Ballet Creole will launch its 2012-2013 season with the holiday tour-de-force Soulful Messiah in Toronto November 30 - December 2.

Now in its 23rd year on the Canadian dance stage, the company has earned a reputation for producing high-energy, rigorous contemporary dance, that cultivates the multiculturalism of Toronto and Canada at large.

From December 7 - 15 the company will take its show on the road with its first Ontario tour which includes the cities of St. Catharines, North Bay, Mississauga and Markham.

During February (Black History Month) in 2013, Ballet Creole will present Tounkande, and River from April 4 - 6 at the Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Celebrating 11 years on the stage, Soulful Messiah infuses tap, African-Caribbean, ballet, jazz and modern dance into a unique celebration of life through dance and music.

Soulfully danced to Quincy Jones’ Grammy Award-winning R&B rendition of Handel’s Messiah, and enriched by the uplifting voices of Aretha Franklin, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight, this universal holiday tradition will leave many singing, “Hallelujah!” Guest performer David Cox (formerly of STOMP), returns to tap his way through this emotionally driven dance accompanied by the Ballet Creole professional dance company.

Illuminated by the talents of lighting director, Brad Trenaman, each piece signifies humanity’s core emotions. In February, artistic director, Patrick Parson, will collaborate with guest artists from West Africa and Cuba to produce an exciting new work bringing together the song, dances and rhythms of Guinea, West Africa in “Tounkande.”

Meaning “the gathering of the people, it celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the Malinke people and shares the importance of connecting the social and historical understanding of their traditions as it links with the present.

River is a conceptual take on the idea that nothing can stop a river flowing. Two aesthetically diverse dance pieces will flow onto the stage; Parson will complete Trouchka, a work that began in May 2009 as part of a performance of Petrouchka with the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Associate choreographer Gabby Kamino will present the Canadian premiere of Fallen Angels, a three-part allegorical piece which depicts angels that have “fallen,” or rather angels that have chosen to live as humans.

Active on the Canadian dance scene since August 1990, Ballet Creole comprises both a professional ensemble of dancers and musicians and a School of Performing Arts.

While focusing on the traditional and contemporary performing arts of the Caribbean and Africa, the company aims to establish a dynamic new artistic tradition in Canada through “creolization” or fusion of diverse dance and music traditions.

Soulful Messiah will take place at the Fleck Dance Theatre at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.