Wachtel On The Arts - Crystal Pite

Eleanor Wachtel talks to Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. She's been called a "dance genius" for her risky, imaginative, and emotionally compelling work. 

There's a tension between perfect control and wild recklessness in Crystal Pite's works such as Dark Matters, The You Show, and Tempest, Replica. The choreographer, who was born in Terrace, British Columbia and grew up in the Oak Bay neighbourhood of Victoria, is among the most in-demand dance creators in the world. She produces work for the most prestigious dance companies, like the Netherlands Dance Theatre, New York's Cedar Lake, and London's Sadler's Wells, where her 2014 work, Polaris, was praised by British critics as the highlight of the whole year. Her own company, Kidd Pivot, is based in Vancouver.
 
Pite's newest work will debut at the Pan Am cultural festival in Toronto in July. It'll tour Canada, the U.S. and Britain in 2016. 

Visit the Pan Am cultural festival website for more details.