The Vision Behind Belle Spirale’s “UNIVERSUS”

On January 16, Belle Spirale Dance Projects’ Chrystal Dance Prize–winning UNIVERSUS arrives at the McPherson Theatre, marking a full-circle moment for both the company and Dance Victoria. An ambitious double bill—the Vancouver-based company’s largest production to date—the work features choreography by Alexis Fletcher and Fernando Hernando Magadan. Each interdisciplinary dance work explores humanity’s universal search for purpose and the transformative power of art as a means for social change.

Fletcher’s Everything and Nothing invites audiences to consider their place within the larger web of life, evoking beauty, meaning, and wonder in an ever-changing world. STATERA (Latin for “balance”), choreographed by Magadan in his first professional Canadian commission outside of Ballet BC, examines the delicate tension between safety and danger, urgency and vulnerability, and the passage of time, as we confront the fleeting nature of our existence. 

Read below the artistic statements of both choreographers to discover insight into why UNIVERSUS was created and why its themes of connection, balance, and impermanence resonate so urgently in the world we inhabit today.

Alexis Fletcher on Everything and Nothing

“Using Brian Swimme’s Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe as inspiration, my use of text, improvisation and visceral movement language draws from the diverse cast’s intergenerational lineages and considers our interconnectedness as a species via the process of evolution. This work stems from the idea that we are both “everything and nothing in the same split-instant,” both the entire universe, and a tiny speck of almost nothingness within the vastness of that universe. Like many of us, my faith in the future is being shaken to the core right now. My spirit doesn’t know what to hold on to, and yet, it knows that hope, togetherness, connection…. they are all necessary. Indeed, they are what propel the world, evolution, the cosmos and each other forward.

“Everything and Nothing asks what hope, resiliency, and importantly leadership, mean to me—as a woman, as an artist, as a citizen—at this moment in history. With these exceptional collaborators, I am exploring, through the imagination-based and reflective modalities of my artistic practice, who the leaders of the future would be if we could possibly move in a more hopeful direction. How would they usher us forward? What archetypes or energetic qualities would they embody? I adore the simultaneous strength and softness that each person brings to this creation. I learn from their tenacity, their honesty, the ways in which they live in the world. Uniting everyone in the piece is Marisa’s text and the images of the natural world and the cosmos that Sylvian has so exquisitely crafted with his visual design. These images, to me, represent our shared origin point in the cosmos, reminding us that our journey is mystical as well as concrete or tangible.” – AF

Fernando Hernando Magadan on STATERA

“Recent global challenges (Pandemic, war, climate change…) have awakened a very particular sense of insecurity that many of us have never before experienced. It has simultaneously brought a valuable opportunity to make us aware and reflect on where we stand. Both as a community as well as individuals, we are forced to reflect on our way of life, our uncertain future, and how to deal with our challenged sense of safety. As human beings, we are good at building structures: environments where we can feel safe and thrive in, separated from the ever-changing rhythm of the world. We build walls that protect us from the outer harsh environments, at times providing a false sense of invincibility that is often blinding us to the dramatic consequences of our actions.

“What happens when those walls do not let us see what lies beyond the horizon? We are being confronted, possibly more than ever before, with our own fragile and fleeting nature in a world full of uncontrollable forces of immense magnitude. Observing the speed of change, and even when the concept of extinction has been brought to our table, how do we approach all these challenges? Where do we stand? How can we, as artists, contribute to inspiring hope and perhaps even change for a better and healthier future?

“The body can convey profound meaning through the embodiment of ideas in a very unique and personal way. It can open channels for the expression of deep emotions. Art itself can create transformative experiences for the viewer as well as for the performer. I’m inspired by the potential of this shared experience. Through the strength of the dancing body, I explore the frail line between feeling safe and endangered, the concept of vulnerability, the resilience to nurture hope, and the notion of time as we are confronted with our inherent ephemeral nature.”— FHM

Curator’s Notes

“Including Belle Spirale in our season was one of those programming decisions that comes easily. You know you’re going to get a beautiful evening of contemporary dance. Dance Victoria has a long history with co-directors Alexis Fletcher and Sylvain Senez–from the couple’s Ballet BC days, to the milestone of launching their company, to awarding UNIVERSUS the Chrystal Dance Prize in 2023. This is your chance to see poignant creations by both Fletcher and celebrated Spanish choreographer Fernando Magadan on an ensemble of Vancouver’s top dancers.” – Gillian Jones, Executive Director, Dance Victoria