Crystal Pite

-Eric Gerdts 

Introduction and Biography

Crystal Pite, of Victoria British Columbia, has been dancing since a very young age. She took classes under Maureen Eastick and Wendy Green, who lead (to this day) Pacific Dance Centre, a school of ballet. She spent her summers studying classical ballet at the Bannf Centre and The School of the Toronto Dance Theatre. Pite joined Ballet British Columbia in 1988 at age 17. There she had her first professional choreographic debut in 1990. Some of the artists she worked under include: John Alleyne, Serge Bennanthan, David Earle, Christopher House, and James Kudelka. She performed works there until 1996 when she left to perform with Ballett Frankfurt (which dissolved in 2004), studying under William Forsythe.

Crystal Pite and Jay Gower Taylor performing for Ballet British Columbia in Warsaw

 Influences

A major factor that caused Pite to move to Frankfurt was the opportunity to work with William Forsythe, a ballet aficionado. Forsythe is credited as having revitalized classical ballet for the 21^st Century. He developed a unique method for teaching dance to those with an analytical eye, improvisational technologies. This technique offers a method in which the dancer explores improvisation through movement and provides the dancer with structuring their work. Revolutionary for its time (1999), the video installations instruct the dancer to move while tracing lines with their body, whether it is linear or spherical movements. Pite was one of the featured dancers in Forysthe’s original DVDs instruction set. 

 Crystal Pite in William Forsythe's Improvisational Technology video instructions

Works and Company

After five years with Ballet Frankfurt, Pite decided to move back to Vancouver to begin working on her own pieces and choreography. In 2001, she created Short Works: 22. The following year saw the seminal work, Uncollected Work, which was the same year she created her own company, Kidd Pivot. In 2010, Kidd Pivot was appointed the resident company for three years of Kunstlerhaus Mousontrum, which provides support to up and coming artists and is operated in Frankfurt, Germany. Touring began to increase the same year, with 75 performances in 22 cities in seven different countries. Currently, she is collaborating with longtime associate, Owen Belton. the piece is titled Parade and is being performed at the Nederlands Dans Theater. Belton got his start in professional composition when he wrote music for Pite’s 1994 piece titled Shapes of a Passing. He studied computer music at Simon Fraser University School for the Contemporary Arts in British Columbia. 

Nederlands Dan Theater - Parade/Frontier rehearsal

Recurring Themes

In terms of the thematic elements Pite uses, she uses many.  After her work with Forsythe, she began to incorporate storytelling into her work which expressed itself in theatrical elements. She is well known for integrating movement, original music, and rich visuals into Kidd Pivot pieces. By fusing classic elements and the complexity and freedom of structured improvisation (Forsythe) Pite creates complex routines with varied elements. For example, puppetry is a recurring medium she utilizes in her performances. This can be seen in her well received work, Dark Matters. Much like the title suggests, she tells her stories through dark elements. In 2011, the Seattle Times said of Dark Matters, “It’s impossible to be eloquent enough in describing the dance theatrical feat that choreographer Crystal Pite and her troupe, Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM” create. 

Dark Matters trailer from 2011

Accolades

No emerging artist would be accomplished if they didn’t have a list of professional awards and praise to back up their potential influence. Most recently, she won a Jacob’s Pillow Award in 2011. “Crystal is one of the most talented, intelligent, and original dancemakers to come along in recent years,” comments Ella Baff, Executive and Artistic Director of Jacob’s Pillow. Additional awards include:

• Awarded the Bonnie Bird North American Choreographic Award in 2004
• Isadora Award in 2005
•  Rio Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award in 2006
• Governor General of Canada’s choice for the Performing Arts mentorship program  in 2008
• Dora Mavor Moore Awards (4 in 2009)

Emerging Artist 

In order for a performer to have a lasting influence on an artistic medium, an innate sense of creativity and ingenuity needs to be present. From the choreography and pieces I viewed, Pite has taken a traditional art form, ballet, and fused it with many other art forms to create something that is unique and new. Although, dance, like theatre is ephemeral, I believe that Pite's lasting legacy will be left in her fusion of so many different styles. 

Sources

Belton, Owen. Owen Belton: Composer. 2006. Website. 18 February 2013. <http://www.owencbelton.com/>.

Hulbert, Mariclare. "Jacob's Pillow Dance." 26 May 2011. Website. 22 February 2013. <http://www.jacobspillow.org/about/JacobsPillowDanceAward-2011-FINAL.pdf>.

Kuchelmeister.net. William Forsythe. 2011. Website. 16 February 2013. <http://www.kuchelmeister.net/prj_it.html>.

Meyers, Deborah. The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2011. Website. 16 February 2013. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/crystal-leanne-pite>.

Shauna, Hey. KiddPivot.org. 2013. 18 February 2013.

Upchurch, Michael. "The Seattle Times." Review: 'Dark Matters' at On the Boards is spellbinding dance 18 February 2011. Newspaper. <http://seattletimes.com/html/thearts/2014266213_pivot19.html>.