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Alberta Ballet's Breathtaking New Full-Length Version of Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum to Premiere Friday

Calgary/Edmonton, AB - Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum, the ground-breaking collaboration between legendary Canadian artist Joni Mitchell and Alberta Ballet Artistic Director Jean Grand-Maître, will premiere as a full-length ballet Friday across the Prairies Ms. Mitchell considers her home. Featuring four new songs, the world premiere of Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum will be held in Medicine Hat before continuing to Regina, Saskatoon and Lloydminster. The production will return to Alberta Ballet's home cities of Edmonton and Calgary in February.

Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum is a unique union of dance, art and music. This semi-abstract narrative ballet danced in neo-classical style will be performed to Mitchell's compelling music and her latest artwork, which will be projected on large canvas screens behind the dancers throughout the ballet. Alberta Ballet's 29 athletic dancers will express - through powerful and sensual movements - Joni Mitchell's eclectic sound and visual art and create a contemporary fusion of art forms that will awaken and stir the soul. It is a ballet exploring the human spirit's potential to create and destroy; its ability to love and hate; its capacity for war and peace.

Since the original production saw its premiere in February 2007, Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum has grown into a ballet that audiences around the world have been talking about. It was featured in Toronto's Luminato Festival in June 2007 to critical acclaim and was featured in the 2008 Banff Summer Arts Festival. On February 12, an excerpt from the ballet will be part of a select group of Canadian artists performing at the one-year countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. It also enjoyed a sold-out theatre screening in New York City, a national television broadcast and dozens of rave reviews. Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum is generously supported by the Banff Centre for the Arts and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum runs February 20 to 21 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton and February 26 to 28 in Calgary's Southern Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at 780.451.8000 or 403.299.8888. For more information, please visit www.albertaballet.com.

About Alberta Ballet:

Alberta Ballet, a not-for-profit organization, is Canada's third-largest ballet company. Since its formation in 1966, with its cutting-edge repertoire and talent lead by Artistic Director Jean Grand-Maître, Alberta Ballet has remained at the forefront of the national and international arts scene. One of the only arts organizations in Canada to call two cities home, Alberta Ballet is proud to be a community leader both on and off the stage.

Media contact:

Samantha Garner, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
P: 403-245-4222 ext. 529 | E: samanthag@albertaballet.com