“At last the times have caught up with Joni Mitchell — musician, artist and now inspiration for a ballet. By Robin EggarJoni Mitchell is watching The Fiddle and the Drum for the first time. It’s ballet with a twist — vivid, sexy and of the moment. Classical movements lie at its base, but the dancers are not afraid to rip into contemporary, hip-hop, even gymnastic moves. It’s Mitchell’s music they’re dancing to. Two a cappella verses of the title song from way back when, then straight into Sex Kills, segueing into Passion Play, her gnostic retelling of the story of Mary Magdalene. A pause. “Superb,” she says. “Excellent. I love it.” I’m no ballet critic, but it is exhilarating, something that deserves to be seen by a far wider audience than for its Canadian premiere. And this is only a run-through.
Originally, Jean GrandMaître, the artistic director of the Alberta Ballet, had conceived a ……”