Volume 2 – 2012
A
N AT I O N A L
P R O J E C T
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A tlantic
B allet
t h eatre
of
cana d a
We are honoured to report on the first year of
our national project, Celebrate Courage. A first
of its kind in Canada, Celebrate Courage is a
new model for encouraging dialogue and action
to end violence against women and girls.
Representatives from women’s organizations, the Survivors
Committee of the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto and
dancers of the Atlantic Ballet Theatre in Toronto.
In partnership with service providers, Celebrate Courage
integrates our original multimedia performance Ghosts
of Violence within a collaborative interactive setting
that includes the performance, a community education
campaign, educational tools and presentations for students
and youth. Our goal is to reach 40 communities across
Canada and in every province over three years. This past
year, we began our tour in Moncton NB and subsequently
travelled to Vancouver BC, Fredericton NB, London
ON, Saint John NB, Charlottetown PEI, Caraquet NB,
Guysborough NS, Halifax NS and Toronto ON.
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1) Megan Walker, Executive Director of the London Abused Women’s Centre, at the London performance.
2) Pre-show discussion in Halifax with Pamela Harrison, Provincial Co-ordinator, Transition House Association
of Nova Scotia; Igor Dobrovolskiy, Artistic Director, Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada; Bev Walker, Supervisor,
Mi’kmaw Family Healing Centre; and Laurie Ehler, Executive Director, Bryony House (not in photo).
Thank you to the Atlantic Ballet Theatre. Ghosts of Violence is a beautifully intricate portrayal of violence
against women. Susan, thank you for your compassion and commitment to the issue and ballet. Igor, your direction
and choices of music and media made a beautifully poignant story. Dancers, you are sensitive and talented, and
gave us exquisite artistry. We continue to hear from people impressed with the ballet and moved by the story.
Transition House Association of Nova Scotia is honoured to have supported this important work.
— Pamela Harrison
We are honoured to have the RCMP, Canadian Nurses
Association and the Canadian Association of Social Workers
as national partners along with a growing list of 100
Community Partners.
This journey has been remarkable and humbling for all
of us. We have met survivors and heard their stories.
We have talked with committed and caring professionals
who make a difference every day in the lives of women
and children who have fled abusive relationships. As well,
students have told us how the performance has made an
impact on them.
We have also been deeply touched by feedback from so many
individuals who have experienced abuse in their lives. They
have told us that Ghosts of Violence is an eerily accurate
portrayal and have thanked us for caring and sharing what
they know is a very real situation.
Ghosts of Violence was inspired by the lives of 23 women in
New Brunswick murdered by their intimate partners. These
women have been memorialized with Silent Witnesses – lifesized red silhouettes that bear their name and their story as
a woman in our community. Recently, a 24th silhouette was
added – one representing Melanie Davis, a 28-year-old woman
who was brutally murdered by her estranged husband. We
were so very honoured to have Melanie’s silhouette join us
for our performance in Toronto. Melanie’s story, along with
the other Silent Witnesses, is a reminder of why we all need to
work to end violence against girls and women.
Most importantly, regardless of their backgrounds, audience
members tell us how profoundly affected they have been. They
leave Ghosts of Violence hopeful and determined to make
a difference.
The fact remains that intimate-partner violence continues
to permeate all levels of society regardless of geography,
cultural background, religion, education level or economic
circumstance. Because of this, we at the Atlantic Ballet
Theatre of Canada are very proud of the work we are doing
with Celebrate Courage.
We are extremely grateful to everyone who has been part of
this production – the dancers, crew, venues and audience
members, as well as the media who have been so kind to us.
We are most indebted to all of our Community Partners across
Canada. Thank you from all of us!
Igor Dobrovolskiy
Co-founder and Artistic Director
Susan Chalmers-Gauvin
Co-founder and CEO
shows that dance
can make a difference
After 15 years in her position in London working with women
every day, Megan thought she’d seen it all.
“We were on the edges of our seats throughout the entire
performance,” she said. “We left inspired and filled with hope. The
women I attended with told me that Ghosts of Violence perfectly
captured their mothers’ situations.”
On every stage it graces with its powerful message, Ghosts of
Violence has made a powerful impact on audiences. Many
of those who have attended are ballet connoisseurs. They
understand ballet. They love the arts.
But some of those attending performances of Ghosts of Violence
have never been to the ballet before. It’s just not something that’s
been part of their lives. Everyone is an individual. Everyone loves
different things, including various branches of the arts. There’s
no right or wrong. That’s what makes the performing arts and
in particular dance accessible. Each individual brings their own
experiences, thoughts and their individual interpretations.
Ghosts of Violence has wowed even seasoned dance critics such
as Paula Citron, Senior Dance Critic for The Globe and Mail, who
wrote in a review published May 25, 2012, “With strong theatrical
values, expressive choreography and committed dancers, Ghosts
of Violence makes for a poignant dance experience.”
So what about those who were not previously ballet aficionados?
Even for them, it seems, Ghosts of Violence is triggering a spark of
appreciation for dance – much to their surprise.
Megan Walker, Executive Director of the London Abused Women’s
Centre in London ON, invited the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of
Canada to the city recently after being completely awestricken
upon seeing the production in Ottawa. She attended the Ottawa
performance originally out of curiosity at how the subject of
violence against women could be interpreted through ballet. She
went with two women who had witnessed the abuse of their mother
at the hands of their respective husbands.
“It rejuvenated me,” Megan said. “We left asking ourselves, ‘What
can we do further to stop the war on women?’”
Megan said everyone should see Ghosts of Violence. “We could
post billboards all over the city and they would not have as much
impact as that ballet. The message is strong and real. It will inspire
people to take action.”
She was surprised she’d be affected that much since she’s been
working in the field for a very long time. “We’re always looking for
mediums through which to raise awareness,” Megan said. “Ghosts
of Violence has had the most powerful impact on me as anything
I’ve ever seen.”
“Every community in Canada needs to see it. I could feel the pain
and the emotion from the women portrayed in the ballet. That’s
difficult to get across to people,” she explained. “This is about reallife women who died because of their gender.”
“It gave me goosebumps.”
Harmy Mendoza, Executive Director of the Woman Abuse Council
of Toronto had a similar experience after seeing Ghosts of Violence
during the Atlantic Ballet’s first-ever trip to Toronto this spring.
“I had a very strong reaction,” Harmy said. “It made a huge impact
in terms of the issue.”
Harmy attended with a number of survivors of abuse. Each one of
them was deeply affected, as well. “Throughout the performance,
they were surprised at how many times they thought to themselves,
‘Oh my God! That’s what happened to me when the doors
were closed!’”
“Fantastic way to visually explore
a complex topic and engage young
women. I brought my daughter and
her friend to learn about this issue
in a less threatening venue.”
– Female audience member, Vancouver
The survivors who attended with Harmy believed Ghosts of Violence
really represented what they went through, such as the honeymoon
stage where the men could be charming. Eventually, however,
they would turn abusive.
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1) Christine Williams, District Vice-President, Scotiabank; Robert Williams;
Hon. Margarett R. Best, Minister of Consumer Services, Province of Ontario;
and Ida Fogo at the Toronto performance. 2) Phil Noble, CEO and Executive
Partner, Grant Thornton; and Dr. Susan Chalmers-Gauvin, CEO, Atlantic
Ballet Theatre of Canada at the Toronto performance.
“It was beautifully put together,” she said. “From the people I
talked to afterwards, I saw that they were very much impacted, as
well. They were inspired.”
“Domestic violence is not a private issue,” Harmy said. “It’s a
community problem. As a community, we need to ensure that our
support systems convey a strong message against violence toward
women. Women experiencing violence need to know not only that
it’s not OK or that is not their fault, but that our society will provide
adequate support systems once they decide to live free of violence,
so that doors are open instead of closed. Ghosts of Violence did a
great job of getting that message across.”
“I didn’t expect to be as impacted as I was,” she said. “It was very
inspiring and I saw that it had a huge impact on the audience.”
Harmy says she was skeptical at first at how much a ballet could
affect her. “I’m not a ballet person,” she admitted. “I wasn’t
expecting it to be that strong, but they made the issue clear –
crystal clear!”
She went on to explain that, for the first time, she saw how ballet
could approach a social issue such as domestic violence and
actually make a difference. “It’s an important message that we
don’t get to see often through the arts. I really appreciate how well
this was done. It showed a different approach on how to portray the
cycle of violence against women.”
One survivor who attended Ghosts of Violence also had a similar
experience. A new immigrant , M.S. (no full name given for privacy
reasons), moved to Canada with her husband and two children.
By then, she’d already been with her husband for 14 years but left
the marriage shortly after arriving in Canada. Today, she has sole
custody of her 17-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son.
M.S. also admits she was definitely not expecting Ghosts of Violence
to have such a significant impact on her. To her, ballet was just not
a medium that could make a difference.
“I actually thought it was a bit weird to create a ballet about the
abuse of women,” M.S. admits. “I couldn’t imagine how it could
touch people. I thought it would be strange.”
M.S., who attended with two friends who are fellow survivors of
abuse, admits her low expectations were certainly proven wrong.
On every stage it graces with its
powerful message
3) Igor Dobrovolskiy, Artistic Director,
Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada; and Hon.
Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and
Government Services and Minister for Status
of Women, Government of Canada (far right),
speaking with students in Halifax. 4) Hon.
David Alward, Premier of New Brunswick,
and his wife Rhonda speaking with community
partners in Fredericton. 5) Hon. Graydon
Nicholas, Lieutenant Governor of New
Brunswick, and his wife Elizabeth greeting the
dancers after the Fredericton performance.
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“Before the ballet started, I made a speech about why women wait
too long to get out of an abusive relationship and explained many
of the challenges,” she said. “So, I was already emotional before
the ballet started.”
“Oh my God… that’s me,” she thought to herself during the Ghosts
of Violence performance. “I realized that the abuse wasn’t actually
happening on stage, but I felt like it was.”
What especially impacted M.S. was a scene where the female
character approaches the male character in an attempt to get closer
to him, only to be rejected. “When he pushed her away, it was exactly
like what happened to me. She was trying to get the love back in
their relationship. She was trying to make it better. I did that, too.
I wanted to remind him of the love we once had by begging for
affection. Like the woman in the ballet, I was rejected, too.”
M.S. was also deeply affected by a visual during the
performance of a hand pushing a tomato until it was crushed.
“I felt like that tomato. It felt like my heart was being crushed.”
Afterwards, M.S. says emotions ran high. “I immediately
found my friends so we could hug.”
“I would recommend seeing Ghosts of Violence 100 per cent!
It’s very well done and to the point. How they showed the
feelings of the women was just amazing.
In the first year of Celebrate Courage, we reached:
10
5,200
4,350
43
communities
public audience members
students
schools
CELEBRATE COURAGE PROJECT
SUPPORTERS AND PARTNERS TO DATE
Ghosts of Violence was inspired by the
New Brunswick Silent Witness Project
National Partners
Canadian Nurses Association
Canadian Association of Social Workers
RCMP – National Crime Prevention
Sponsors
Brunswick Pipeline
The Christofor Foundation
Irving Group
Nalcore Oil and Gas
Religieuses Hospitalières de Saint-Joseph
Scotiabank
Sisters of Charity
The Sir James Dunn Centennial Trust Inc.
The Sobey Foundation
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1) Dr. Susan Chalmers-Gauvin, CEO, Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada; and Inspector
Rick Shaw, Crime Reduction, RCMP “J” Division, at the Saint John performance.
2) Derek Oland; Jacqueline Oland; Hon. Trevor Holder, Minister of Culture, Tourism
and Healthy Living, Province of New Brunswick; Hon. Blaine Higgs, Minister of Finance,
Province of New Brunswick; Dorothy Shephard, MLA – Saint John Lancaster, Province of
New Brunswick; and Carl Killen, MLA – Saint John Harbour, Province of New Brunswick,
at the Saint John performance.
GHOSTS OF VIOLENCE
October 29, 2012
St. John’s NL, Arts and Culture Centre
November 1, 2012
Gander NL, Arts and Culture Centre
November 5, 2012
Grand Falls NL, Arts and Culture Centre
November 7, 2012
Corner Brook NL, Arts and Culture Centre
November 9, 2012
Stephenville NL, Arts and Culture Centre
March 1 & 2, 2013
Regina SK, Performing Arts Centre
March 7, 2013
St. Albert AB, Arden Theatre
March 13, 2013
Duncan BC, Cowichan Theatre
Women Centre Stage Founders’ Circle
Ashford Investment Ltd. (James Dixon
and Patrick Gillespie)
J.W. (Bud) Bird, O.C., and Peggy Bird
Earl Brewer
Astrid and H. Reuben Cohen, C.C.
Lucille Colpitts
Ann McCain Evans
David and Diane Ganong
Aldéa Landry, C.M.
Leonard Lockhart, O.C.
Leslie and Jon Manship
Allison and Clare McCain
Larry Nelson, C.M.
Dr. and Mrs. Gerald Pulvermacher
James and Sandra Steeves
Season S ponsor
March 21 & 22, 2013 Calgary AB, Theatre Junction Grand
May 20, 2013
Annapolis Royal NS, King’s Theatre
M aritime T o ur Sponsor
*Additional dates will be added on our website.
To donate or to book a performance, please e-mail:
operations@atlanticballet.ca or call 506-383-5951 ext 102
To learn more, connect with us at
AtlanticBallet.ca
facebook.com/atlantic.ballet
twitter.com/atlanticballet
go v ernment partners