ariana, and at a time when we’re all collectively holding our breath, two artists dive deep into that suspended moment, finding strength and wisdom in the waiting.

Photo credit: Michael Slobodian
Pictured: Ariana Barr

Register Here

Francesca is the artistic director of her Italy-based dance company ADARTE, and is joining us in Vancouver for the next two weeks choreographing a new work co-produced by Wen Wei Dance and ADARTE.

WHEN: Thursday, May 18, 2023
WHERE: EARL KRAUL STUDIO @ The Dance Centre

For more details and to register CLICK HERE

Watch the full interview:

A collaboration between Wen Wei Dance and Turning Point Esemble
World premiere at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival 2020 in partnership with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs

Dates: January 31 – February 02, 2020
Venue: Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre

January 31 | 7:30 p.m.
February 1 | 7:30pm
February 2 | 2 p.m

“Flying white” is a rare and extraordinary form of Chinese calligraphy that jumps and leaps on the paper surface in graceful beautiful strokes, the black ink revealing a white background. The motion and aesthetic of this calligraphy and the philosophy of the elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water are the foundations for the artistic vision of this new work Flying white – 飞白.

Learn more about the work

November 23, 2019 | 3:15pm
Kraul Studio*, Scotiabank Dance Centre
Vancouver, BC
Free admission

About Ying Yun

*Seats are limited