Sabrina Matthews

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Sabrina Matthews

Birth name	Sabrina Matthews
Born	1977 Toronto, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Field	Ballet Choreographers
Training	National Ballet School of Canada

Sabrina Matthews (born 1977) is a Canadian ballet choreographer. She has created pieces for some of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world and is considered one of Canada's brightest new dance makers. She has premiered pieces in Stuttgart, Boston, Beijing, New York, Toronto, Stockholm, and London. At Karen Kain's nomination, she was recently recognized as one of Canada's Amazing Women to Watch and the Next Big Thing In Dance.^[1]

1 Biography
2 Choreographed Work
3 Awards
4 Reviews
5 References
6 External Links

[edit] Biography

Sabrina Matthews is a Toronto native and a graduate of the National Ballet School of Canada, attending from 1987-1995.^[2] From 1995-2005, she was a leading soloist and aspiring choreographer with Alberta Ballet^[3]^[4] under artistic directors Mikko Nissinen^[5] and Jean Grand-Maitre.^[6] Sabrina Matthews danced on four different continents, including several tours all throughout China. Her work has been recognized with several awards: a 2006 Ballet VIP Honorable Mention from Pointe Magazine; the 1995 Peter Dwyer award for excellence in dance;^[7] the 2005 Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award from the Banff Centre; and a nomination for a 2003 dance film award from the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association for “Dance to This” 2002, a Bravo! Fact Film.^[8]^[9]^[10]

Sabrina Matthews created five pieces for Alberta Ballet, all of which received high critical praise. Her last piece for the company, losing ground, received repeat standing ovations.^[11] During that time, in 2002, she created a piece for the The New York Choreographic Institute^[12] on the School of American Ballet. In 2004, she premiered unbound, at the first Beijing International Dance Festival^[13] and in 2005, the Glenbow Museum commissioned Rodin 2005 as part of the Rodin Exhibition.^[14]

At the invitation of Artistic Director Reid Anderson, Sabrina Matthews attended the Noverre Society in 2006 at Stuttgart Ballet. While there, she created soles, which earned rave reviews among the German critics. It was included as part of Stuttgart Ballet’s repertoire^[15] and was reprised during Stuttgart’s December Gala. Her “triumph in Europe” led to commissions from some of the world's most pre-eminent ballet companies. Shortly thereafter, she ended her dance career early and pursued choreography full time.

In September 2006, Sabrina Matthews created clearing, which was a favorite among critics. It premiered at the National Ballet of Canada’s 2007 Gala.^[16] At the request of Artistic Director Karen Kain, and the Canada Council for the Arts, clearing was reprised in July 2007 during Canada’s National Holiday celebrations in Ottawa. In March 2007, she created veer for the Canadian representatives in the prestigious international Erik Bruhn competition.^[17]^[18] She will also choreograph a new work for the National Ballet of Canada’s 2008/2009 season.^[19]

In March 2008, Sabrina Matthews was engaged with Boston Ballet for the Next Generation program; a showcase of the next generation of choreographic talents. She made her US debut with ein von viel to high critical praise. Sabrina Matthews created a second piece for Stuttgart Ballet, veil, which premiered in May 2008.^[20] It was so well received, that the following week, and then again the following month, it was reprised on Stuttgart Ballet's main stage.

Sabrina Matthews will set veer for the National Ballet of Canada’s 2008 Gala in June 2008. In August 2008, she will create a new piece as the commissioned choreographer for England's Royal Academy of Dance's 2008 Genee International Ballet Competition.^[21] Sabrina Matthews then returns to Europe in November 2008 to premiere a new piece in Stockholm, Sweden. The Royal Swedish Ballet commissioned this piece to premiere alongside a new work by Mats Ek.^[22] In February 2009, Sabrina Matthews will create her third piece for the National Ballet of Canada.

[edit] Choreographed Work

(all pieces world premieres unless otherwise indicated)

[edit] For the Stuttgart Ballet

soles (2006)
veil (May 4, 2008)

[edit] For the Royal Swedish Ballet

TBA (November 7, 2008)

[edit] For the Boston Ballet

ein von viel (March 6-9, 2008 - U.S. Premiere)

[edit] For the National Ballet of Canada

clearing (2007)
veer (2008 - originally commissioned for the Erik Bruhn Competition 2007)
TBA (March, 2009)

[edit] For the National Ballet School (Canada)

TBA (May, 2009)

[edit] For the Alberta Ballet

delude (2000)
ein von viel (2001)
transience (2002)
unbound (2003)
fallen arm (2004)
losing ground (2005)

[edit] For Competitions and Festivals

Dance to This (2001 Bravo! Fact Film - 2002 Calgary International Film Festival; 2003 Brooklyn International Film Festival; and London, U.K.'s Constellation Change Screen Dance Festival 2005)
unbound (2001 Beijing International Dance Festival)
Rodin (2005 Glenbow Museum)
veer (2007 Erik Bruhn Competition - however, not performed due to dancer injury)
clearing (2007 Canada Day Celebration in Ottawa, Canada - reprise)
TBA (August, 2008 Genee International Ballet Competition)

[edit] Awards

1995 Peter Dwyer Award (Canada Council for the Arts/National Ballet School - excellence in dance)
2003 Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association (nomination) (for Dance to This)
2005 Clifford E. Lee Award (Banff Centre for the Arts - choreography award)
2008 Alberta Provincial Awards Celebrating Excellence (nomination)

[edit] Reviews

Reid Anderson, Artistic Director of the Stuttgart Ballet, May 2006:

"Sabrina is an excellent Canadian cultural ambassador for Canada. The dancers loved working with her, the German audience deeply connected with her ballet and she inspired everyone here during the process. She has successfully pierced the highly competitive European market".

Karen Campbell, in the Boston Globe, March 8, 2008:

"Surprisingly, the most effective work on the program was also the smallest, the duet "ein von viel," marking the US debut of Canadian choreographer Sabrina Matthews. Set to selections from Bach‘s exquisite "Goldberg" Variations (given a stellar performance onstage by pianist Freda Locker), it was commissioned by Nissinen while he was artistic director of Alberta Ballet, and it's a beauty. Friday night, John Lam and James Whiteside were dazzling in Matthews's virtuosic choreography. Matthews matches the clarity of Bach‘s score while consciously subverting the elegance with bits of "you lookin‘ at me?" attitude and quirky nuances. Dynamics shift with quicksilver speed, long lines dissolve into squiggles, complemented by playful gestures – feet that paw the ground, hands that cover the face, backward runs. But it‘s all fairly subtle, cast in phrases of tensile fluidity from which erupt brilliant leaps and turns in vivid asymmetric shapes."

Gabriele Müller, in Stuttgarter Zeitung, May 22, 2006:

"The exceptional ballerina Alicia Amatriain is partnered by Evan McKie in Sabrina Matthew's piece soles set to spiritual vocal music by Tomas Luis de Victoria. This pas de deux of continuous movement conveys an impression of eternity. Pain, suffering and longing are expressed as a fulfillment.

Denise Sum, Ballet Dance Magazine, August, 2007:

"The following work, also by a young Canadian, succeeded where Robinson's did not. National Ballet School alumnus and former Alberta Ballet member Sabrina Matthews’ “clearing” has direction and form. The work, set to Mozart’s powerful Great Mass in C Minor, has three couples moving through patterns of movement like the many voices of a fugue. Bridgett Zehr was particularly stunning, her pas de deux with Piotr Stanczyk almost spiritual. Stacey Shiori Minagawa and Chris Body plus Greta Hodgkinson and Nehemiah Kish rounded out this strong cast. Near the end of the ballet, the black backdrop is lifted, ever so slowly. The white background behind it “grows”, the way light fills a room. The dancers turn to face the back, in some sort of reverent or ceremonial action, as the curtain falls."

Bob Clark, in the Calgary Herald, July 15, 2005:

"For her new creation, Matthews too has chosen carefully, building the emotional intensity of the work, losing ground, through a combination of complex passionate movement and a slow luminous score. The score is fashioned from the music of Thomas Tallis, Brahms and J.S. Bach, with important contributions from Calgary soundscape artist Dewi Wood.
Massively framed by set designer Scott Reid’s evocation of vertical steel plates and dramatically lit by lighting designer Harry Frehner, losing ground’s eight characters seem to be in a state of alert as they try to connect and re-connect – bodies bending then arching back, arms spreading in both supplicating and questioning gestures – to find their way back from loneliness and isolation. The powerful work was performed beautifully by the dancers, led by Tara Williamson and Daniel Marshalsay.The standing ovation from the large crowd was richly deserved by all concerned.".

Angela Reinhard, in Esslinger Zeitung, May 22, 2006:

"Among the four pas de deux of the evening the most acclaimed one was by Sabrina Matthews from Canada who has already earned choreographic merits in her native country. She really knows how to make the dancers look good: Alicia Amatriain's extreme flexibility and Evan McKies' intensity as a partner are shown in the best of lights in the slow piece soles".

Salena McDougall in SEE Magazine, April 3, 2003

""Alberta Ballet’s Sabrina Christine Matthews is being outrageously understated when she describes the past dance season as "one of the biggest years" for her. In her eighth year with the company, Matthews was blazing at the forefront ... "It has been exciting, and a whole lot of work," Matthews says reflecting on a breakthrough season.

Not only is this ballerina’s career on a roll, she’s well on her way to making a name for herself as a dance-maker. Just last February, Matthews was in the Big Apple, invited by the New York Choreographic Institute to workshop her own choreography on dancers from the School of American Ballet. And she recently added video star to her resume with Dance to This, a short Bravo! film of her own creation.

Jean Grand-Maître, Artistic Director of the Alberta Ballet, May 2006:

"Many of the most respected and cutting edge choreographers working today have had their beginning during the Noverre series of the Stuttgart Ballet and Ms. Matthews’ success will bid well for her future career as a dance creator in Europe".

[edit] References

[edit] External Links