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Ballet BC’s Romeo + Juliet Puts a Modern Spin on Shakespeare’s Classic Royal Theatre, March 13 + 14, 7:30 pm There’s a contemporary familiarity to Ballet BC’s Romeo + Julietcreated by French choreographer Medhi Walerskiset to Prokofiev’s 1935 score. Walerski is known for making cutting-edge works for major international dance companies including Nederlands Dans Theater where he performed and choreographed for more than a decade. In recent exciting news, Walerski was appointed Ballet BC’s new Artistic Director effective July 2020, when he succeeds Emily Molnar who will become Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT). Martha Schabas of The Globe and Mailstates that Romeo + Julietis “Mr. Walerski at his most visionary.” Hisversion of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers will feel familiar to audiences, but the contemporary ballet production offers a fresh and thought-provoking retelling of the classic that profoundly resonates today. The production’s contemporary aesthetic is further enhanced by Dutch set and lighting designer Theun Mosk who creates a stark black and white colour scheme with giant geometric shapes that the dancers move in and around, as well as creative use of light and shadows. Walerski’s Elizabethan inspired costumes mixed with modern dress further lends timelessness to the work. In an interview with The Georgia Straight, the choreographer explains, “I wanted something pure, something universal, so that you could connect with the emotions and feelings and psychology of the characters, more than being in Italy or Renaissance time. I got inspired as well with the Elizabethan aesthetic—I just use it as just a flavour. I designed the costumes, and they are contemporary, but they have just a hint of the Elizabethan—the high collars, and the men have these little doublets.” Dance Victoria contributed $25,000 towards Ballet BC’s commission of the creation of Romeo + Juliet through its ChrystalDance Fund. The funds supported inclusion of Arts Umbrella graduate dance students, increasing the number of the corps de ballet in the production. Later this year, the Company will tour the production to Australia’s Sydney Opera House for seven performances. The community is invited to a free, pre-show chatat 6:45 pm in the West (Blanshard Street) Lobby of the Royal Theatre prior to both performances. Ballet BC Romeo + Juliet Medhi Walerski Friday + Saturday, March 13 + 14 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Tickets: $29-$95 ~ Ask about Pay Your Age (ages 12 – 29) & Night Moves (ages 30-45) tickets. Proof of age (picture ID) required at the Box Office Box Office: 250-386-6121 • Online: DanceVictoria.com About Ballet BC Founded in 1986, Ballet BC has been under the leadership of Artistic Director Emily Molnar since 2009. Ballet BC is an internationally acclaimed collaborative and creation-based contemporary ballet company that is a leader and resource in the creation, production and education of contemporary dance in Canada. Bold and innovative, the Company’s distinctive style and approach has made a unique and valuable national contribution to the development of dance. balletbc.com Dance Victoria’s 2019/20 season concludes with Tania Pérez-Salas Compañía de Danza– a program of two innovative, theatrical and personal works: Ex-Stasis&3. Catorce Dieciséis choreographedby Tania Pérez-Salas• May 1 + 2, 2020 • 7:30 pm • Royal Theatre About Dance Victoria Dance Victoria brings the World’s Best Danceto the Royal Theatre and supports the development of new dance for the international stage from its studios in Quadra Village. DanceVictoria is a non-profit charitable society. DanceVictoria.com

Gardens As Art: Aesthetic Journeys around the World runs Sundays in March Popular Sunday Lecture Series returns to the AGGV The Sunday Art Lecture Series at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has the theme, Gardens as Art: Aesthetic Journeys around the World and features the approach of professors of art history to four famous gardens located in France, Italy, Egypt and Japan. The illustrated lecture series, a perennial sellout, will take place over the course of four Sunday afternoons: March 1, 8, 22 and 29, from 2:00 to 4:00 at the AGGV. In the first lecture entitled Japan in Giverny: Monet’s Impressionist Garden, Melissa Berry will explore Claude Monet’s horticultural design. When Claude Monet moved to Giverny in 1883, his objective was creation. Thus, Monet’s largest, most immersive masterwork was born, or rather cultivated. He approached his land with an artist’s eye to establish a colourful, everchanging garden. Monet’s horticultural design was determined by his aesthetic influences, especially Japan. Botanical Art: Cairo’s Matarea Garden by Marcus Milwright, is the second lecture in the series. During the Medieval period the finest balsam oil was traded for its weight in gold. The source of this precious substance was a walled garden owned by the sultan of Egypt, and located in the town of Matarea just outside of Cairo. This talk uses visual sources and texts, including European travel accounts and Coptic religious writings, to reconstruct the topography of the garden in the centuries prior to the demise of the last balsam tree in 1615. Betsy Tumasonis will lecture on Niki de Saint Phalle’s “Giardino dei Tarocchi”: A French Artist and her Italian Sculpture Garden. Niki de Saint Phalle (1930 – 2002) was a French artist and sculptor who associated in the early 1960s with the French Nouveaux Realistes group. She experimented with assemblages made of bizarre collections of objects, evoking a Dadaist sense of the absurd. In 1980 she began work on her “Giardino dei Tarocchi” (Tarot Garden) in Tuscany. She filled the park-like property with enormous colourful otherworldly figures based on images from the Tarot deck (fortune-telling cards). A stroll through the garden is a magical experience. The final lecture by David Young. is called Shibusa Aesthetics: Spontaneity in Japanese Gardens. The goal of a traditional Japanese garden is to re-create nature on a small scale and in an artistic way that improves upon nature. Keeping in mind that the word “art” comes from the same word as “artificial,” how can something be natural and artificial at the same time? This interesting challenge was met in Japan with the concept of shibusa, which can be translated as “restrained spontaneity” or “spontaneity of effect.” The Sunday Lecture Series is a fundraiser for the AGGV by the Gallery Associates whose role is to volunteer, promote and support the AGGV through fundraising events and programs. Proceeds from the series go toward supporting Gallery exhibitions and programs. Daniel Mato, professor emeritus of art history, University of Calgary, will moderate the sixth annual Sunday Lecture Series. Tickets for the entire series cost $100 for AGGV members/any student or $120 for non-members. Each individual lecture costs $30 for AGGV members/any student; $35 for non-members. Tickets are available online at https://aggv.ca/sunday-art-lecture-2020/ and at the AGGV, 1040 Moss Street.

Focus on Four New works from four gallery artists, Terry Fenton, Greg Murdock, Brad Pasutti, and Jason Stovall February 6 - 27, 2020, at Winchester Galleries Opening reception: Saturday, February 8, 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Artists will be in attendance. Winchester Galleries is pleased to announce the new group exhibition of four Canadian artists: Terry Fenton, Greg Murdock, Brad Pasutti, and Jason Stovall. In this exhibition, a collection of new artworks from these four artists have been selected to present a variety of artistic representations. From realistic landscape to figurative narrations and abstract. TERRY FENTON a gallery director, author, workshop organizer, arts advocate... during a half-century of contribution to the arts he has always made the art of his own. Although recognized as a champion of Canadian and international abstraction, Fenton himself has devotedly painted from nature: mountains and foothills during a long sojourn in Alberta, and prairies reflecting his upbringing in Regina and more recent residence in Saskatoon. During the past decade he often painted seascapes from winter visits to the West Coast, but that practice has intensified since he and his wife moved to Victoria. GREGORY MURDOCK was born in 1954 in Saskatoon. He credits a trip to Europe following high school for kindling his passion to become an artist. When he returned from Europe, he enrolled in the faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Saskatchewan. studying ceramics, sculpture, and drawing. He then travelled to Mexico to study bronze at the Instituto Allende in San Miguel Allende. In 1979 he moved to Vancouver to study at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. There, he expanded his architectural vision and imagery, created installations and discovered the potential of “spackle” as a medium and surface to explore in both his two- and three-dimensional works. He is known for his fresco-like mixed-media works that elegantly explore surface, space and form with references to both external and internal worlds. BRAD PASUTTI was born in 1957, Trail, British Columbia. On completion of a diploma in sculpture from the Kootenay School of Art in Nelson and a BFA from the University of Victoria, Pasutti launched his artistic career in 1984 with an exhibition at Victoria's Open Space Gallery. He has continued to show his work at commercial and public galleries including at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and Surrey Art Gallery. Pasutti's recent work suggests a sense of unfolding narrative structure. There is no clear set story being told, rather the work is open to narrative possibilities. Characters and possible situations, including the internal mental states of the characters, carry over from one piece into another, so that the series of larger works become interconnected like chapters in a non-linear narrative or are alternative parallel narratives. JASON STOVALL was born in 1989 in Edmonton, Alberta, but raised in Fort McMurray. The mixed suburban and industrial setting of Fort McMurray is a starting point for Stovall's work. Stovall’s upbringing, heavily influenced by the conservative and religious values of Alberta, and by the transient workforce constantly coming and going from the oil sands, combines to form a basis of subject matter for his work. https://www.winchestergalleriesltd.com

Victoria Seedy Saturday Saturday February 15, 2020, 10:00am - 4:00pm Victoria Seedy Saturday is the official start to the gardening season in Victoria and the number one place to find the LOCAL seeds, plants, tools and information to make 2020 your best growing season yet. Seedy Saturday’s focus is on LOCAL, organic, sustainable gardening and food security. Presentations and workshops are presented throughout the day with topics for beginners and experts. The exhibitor gallery features over 60 vendors and exhibitors, seed and book exchanges, café, children’s area, door prizes and much more. Admission is $8 (free for under 16) Location: Victoria Conference Centre 720 Douglas Street Victoria, BC V8W 3M7 Website

Love & Chocolate Join City of Victoria Poet Laureate, John Barton, and other local writers for a delicious afternoon of readings about love and chocolate. Tea and chocolates will be served. Greater Victoria Public Library 735 Broughton Street Victoria, BC V8W 3H2 Links Website Cost Free

Peter Dorrius at Xchanges Gallery “Indexing” Opening Friday 7th Feb from 7-9pm Artist Talk: Saturday 15th Feb at 2pm Presented with predominantly black and white photography and abstract imagery, viewers are asked to wonder and interpret. Photography is based in the real world: everything within the image is palpable. Selfies, landscapes, portraits, etc. are all tangible representations of people and objects that can be seen and touched on a daily basis. When viewing photographs observers immediately wonder: “What is it?” Once a conclusion is made viewers investigate the piece for meaning and enjoyment. But what happens when information is missing in the photograph and the image cannot be indexed by the viewer? Perhaps there is a period of letting go of the expectation to label in a literal sense and instead find meaning based on the abstract image alone. Artist's Bio Peter Dorrius is an actor, writer, photographer, and accountant. He has appeared in TV shows including Fargo and Young Drunk Punk, written and produced a play (Contentment Cafe) and is an accountant with 20 years experience. His first foray into photography was Minimal Contact. He holds a Bachelor of Science, is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta, and is currently in his second year at UVic majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Visual Arts. Exhibition continues through Feb 23rd Saturdays and Sundays, 11am-4pm http://www.xchangesgallery.org

Beethoven and Beyond - Rosanna Butterfield (cello) and Jannie Burdeti (piano) - Saturday, February 22, at 7:30 pm Dear Subscriber, We hope you will come to our next performance in the Music At Wentworth Villa concert series, to hear Rosanna Butterfield (cello) and Jannie Burdeti (piano). They will offer an exciting and varied program of music for cello and piano entitled Beethoven and Beyond on Saturday, February 22, at 7:30 pm. For full program details and information about all our concerts, please see our website wentworthvilla.com/music. Concert Tickets You may buy your tickets using the button above, online at wentworthvilla.com, by contacting us at info@wentworthvilla.com or by telephone: 250-598-0760. Doors open one hour before the concerts begin, so please arrive early to reserve your ideal seat using our re-usable name cards, before exploring the ground floor of Wentworth Villa and the museum exhibits.

Tea and Symphony: The Sooke Philharmonic Take a unique and relaxing break from the bustle of everyday life. The Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra presents its popular Tea and Symphony, 2:30 pm, Sunday March 1 at the Sooke Community Hall. Enjoy a delightful afternoon of light classical music and traditional afternoon tea. Sooke Lioness will once again be catering this event, with finger sandwiches, delicious sweet and savoury treats, tea and coffee. Sooke’s Sea of Bloom flower shop has once again kindly donated the floral centerpieces. Yariv Aloni, Sooke Philharmonic Music Director, has selected for your entertainment an appealing mix of favorite classics, including music by Bach, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Popper, Faure and more! Soloists are Pamela Highbaugh Aloni, cello and Nancy Washeim, soprano. Tea and Symphonyis one of the Sooke Phil’s most popular events and is annually sold out. Attendance is limited to 120 and advance ticket purchase is highly recommended. Tickets are $40 and may be purchased online at www.sookephil.ca. or at the Sooke or Westshore Shoppers Drug Marts, the Little Vienna Bakery and the South Shore Gallery both in Sooke. Tickets, if available, may also be purchased at the door - cash only. The Sooke Philharmonic Society is celebrating its 22nd year and takes great pride in adding to the cultural richness in Sooke and the surrounding communities. For more information call 250-419-3569.

DOUG AND THE SLUGS Wednesday, February 26 • 7:30 PM Doug & the Slugs are unquestionably one of the most distinctive and entertaining Canadian bands of the past 40 years. Their upbeat songs, musicianship & offbeat stage antics have made them a staple of the national music scene for decades. From 1980 – 1991 they released 6 albums (3 certified gold) and toured relentlessly '...from New York to the North Pole'. The band's quirky videos garnered them heavy rotation in the early years of MTV and Much Music. From their first indie single 'Too Bad' in 1979 their hits received substantial airplay across Canada – airplay which continues to the present day. Tickets $52.50 Mary Winspear Centre 2243 Beacon Avenue, Sidney BC 250-656-0275 | marywinspear.ca

A Grammar of Loss: Studies in Erasure Chantal Gibson Open Space, February 22 - March 28, 2020 This February, Vancouver-based artist-educator Chantal Gibson returns to Open Space with A Grammar of Loss: Studies in Erasure, a show of new and recent work building on her 2019 exhibition, How She Read: Confronting the Romance of Empire. Wielding black ink, black paint, and black liquid rubber, the exhibition explores the dis/comfort—the ideological stickiness—of engaging in this de/colonial moment. It off ers a visually poetic response to the questions “What does it mean to decolonize a text? And what does it really mean to confront Empire?” The exhibition features new digital works and altered texts, and includes Souvenir, the collection of 2000 blackened souvenir spoons that debuted at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2018, and featured in Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art. Gibson will also transform part of the gallery into a public art studio, bringing with her The Other James Baldwin, an ongoing altered book project that invites visitors to engage with colonial texts of the past to reimagine the future. Gibson will be on hand for a week-long community residency from March 21-28 which will include workshops with educators and gallery visitors, inviting them to participate in activity and discussion around the historical and ongoing erasure of Black, Indigenous, and racialized bodies in the Canadian education system. Exploring methods of decentering colonial thought in the classroom, this workshop/ studio time will open space to collaborate and co-create with other artists, educators, communities, and institutions. An opening reception will be held Friday, Feb. 21 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. www.openspace.ca

Modern City: The Legacy of Architectural Modernism in Victoria - Exhibition on view until April 25th Dear Subscriber, Please join us at Wentworth Villa Architectural Heritage Museum for the visiting exhibition Modern City: The Legacy of Architectural Modernism in Victoria. The architectural layers in Victoria include a remarkable set of buildings with Modernist design features, such as exposed concrete and façades of steel and glass. Victoria architects embraced the Modernist movement to create new spaces for the city in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s through which their ideals and hopes for a better society shaped the buildings of the UVic campus, Centennial Square, and in the downtown core. This exhibition, curated by architectural historian Martin Segger, designed by D’Amrosio Architecture + Urbanism, photographed by John Taylor, and sponsored by Jawl Properties, is visiting Wentworth Villa from now until April 25. Learn what gives Victoria’s Modernist architecture a regional flavour and view images of these twentieth century structures alongside the heritage homes featured in our other museum exhibitions. Wentworth Villa is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 11:00-4:00 Please contact the museum for more information by emailing info@wentworthvilla.com or by telephone: 250-598-0760.

Modern City: The Legacy of Architectural Modernism in Victoria - Exhibition on view until April 25th Please join us at Wentworth Villa Architectural Heritage Museum for the visiting exhibition Modern City: The Legacy of Architectural Modernism in Victoria. The architectural layers in Victoria include a remarkable set of buildings with Modernist design features, such as exposed concrete and façades of steel and glass. Victoria architects embraced the Modernist movement to create new spaces for the city in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s through which their ideals and hopes for a better society shaped the buildings of the UVic campus, Centennial Square, and in the downtown core. This exhibition, curated by architectural historian Martin Segger, designed by D’Amrosio Architecture + Urbanism, photographed by John Taylor, and sponsored by Jawl Properties, is visiting Wentworth Villa from now until April 25. Learn what gives Victoria’s Modernist architecture a regional flavour and view images of these twentieth century structures alongside the heritage homes featured in our other museum exhibitions. Wentworth Villa is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 11:00-4:00 Please contact the museum for more information by emailing info@wentworthvilla.com or by telephone: 250-598-0760.

Victoria Film Festival (February 7 - 16, 2020)The Victoria Film Festival is Vancouver Island’s largest and longest-running film festival currently celebrating 26 years, the Victoria Film Festival screens more than 100 films over 10 days. Creating unique events year-round the Festival is responsible for Feast: Food + Film, Free-B Film Festival, Art of the Cocktail, Movie Under the Maltworks and The Vic Theatre. See https://www.victoriafilmfestival.com